Mark Greksa’s 2023 Pilatus PC-12 NGX on the ramp at Durango-La Plata County Airport (KDRO)
The first full-scale powered locomotive was operated in 1804, nearly a century before the Wright Brothers took to the sky for the first time. Aircraft have since become the mainstream platform for moving people from Point A to Point B. But trains, of course, still have their unique utility and are relied on to transport goods and people across the country.
Mark Greksa, a Pilatus PC-12 NGX owner from Dillon, Colorado, has been in the tourist railroad industry for two and a half decades. As owner of the Royal Gorge Route Railroad, he and his staff provide hundreds of thousands of people with a unique perspective of the Colorado Rockies from an unparalleled vantage point each year.
Aviation has been integral in ensuring Greksa’s team provides the world-renowned experience guests have come to expect on the Royal Gorge Railroad.
“Everything we do with the PC-12 is to help grow the business. We are in the tourist railroad industry, which a very small group of people are involved in, and our focus is on hospitality. We fly everywhere to get different ideas for the business, whether it’s customer service, food, or beverage. My staff and I will fly to different conventions, or we’ll go to California to visit wineries and bring ideas and wine back with us to the train.”
Greksa’s interest in aviation predates his profession as a proprietor of one of the nation’s few scenic railway experiences.
“Airplanes always intrigued me, and I took an Intro to Aviation course in my senior year of high school. The instructor could fill the classroom with her enthusiasm for aviation, so that jazzed me about someday learning to fly. But it wasn’t until 18 years later, as a Father’s Day gift, that I took a discovery flight at Denver Centennial (KAPA),” he said.
“We were operating the George-town Loop Railroad at the time, and I drove there and back three times a week. So, I’d fly several times a week to knock out my initial training in a few months. After that, I got my instrument rating and bought my first plane – a 1978 Piper PA-28-236 Dakota. That was like a dream.”
Greksa logged more than 500 hours in the aircraft while he owned it.
“It was reasonably priced, and we flew the heck out of it, taking it all the way down to Baja, Mexico, all the way over to The Bahamas, and a lot of other adventures. What’s cool about the Dakota is that it’s kind of an overlooked aircraft, at least it was back in the day. It was cheaper than a Cessna 182, and I liked the low wing. I then purchased a 1980 Seneca in 2005 to build multi-engine time,” Greksa explained, noting his goal was to earn his commercial rating.
This Piper twin was a perfect aircraft for his family because its large baggage door easily accommodates bicycles and other gear. In 2008, Greksa shifted some of his attention to backcountry flying, purchasing a Maule M-7-260C (that he still owns). He enjoys splitting time between the flight levels and mountain airstrips, especially those in Colorado and Idaho.
Maule M-7-260C
After about 1,700 hours in the Seneca, the aircraft he earned his commercial and ATP ratings in, Greksa began considering what would come next in his ownership journey. But he didn’t have a lot of time to consider because the Covid-19 pandemic required him to double down on running his business.
“The pandemic just about forced us to close our doors. We had over 250 people employed, and it was such an uncertain time. We were shut down for a few months and were finally able to open as a restaurant with 17 cars and four classes of service – with limited capacity. But for a while, it looked like something we had built since 1998 and was hugely successful was going to come to an end.”
There was a silver lining to the tough times, though. The pandemic allowed the team to refine their offering and delight visitors in a new way.
“The year after the pandemic, the business went absolutely insane. Our best year before was about 180,000 people, to then having over 272,000 people. Since things were going well enough, I thought, ‘You know what? Let’s start looking at a turboprop,” Greksa recalled.
“Back in 2020, Piper offered the ‘Fly Free for Five’ program on the M600. It was only available for a few months and was a great deal, with spinner-to-tail coverage and recurrent training. So, it was a no-brainer, and once I flew this airplane, I was hooked on having a single-engine turbine. Piper did a great job with this aircraft. The only reason I sold it in 2023 was that the rear seat wasn’t removable, and it was a little tight – especially when flying my staff around.”
In the search for more cabin space, Greksa landed on the Pilatus PC-12 NGX – which he ordered factory new through Cutter Aviation.
“The PC-12 was always the dream aircraft, but I never thought I could do it. So, we figured out how to make it work because I was going to be able to get everything I paid for the M600 out of the airplane. So, he [Josh Kovac from Cutter Aviation] helped me on the purchase end and was my mentor pilot. He’s a great guy and is someone who has forgotten more than I’ll ever know. It was a really enjoyable experience.”
While Greksa was unable to see his aircraft being built, as he visited the Pilatus factory shortly before it entered production, he advised that visiting the facility is an experience like no other. He said that it was exceptionally memorable to see test flights being conducted while overlooking the airport from nearby Mount Pilatus – which one can either hike to the top of or ride aboard the world’s steepest cogwheel railway.
Fond memories of the factory tour and the beautiful country of Switzerland were still vivid in his mind when he completed initial training and the aircraft was delivered.
I don’t have any complaints about the PC-12. I just love that aircraft…
“I did recurrent training at SIMCOM, which was seven days long. What is great about that facility [in Scottsdale] is that they have an NGX simulator with all of the same buttons, knobs, et cetera. So, the transition into the airplane is just how you learned in class, but it’s kind of intimidating to see how huge the PC-12 is. It’s quite the aircraft in person,” Greksa said.
“My biggest concern with the Pilatus was the Honeywell system since I knew the Garmin system so well, and the G3000 was so intuitive in the M600. It’s just so different from the Garmin system and not quite as intuitive. But once you get it, I will say that the system seems more solid, especially on approaches.”
Greksa enjoyed the perspectives offered by his seatmates during initial training and actively sought fresh viewpoints on PC-12 operations. He aims to fly with a mentor pilot every few months to stay sharp in the cockpit.
And nine months into ownership, he says that the aircraft has met his expectations and then some.
“I can put four bikes in the back and carry six of us, plus luggage, and we can fly all the way to Orcas Island, Washington [from Colorado]. That’s a fairly typical flight for us and is four hours door-to-door, plus another hour and a half of fuel remaining. And it’s especially cool because Orcas Island Airport (KORS) has a 2,900-foot-long runway, and I don’t use beta most of the time. I hardly have to use the brakes, either.”
Greksa concluded, “I don’t have any complaints about the PC-12. I just love that aircraft, and the way that the Swiss do things is just incredible. Whenever you get a Pilatus, you know you are getting a great product.”
