First RFDS PC-24 landing on unpaved dirt airstrip

Pilatus PC-24 taking off from grass airstrip

The very first PC-24 of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS Central Operations) with serial number 118 arrived in Australia in April 2019. A few days later, the first landings on unpaved strips went ahead in Kingoonya, a small and almost totally abandoned farming settlement in the central outback of the Australian state of South Australia.

The PC-24 is the first business jet worldwide designed to take off and land on very short or unpaved runways, and to come with a cargo door as standard. It also boasts an extremely spacious cabin whose interior can easily be adapted to personal requirements. The outstanding flexibility of the PC-24 opens the door on an enviable spectrum of possibilities – whether as a business jet or ambulance aircraft. All this makes it a Super Versatile Jet, an aircraft designed to fulfil a wide variety of individual mission profiles.