Dominik Gschwender, a German entrepreneur, has taken delivery of a brand-new PC-12 PRO. The aircraft features a unique colour scheme with striking orange accents and a distinctive dragon symbol on the tail.

Gschwender is head of the Aircom Group, a supplier of tyre repair and compressor systems for the automobile industry, with multiple locations in Europe, Asia and America. The company employs a workforce of approximately 1,000 people. With his smart and dynamic demeanour, it has become clear how he likes to run his company and what he expects from his employees: “My company has to stay fast and flexible, otherwise we're not competitive. That's why I want my employees to make decisions on their own; they're no use to me otherwise,” he says. He attaches special importance to speed, agility and flexibility. “I'm away for nearly 180 days a year, and our Pilatus Aircraft is used almost exclusively for business. The PC-12 offers us the best in terms of performance and range within Europe.”

His wife Cornelia is enthusiastic too: “It's a wonderfully flexible aircraft. We used to have a Piper M700, which didn't come anywhere close to offering the same level of flexibility as this Pilatus Aircraft. On one occasion we took it to Crete and found ourselves stranded at the airport with huge amounts of baggage and gifts that friends had given us. That wouldn't have happened with this aircraft: you can open the cargo door and load absolutely everything.”

Daughter Daphne explains that the dragon tail represents the flying dragon from her ‘all-time favourite movie’ How To Train Your Dragon. “I found a template and redrew it. Then I showed it to my dad just for fun. He doesn't usually see the humour in things like that but he was serious this time. So now we have my Nightshade on the plane! I love that movie and I love the dragon!”

This is Dominik Gschwender's second PC-12, and this time the Garmin avionics were the deciding factor: “My previous NG was far more complicated to operate than this aircraft. The displays are brilliant, and the touchscreen technology takes you right into the 21st century. The controls are incredibly intuitive and significantly improve safety.”

The ‘Crafted in Switzerland’ lettering which Dominik chose for the wings is very striking, too. Asked about the reason for his choice he explains: “In my view, that's exactly what sets Pilatus apart. We looked at various aircraft but Pilatus quality is simply outstanding. From the customer's perspective, a really great job! I think it's wonderful that we can still produce something like this in Europe.”