Today, I realized one of my dearest goals: flying a turbine-powered aircraft. While at work, I received a call from John, who flies Roger’s Pilatus PC-12, N451DM. He was about to leave San Carlos (KSQL) for Reno/Tahoe International Airport (KRNO), then fly back to San Carlos in the evening, and was wondering if I wanted to join as co-pilot on the outbound leg, then pilot in command on the inbound leg. It was an offer that I could not refuse, and I quickly wrapped my work up, then drove to the airport as fast as traffic and traffic regulation would let me to. John took me through a very thorough pre-flight inspection, describing the aircraft’s systems in details, and letting me appreciate the extreme quality of fabrication this Swiss firm is capable of. The Pilatus PC-12 is a general aviation aircraft, but it’s built like an airliner, or better yet, like a fighter plane. On the outbound leg, I got to familiarize myself with the instruments, and appreciate the aircraft’s awesome performance. And when time came for me to move to the left seat, I felt already at home. While the plane does not have the next-generation cockpit designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA, it features a set of instruments I am pretty familiar with, namely the Garmin GNS 430/530 and the Avidyne Entegra. Flying back from Reno to San Carlos, John handled radio communications, and I took care of the rest, including starting the engine, taxiing, taking off, flying the airplane using the flight director, doing some simple maneuvers at various speeds, extending and retracting the flaps and gears, and finally landing back in San Carlos. Once everything was said and done, I had logged my very first hour of turbine time, including 0.8 hours of night flying. Absolutely, positively amazing… Many thanks to Roger and John for letting me fly the airplane. I stand ready to serve as co-pilot at any time. You have my number…