The folks at SimWorks Studios were nice enough to set me up with the beta version of their forthcoming PC-12 2024 update and I’ve had a bit of time to fly it around on a couple of different journeys now. I made some mistakes which I will help fill people in on so you don’t make the same but I was also having some fun with the updated module. Let’s check it out!

Mistakes to make

SWS have been busy porting their aircraft to MSFS 2024 and the next one to get the treatment, following the Kodiak 100, is their PC-12 Legacy.

This one has had a bit of a history with some challenges with its flight model and managing a slightly quirky airplane to model (it has an interconnected yoke/rudder system for one!) but they’ve been persevering through it all. Now its getting a 2024 upgrade which gives it some new tricks, an updated CFD based flight model, and more. But with new tricks comes some new knowledge that needs to be unlocked and so I jumped straight into the updated PC-12 which SWS have sent me to preview and then had to learn some lessons.

Like other 2024 aircraft, the PC-12 now has a full walk-around mode. That also comes with some fun new features like opening storage compartment at the back and engine cover at the front – you can get a good look at the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B engine fitted to the PC-12/47.

It also has various covers over the engine intakes, pitot tubes and static covers. The latter actually got me because I hadn’t though to remove the little covers (located on the rear fuselage area) on the ports. I aborted a couple of take-offs because I had no speed indication. I scratched my head about it for a while until Alex from SWS asked me the key question about the static ports. Then the light-bulb went off! So, don’t make the same mistake that I made. Unplug those static ports first!

Another mistake, which is less of a 2024 upgrade thing and more of a “rusty and flying too many different airplanes at once” excuse is the cabin pressure system.

You really need to be on top of that in SWS’ PC-12 making sure that the system is set to automatic (at the very least), the altitude setting is selected, and the dial is turned to the approximately 1 o’clock position to ensure that the pressurization rate is adequate. If you do it wrong, you’ll get a lot of alarms about incorrect pressurization.

The other thing I had forgotten about was the ITT (Interstage Turbine Temperature) limitations on the aircraft. Above some heights the PT-6 turboprop starts to run out of steam and temperatures rise.

Though it doesn’t have the failure model of the AirVan from SWS, you still become temperature limited so you need to manage the aircraft thinking about power, weight, heat, and what you can extract from the airplane.

Adventures

I thought I’d share some of the full flights that I’ve done with the aircraft so far. The PC-12 Legacy is a great point to point aircraft ideal for commuters and executive travel and I’ve done a couple of short hops around an hour in length to reacquaint myself with the airplane.

Starting with this lovely sortie from Oulu, Finland (EFOU) down to Vaasa, Finland (EFVA). The weather was beautiful and clear and the PC-12 handles these kinds of flights well!

I did a very similar adventure but much further south flying a route from St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (LSZR) over to Klagenfurt airport (LOWK) with a late autumn day and a fair bit if gloom descending over the scene with a beautiful touchdown at the end.

One thing I forgot to play with on the executive flight was the new phone located in seat 3 which can apparently play games and do some fun other items. You folks know I love fun little Easter Egg-esq features like that. I will detail it in another report.

Getting things ready to go

The release for this is expected to come on October 30th and SimWorks Studios are putting the aircraft through additional testing in the lead-up to that launch. While changing to 2024 from the outside seems straight forward enough, developers often to have to do a fair bit of work to make things operate properly.

Some of the new features include a 2024 native CFD flight model (I think this feels really good), improved engine simulation, new engine bay, avionics updated to the latest Working Title standard, Career mode support, GNSv2 support for loading flight plans from the MSFS EFB. It has executive transport, commuter, cargo carrier and air ambulance variants with unique real world liveries for each and both four and five blade versions to fly.

The release is expected to come on October 30th featuring a revamped 2024 update of the PC-12 Legacy variant of the airplane. It will be a paid upgrade (similar to the Kodiak) with the 2020 legacy version continuing to be available on 2024. I’ll compare more features once the full list of features arrives on launch.

There’s still a modernized PC-12NG with an all new cockpit arrangement and some other changes in the works but this is the legacy version making the transition to 2024.

Learn more about SimWorks Studios here and stay tuned for more.