Best Regional Jet to Fly

[flyer172r]

I was told that the yoke on the embraer was just like the hawker's. It was easier to handle and gave you more of a "natural" feel. Well that's what a hawker guy told me once.

Yeah, it's shaped like the Hawker's. Your hand falls pretty naturally on it, but I think it's hard to get leverage on it when you need to. I heard Eagle was replacing their EMB yokes with the more traditional ones. I don't know how much truth there was to that, can anyone confirm it?

 

[The Drizzle]

Funny, I feel the opposite about the yokes. I don't want to go back to traditional.

 

[Nindiri]

If you're checked out on the Hawker or Embraer yokes, you only need differences training to go to the Concorde.

 

[The_Russian]

Sweet. Does that mean that I can stop showering and begin a life of cheese, whine, and surrendering?

 

[pdub20s]

Nice post. To not have favorites or opinions takes alot of the little bit of joy that is left out of this job. It can be rough enough with pay/mgmt/workrules as they are. You can always tell who the haters are when you are holding short for something to land (preferebly a training aircraft). Those that have lost the love pay no attention, the rest of us still get joy out of seeing if they bounce!

Right on!!!

 

[flyboyike]

Prepare for RRJ training puny, lazy, fat, American pilots!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXW0-OryNbQ

I'd love to fly that!

 

[NEDude]

The best regional jet is the one flown by the company that has the best pay and quality of life. End of discussion.

No such thing at a regional. You can dress up a pig, but it is still a pig.

RJs do not belong at regionals anyway. Every RJ should be flying for a major airline. We can thank the almighty Delta pilots for the RJ mess we have now.

 

[Minimaniac]

I will play along, as I have not lost my general love of aviation, and I still enjoy a FRIENDLY pissing contest about the better aircraft (any Mustang vs. Camaro guys oiut there?):

The 170 is my choice... still light enough and nimble enough to be thrown around, and she climbs like a rocket, especially light (yeah, and so does everyone else I'm sure). The controls are pretty light, and the fly-by-wire system has good feel and response. Easy to land, and she will slow down while going down. And flight path vector flight director is awesome! Short fields with full loads are a breeze with Flaps 4, lots of power when you need it, and brakes that will send 72 people home with whiplash!

Then 175 feels like a whole different airplane... the feel computers made the controls a lot heavier in my opinion, to the point that she feels stiff and boring. However, she rides the bumps better, so chalk up one more point in pax comfort.

Downsides... the most uncomfortable seat cushion for a pilot's seat, she sinks quick in the flare at low weights/approach speeds, seats could stand to slide back six more inches, and the cockpit could be quieter.

 

[buxflyr]

I will play along, as I have not lost my general love of aviation, and I still enjoy a FRIENDLY pissing contest about the better aircraft (any Mustang vs. Camaro guys oiut there?):

The 170 is my choice... still light enough and nimble enough to be thrown around, and she climbs like a rocket, especially light (yeah, and so does everyone else I'm sure). The controls are pretty light, and the fly-by-wire system has good feel and response. Easy to land, and she will slow down while going down. And flight path vector flight director is awesome! Short fields with full loads are a breeze with Flaps 4, lots of power when you need it, and brakes that will send 72 people home with whiplash!

Then 175 feels like a whole different airplane... the feel computers made the controls a lot heavier in my opinion, to the point that she feels stiff and boring. However, she rides the bumps better, so chalk up one more point in pax comfort.

Downsides... the most uncomfortable seat cushion for a pilot's seat, she sinks quick in the flare at low weights/approach speeds, seats could stand to slide back six more inches, and the cockpit could be quieter.

The 200 has a loud whistle in the cockpit when over 250KIAS. Wonder which a/c has the quietest most comfortable cockpit. The old David Clarks silencers work well...if you only wear them for 15 min!

 

[UnstableAviator]

I'm used to it, but the ERJ handles poorly. It isn't a pleasant aircraft to hand fly. I know thats not a good way to describe it, but its not like a Citabria, Baron, King Air, or even Cub in that its not something you enjoy flying around by hand.


- Heavy in pitch, best flown with trim. Roll in a turn, trim up. Roll out, trim down. The 135's are also a bit less stable in pitch (and yaw) than a 145, due to the shorter tail moment.

-Ailerons are effective even at low speeds, but require muscle in a strong crosswind from the opposite side of your seat. Not as heavy in roll as in pitch, but still heavier than a hydraulic system needs to be.

- Yokes can come into contact with the knees of lazy non-flying pilots. One of my worst landings ever was the result the yoke getting "stuck" on the captains knee in a crosswind.

