BMW Touch for Pilatus

It's already the strangest market morph in recent history: the unplanned transition of the Pilatus PC-12 from a sensible eat-your-muesli utility airplane into a status symbol for ruralized rich guys and 21st-century Marie Antoinettes playing peasant on their Montana ranches.

The process takes one more step here, where the new PC-12 cabin mockup has been revamped by BMW DesignWorks. The new design involves fresh colors and fabrics, but Pilatus has engaged the German company's California design studio to produce a completely new interior. The choice is logical, not only because Pilatus' owner-pilot customers don't drive Fords or Chevys, but because BMW designed much of the latest Range Rover, the vehicle to which-for good or ill-the PC-12 is often compared.

Pilatus is also launching a package of service improvements for the PC-12 under the umbrella title of ServiceWorx. Both main elements, PlaneTrax and Diagnostix, are offered at no charge for the first year of ownership. PlaneTrax allows operators to log their flight time online, forecasts routine maintenance actions, and maintains aircraft records. Diagnostix taps into the PC-12's engine-monitoring systems and advises customers on maintenance measures. While the capabilities of these systems are not entirely new, Pilatus says that ServiceWorx is one of the first programs of its kind to be Web-based from the outset.

Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd. is located at Booth 882 here at NBAA.

By Bill Sweetman