From the Pilatus Aircraft team comes a new, highly versatile plane!
Microsoft Flight Simulator released the Carenado PC12 in the in-sim marketplace today. The Carenado PC12 is a single-engine, low-wing, multi-mission utility aircraft from Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft that is crewed by one or two and can seat up to nine passengers. Pilatus began the Carenado PC12 project in the late 1980s, focusing primarily on the business market to create a long-range, efficient transport aircraft with a comfortable, large, pressurized cabin. It took its first flight on May 31, 1991 and went into broader service in 1994. More than 1,700 aircraft have been produced, making it the most successful aircraft in its single-engine, turbine-powered class.
The Carenado PC12 has proven remarkably versatile. While not a STOL (short take-off and landing) aircraft, it can operate out of a relatively short field and older airstrips. It can take-off within 2,600 feet of runway and requires 2,200 feet of runway to land. It serves the business, regional airliner, and cargo markets throughout the world and is used extensively for health care, military, and law enforcement operations. The U.S. Air Force version, called the U-28A “Draco,” is a multi-role special operations craft that leverages the airframe’s power, long loiter time, ruggedness, and proven reliability to perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance gathering, communications hub, command and control, and general support missions.
The Carenado PC12 measures 47 feet, 3 inches in length, has a wingspan of 53 feet, 5 inches, and has a T-tail empennage. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67P turboprop engine that delivers up to 1,200 horsepower to a Hartzell 5-blade, constant-speed, reversible propeller. It can fly up to 2,120 miles, with a cruising speed of 328 miles per hour, and climbs at 1,900 feet per minute, with a ceiling of 30,000 feet above sea level.
The Carenado PC12 is a marvel of versatility and reliability—and an aviator’s delight due to its performance, power, and advanced flight controls and avionics. Visit Microsoft Flight Simulator’s in-sim marketplace today to purchase this versatile plane and see the world through a new vantage point. The sky is calling!
Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, and Steam, and on Xbox One and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming. For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on Twitter.
Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard Game of the Year Edition
Xbox Game Studios
$59.99
$47.99
This enhanced edition introduces simmers to five all-new aircraft, eight new handcrafted airports, six new Discovery Flights, new tutorials, and updates to the weather system
The five new handcrafted aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator include:
• Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet: Our first military jet and a highly requested feature from the community. The Top Gun: Maverick expansion will release with the movie next Spring, but we wanted simmers to have the opportunity to test their need for speed this holiday.
• VoloCity: We partnered with well-known German company Volocopter, which is working on an eVTOL called “VoloCity”, a vision for an urban air taxi. We worked closely with the Volocopter engineering team to develop an authentic version of the prototype aircraft for the simulator. This is our first aircraft that can perform pinpoint landings and is a teaser of what you can look forward to in 2022 when we intend to launch helicopters in the sim.
• Pilatus PC-6 Porter: This legendary short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility aircraft is a highly versatile plane from Switzerland and comes with several cockpits, cabins, and landing gear variations. It is the result of our close collaboration with the manufacturer and the development efforts by famed developers Hans Hartmann and Alexander Metzger resulted in a great and fun new aircraft with exception capabilities in the simulator.
• CubCrafters NX Cub: Yakima-based CubCrafters recently introduced a nosewheel option for their flagship CC-19 XCub Aircraft, popularly called the NX Cub, which we are pleased to introduce to the flight sim audience to further enhance our bush flying and off airport options.
• Aviat Pitts Special S1S: One of our most popular planes gets a single-seat option with the release of this aircraft.
New Airports – We are adding eight handcrafted airports in Central Europe and the United States:
• Germany
o Leipzig/Halle Airport (EDDP)
o Allgäu Airport Memmingen (EDJA)
o Kassel Airport (EDVK)
•Switzerland
o Lugano Airport (LSZA)
o Zurich Airport (LSZH)
o Luzern-Beromunster Airport (LSZO)
•United States
o Patrick Space Force Base (KCOF)
o Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (KNKX)
The Game of the Year release is adding information about 545 previously missing airports in the United States.
New Missions -Based on the popularity of the recently introduced Discovery Flights, we are adding an additional six locations (Helsinki, Freiburg im Breisgau, Mecca, Monument Valley, Singapore, and Mount Cook) to this popular series.
New Tutorials – To further expand the onboarding experience, we are adding 14 new tutorials, introducing simmers to Bush flying (in an Icon A5) and IFR (in a Cessna 172).
New Features – We are also pleased to introduce several highly requested features by the community: an updated weather system, early access to DX12, and a dev mode replay system.
New Photogrammetry Cities – As part of our ongoing collaboration with Bing Maps, we are pleased to add a number of new photogrammetry cities: Helsinki (Finland), Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany), Brighton, Derby, Eastbourne, Newcastle, and Nottingham (UK) and Utrecht (Netherlands).
Microsoft Flight Simulator Standard Game of the Year Edition will be available as a free update for owners on PC and Xbox Series X|S. For new users, the GOTY Standard Edition is the perfect entry point to flight simming as it offers an even richer experience, and it will be the item they purchase as we are retiring the original. Invite your friends to experience the wonders of flight. The sky is calling!