- Impossible to consistently land smooth. I know some of you super pilots out there probably disagree, but unlike a King Air which makes you a hero every time the ERJ just doesn't compare. Best landings come with a relatively aft CG, max landing weight, and a wet runway.

- Speaking of CG, you'll never get this thing aft unless you're hauling a pallet of anvils in cargo with a football team seated in the aft section.

- Rides like a wagon on a country lane in turbulence. The cabin isn't nearly as rough, but the long moment makes the cockpit the worst seats in the airplane to ride it out.

I'm looking forward to the next aircraft I fly so I can compare. I just can't imagine the 170, Boeing, McD, or Airbus software allowing such generally lousy control feel and response. Overall it is a reliable airplane although it only seems to have a 10 year service span. Some of our 8 yr old ERJ's are getting pretty tired.

Almost forgot.....the company sucks, I hate scheduling, reserve blows, spiky haired Ipod backpacking FO's are harboring terrorists, etc.

 

[mokitty]

I'm used to it, but the ERJ handles poorly. It isn't a pleasant aircraft to hand fly. I know thats not a good way to describe it, but its not like a Citabria, Baron, King Air, or even Cub in that its not something you enjoy flying around by hand.


- Heavy in pitch, best flown with trim. Roll in a turn, trim up. Roll out, trim down. The 135's are also a bit less stable in pitch (and yaw) than a 145, due to the shorter tail moment.

-Ailerons are effective even at low speeds, but require muscle in a strong crosswind from the opposite side of your seat. Not as heavy in roll as in pitch, but still heavier than a hydraulic system needs to be.

- Yokes can come into contact with the knees of lazy non-flying pilots. One of my worst landings ever was the result the yoke getting "stuck" on the captains knee in a crosswind.

- Impossible to consistently land smooth. I know some of you super pilots out there probably disagree, but unlike a King Air which makes you a hero every time the ERJ just doesn't compare. Best landings come with a relatively aft CG, max landing weight, and a wet runway.

- Speaking of CG, you'll never get this thing aft unless you're hauling a pallet of anvils in cargo with a football team seated in the aft section.

- Rides like a wagon on a country lane in turbulence. The cabin isn't nearly as rough, but the long moment makes the cockpit the worst seats in the airplane to ride it out.

I'm looking forward to the next aircraft I fly so I can compare. I just can't imagine the 170, Boeing, McD, or Airbus software allowing such generally lousy control feel and response. Overall it is a reliable airplane although it only seems to have a 10 year service span. Some of our 8 yr old ERJ's are getting pretty tired.

Almost forgot.....the company sucks, I hate scheduling, reserve blows, spiky haired Ipod backpacking FO's are harboring terrorists, etc.

I disagree regarding hand flying. I LOVED hand-flying the ERJ. At first I thought the yoke was goofy, however, I learned to love it...... and miss it sometimes. My hands always felt relaxed. Opposite side crosswinds were harder, but not Hard. Stick and rudder skills still work just fine. IMHO, many people I heard complain about the airplane and how it handled, didn't have some of the very basic flying skills.

 

[CMI]

So which is the best regional jet to fly?



The 200 is a dog up high, but easy to land... which A/C are better and why? Maybe someone likes the 200's! Prove it fellow RJ jockeys!

The best regional jet to fly is the one that pays the most, so I would have to say the EMB190/EMB175 for Air Canada !

http://airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/canadian/air_canada.html

 

[Shrek]

Ok so where is the worst place to work for RJ pay?


SKYBUS in a A319

 

[belchfire]

Douglas DC-9-30...the original RJ!

 

[WMUSIGPI]

Douglas DC-9-30...the original RJ!

Funny I thought the DC-9-10 came first...The good 'ol baby 9

 

[freeflyer14]

Prepare for RRJ training puny, lazy, fat, American pilots!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXW0-OryNbQ

The Russian, I thought you would have known about the "Russian Regional Jet", now known as the Sukhoi Superjet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Superjet_100
http://sukhoi.superjet100.com/en/

 

[RP170]

The Dornier 328 Jet. Hands downs. You want to see climb performance......

 

[Swaayze]

The Dornier 328 Jet. Hands downs. You want to see climb performance......

Right on!

 

[dojetdriver]

Right on!

Yep......

 

[Ponchus pilot]

If we are keeping it at a max of 50 PAX, I like the ERJ145 XR. lots of power and handles great. Like all ERJ's it has a FADEC and you can put out flaps at high speeds. It also has good ergonomics with controls on the over head and the fuses.