Originally Posted by
GoAmtrak
It's not. AC has some 800+ mile Q400 routes. As someone posted a while back, UA would fly puddle jumpers to the moon if they had the range.
Oh, no doubt! And I know the Q400 has plenty of extra range. But it's not as efficient on longer routes -- the slower cruise speed becomes more of a disadvantage. We're seeing Q400s swapped for regional jets on short routes, freeing up the RJs for longer routes. Since UA has a limited number of Q400s to inflict on us, I'm guessing they may end up only on <500 mile routes (or something like that).
Originally Posted by
Pat89339
Misread this the first time as ...bad enough to make a tie. I had visions of Windsor Knots being made mid-air from the vibration. That's one heck of a vibration!
. I spent some time on a single engine Otter back in the day (a direct ancestor of the Q400, for what it's worth). It's a beast, with a massive 9-cylinder radial up front. One trip, it blew an oil jug, which basically ensures instant noisy death for the affected piston. Now
that was enough vibration to tie Windsor Knots -- in one's intestines, if nothing else. Limped back to the airport trailing a plume of black smoke...