Writer

Amy Laboda

There are milestones and there are milestones in aviation. For Pilatus delivery pilot Roger Engel, Oct. 16, 2012, the completion day of his last delivery flight for Pilatus Business Aircraft will always be remembered as a happy milestone. Pilatus vice president of marketing Tom Aniello made sure that Engel received a traditional waterjet salute from the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport rire and rescue department at the completion of his final, and coincidentally, 200th unremarkable delivery to the company. 
On this flight, as with so many flights before it, Engel was delivering a Pilatus PC-12 from the Pilatus factory in Stans, Switzerland. He traced a route over Prestwick (Scotland), Reykjavik (Iceland) Kangerlussuaq (Greenland), Iqaluit (Nunavit), Thunder Bay (Canada) and finally into Broomfield, Colo., headquarters of Pilatus Business Aircraft (Booth No. 5559) just outside the Denver metropolitan area. The flight took 22 hours over three days. 
“The PC-12, as usual, performed flawlessly on the whole flight,” said Engel. This flight was solo, however, Engel has occasionally been accompanied by new PC-12 owners/operators who were eager to learn from such an experienced pilot.