Cessna has released a few more details regarding its big single-engine turboprop (the Pilatus PC-12, designed almost 30 years ago, is currently the only game in this town).
Pilots will use a standard Garmin G3000 avionics suite and enjoy a modern GE engine with FADEC (Cessna press release). Fuel efficiency and speed are a little better than on the PC-12. The pressurization system is a vast improvement, with a 6,130′ cabin at 31,000′ (compare to 10,000′ inside when it is 30,000′ outside for the PC-12). This should cut fatigue substantially on long flights. Is it actually bigger inside than the PC-12? I asked the PR folks and they responded with “The cabin will feature a flat floor and will be the largest in this segment with a width of 63 inches and a height of 58 inches.” (Pilatus claims a width of 60 inches and a height of 58 inches.) Flying says that the new plane will cost at least $4.8 million, meaning that it will be nearly the same out-the-door price as a PC-12 in “executive” configuration (i.e., not just basic commuter airline seats). The standard Pilatus configuration holds 8 in the back plus 2 pilots up front. Cessna’s holds just 6 in the back. From a practical standpoint Pilatus is thus a “two-family” airplane while the Cessna is a “one-family” plane; for business trips either should be fine because it is rare for more than 6 people to need to go to the same destination.
If the cabin noise is substantially lower than in the PC-12 this will likely be a much better family airplane due to the (a) less-punishing noise, (b) lower cabin altitude, (c) simpler engine and familiar-to-most-GA-pilots avionics. For charter operators and two-pilot crews, a used PC-12 at $2-3 million should be the winner due to the larger cabin, greater seating capacity, lower acquisition cost, and reduced business risk due to the long-certified design (which has its flaws, of course, but they are well-known and quantifiable).
Phil, your mention of cabin noise reminded me of a recent review of the Bose QC35 wireless noise-canceling headphones, complete with Bluetooth and pizzas. Sounded promising, except for a very steep price of £290 http://gu.com/p/4ytbm – which I’d be unwilling to invest without prior testing in flight conditions. Which happens to be a chicken and egg condition…
Hence, when I saw the earlier QC25 model (allegedly the same as 35 but for the BT) in a shop in the airport, I tested its active noise cancellation: the ambient background sound got perceptibly lower, but of course it was inside a mall-like building, and not in a airborne cabin. As this is a consumer product, it also got me thinking that maybe/ just maybe/ the professional pilots have even better noise-canceling gear than that. Could you write up a few lines about specifically the means to handle that (to me pretty irritating) in-flight noise problem, with pointers to sources?
ianf what’s wrong with these:
http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-7028/Hearing-Protection/3M-Classic-Earplugs-Uncorded?pricode=WY633&gadtype=pla&id=S-7028&gclid=CKqikciy1c0CFckehgodanAIuw&gclsrc=aw.ds
A box of 200 sets up back $36. I used them when I flew loud helicopters – CH46- and I still use them for sleeping, yard work, when the children are excessively whiny.
Wally, these particular ear plugs are not available over the counter in my locality, there are others of similar type (pricy enough, €9 for 10pcs) in drugstores, but in photographs pilots usually wear (I have to assume) heavy-duty noise-canceling headphones. In the air I wear passive builder’s hardcover ear muffs in tandem with such ear canal plugs, but would not mind a physically unobtrusive, integrated augmented-silence and sound-on-demand combo.
As an aside, years ago, writing an essay, I made a offhand prediction that in the future the most precious/ expensive to partake in/ life qualities will be solitude and silence. That Bose QC35’s price shows that I was on the right track!
It was rumoured the Cessna/Textron SETP was going to be based on the much bigger cabin of the Beech Premier 1A – that would have been impressive. I hope it at least matches the PC12’s big glide ratio.
I’m interested in what electronic helpers the SETP will have. The latest Piper turboprops now have active flight envelope protection. Ditto the Cirrus jet. Diamond has even demonstrated a DA42 that will land itself at the nearest airport at the push of a single button.
On an tangential note, Textron’s founder Roy Little wrote on of the best business books ever titled, “How to Lose $100,000,000 and Other Valuable Advice”.