Oct. 17, 2012, Broomfield, Co. - In a ceremony today at Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd in Broomfield, Colorado, ferry pilot Roger Engel was honored for his 200th and final PC-12 delivery flight.
Taxiing into Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport under the arches of water jets fired 40 feet into the air by the airfield’s fire trucks, delivery pilot Roger Engel was welcomed by the entire staff of Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd. Engel just completed his 200th delivery of a Pilatus PC-12 to the Broomfield, Colorado business which handles all completions work for new aircraft being prepared for customers in North and South America.
Engel’s flight path followed a routine quite familiar to him: 22-hours of total flight time over 3 days, starting in Stans, Switzerland and making stops in Prestwick Scotland, Reykjavik Iceland, Kangerlussuaq Greenland, Iqaluit Nunavit, Thunder Bay Ontario, and finally to his destination just outside Denver.
The ceremony in Broomfield also served a dual purpose: this was to be Roger Engel’s final flight before retiring as a delivery pilot for Pilatus. Commenting on this significant milestone, Engel modestly stated, “The PC-12, as usual, performed flawlessly on the whole flight.” And, on Engel’s 200th and final flight, he accomplished his mission with a perfect record.
While most of Engel’s trips have been solo, he has been joined on several occasions by PC-12 owners who want to make the adventurous journey in their new aircraft. Customers learn a lot sitting next to Roger for 3 days, but Pilatus’ goal is to ensure the ocean crossing is anything but adventurous.
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