Originally Posted by DashPilot

I guess it's a bit late to answer your main question, but the Dash 8 seems to love flying in winter weather. It hates summer / hot.

The airplane is built with a thick wing, and can handle most icing conditions you would expect to counter in the northern parts of the world.

As long as all the de-ice / anti-ice equipment is working, no worries. The only thing you may notice as a passenger is the props shedding ice, which hits the side of the fuselage making a pretty loud THUMP. Perfectly fine. The props may also get a bit out of balance between de-ice boot cycles on the blades.

I trust the airplane more than any regional jet in icing conditions.

You also have more immediate and effective directional control on the ground with the Dash than you would with a pure jet. Less of a chance of the aircraft sliding off an icy runway since differential power can be applied more accurately and sooner than in a jet.

As far as our crews, we look like a lot of regionals out there when it comes to First Officers. I've been on the airplane about three years, and I'm fairly senior in the right seat. Many have been there a year or less as our attrition has skyrocketed due to no growth and few upgrades.

Most captains have been on the airplane at least ten years, and we have several who flew the -7, Shorts, and Beech 99. They've been on the property almost twenty years. Off the top of my head, I think our most senior pilot was hired in '73 or '78 by one of the regionals that merged and became Allegheny, later merged into Piedmont.