What can you tell me about a Bombardier Q200 or the Canadair Regional Jet 700?
Next week we are flying UA JAX-IAD-CHO and back. I just recently found out that our flight from IAH-CHO and CHO-IAD is a prop plane. I am terrified of flying on a plane like this. I can change my flight to remove the IAD-CHO and CHO-IAD portions and just drive, but it's going to cost me. So I guess I'm trying to determine if it's worth it or not.
In my younger professional life, I spent years of traveling 100K miles annually but about 8 years ago I developed a fear of flying. It generally revolves around turbulance and sudden plane shifts. I am certainly able to fly but panic does set in pretty hard when we hit turbulance of any kind. It's been years since I've been on a turbo-prop type plane and I don't know if I can handle it.
Are these types of aircrafts safe and can they sustain wind shifts and turbulance? I mean, obviously they can or they wouldn't fly, but I need to hear it from someone who flies a lot. It's a short flight so I just need to get through about 45 minutes.
Any support or advice you can provide would be much appreciated.
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No worries
Really
Frankly.
These are big planes. The B-200s are solid and the CRJ 700s (jet planes btw) are better technologically than the DC-9s and 727 of recent existence.
I would not worry a bit flying in any of those (heck I have flown in both of those type of planes this year)
The prop planes are just a bit slower, that's about it. Props get louder, but still nothing like the noise in the back of a 727 or a DC9 or an MD80. And these are bigger than some of the ERJ jets. And they have a lot of safety systems. No worries really. Just see it as a novelty and relax and enjoy.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jstevenson0617
Are these types of aircrafts safe and can they sustain wind shifts and turbulance? I mean, obviously they can or they wouldn't fly, but I need to hear it from someone who flies a lot. It's a short flight so I just need to get through about 45 minutes.
Any support or advice you can provide would be much appreciated.
I wind up on the Dash 8 all the time (regional travel for work). They are fine...not 'flimsy' and dont get knocked around any more than any other smaller regional jet.
and if you are really nervous you can always have your doc write you a script for an anti-anxiety med to help take the edge off...or just a couple of adult beverages in the terminal before your flight...
Miss PVDProf is 4 and loves airplanes, but is a little skittish of things she does not fully understand. (I do not mean to imply your anxiety is childish, just relaying an experience that is necessarily more visceral and fear-like, because she has less life experience.) We just finished a trip with a connection, a 752 to a CR7. She reported the CR7 was nicer than the 752 because it was quieter and had a smoother ride.
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I too hate props because of a plane crash but let me say the Q-400 is a fine craft for a prop. I do avoid them if possible but if they're the only craft on the route I will fly them. It's not the craft itself but rather my paranoia.
Take a xanax...drink a whiskey or whatever you have to do but be sure it is safe.
What can you tell me about a Bombardier Q200 or the Canadair Regional Jet 700?
The q400 will tend to fly at lower altitudes than a jet, thus more turbulence, however it has hundreds less moving parts and is thus in reality a much more stable aircraft. It may be a rougher flight but the aircraft is more stable, however the crew will probably be younger, sorry if that does not help.
I've been on 4 turboprop flights (3 Q400 on BE and 1 Saab 340 on NW). On three of those flights, I felt like the plane was jumping around. It's not the same turbulence I feel on mainline or regional jets, but more like the plane is skipping along rather than gliding. On the other hand, I've never felt unsafe on the turboprop, and have no problem flying them. As others have said, turboprops are more tolerant of problems and will probably be more reliable.
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I fly the IAD-CHO route regularly. The props definitely "feel" different than larger planes - you will experience more vibrations/bumps/etc due to lower atmosphere/smaller plane/slower speeds but they are absolutely, totally safe. Step up to the flight knowing it will be a bit different and enjoy the experience. And CHO ground staff are great - only place I've had phone calls on my cell when running late asking "Mr. RazorSoup, we just wanted to check if you were going to make the flight today." Happened twice in the last few years about 30 minutes prior to departure.
Your fear is irrational. Bigger does not always mean better (or safer) when it comes to aviation. Many smaller aircraft actually perform better than their standard counterparts and have better safety records...there is a reason fighters are not the size of airliners! Smaller jet planes are more manouverable, faster, and frequently capable of higher altitudes thus remaining above the weather that larger planes must endure. I have ridden in a CRJ-900 well above a major winter storm with nothing but smooth air while a colleague suffered lower down on a 737 that had to fly lower. Those embraers are outright rockets as well, much more zippy than a dopey airbus and less woozy in the bad air.
Prop VS Jet is not a big worry either, because it is about thrust to weight in flight, not thrust alone. On a mid sized turbo prop, it's about the same propotion of thrust to weight as you get in an jet airliner, and often better. Props don't need to spool up in the same way and power response is faster. You are dealing with props moving air, not massively superheated gas shooting supersonically out the back, just a few dozen feet from your window!
flithts from geneva, zuruch, vienna and munich over the alps to spain, france, and italy are more often than not in a small turboprop. wife and i really like them, as they fly much closer to the mountains than the big jets. have never noticed any outlandish turbulance, but that just may be the day of flight. i have not read of any of those things crashing lately. the last accident i recall was when someone clipped a wing on the ground at LIN.
Actually, a turboprop engine has more, not fewer, parts than a jet engine.
The ride of a turboprop is different but it is not because of the size of the airplane, it is because of the airplane's wing loading. Wing loading is the total weight of the aircraft divided by the wing area. Wing loading will be higher for airplanes that are designed to cruise at higher speeds and lower for those designed to cruise at lower speeds. A lower wing loading also produces slower takeoff and approach speeds which allows the airplane to operate on shorter runways.
A jet often has a smoother ride because it can climb out of low-level turbulence but low-level turbulence is not universal. Many days have smooth conditions at lower altitudes so all airplanes will get a smooth ride. Other days will have high altitude turbulence which the jets must endure as their higher low-level fuel burns won't allow them to stay below.
Going into CHO, the low-level turbulence will most often be associated with windy days.
