B1900

[i'mbatman]

I was wondering if any of those that fly the B1900 could tell me how it is too fly it? Do you get tired w/o autopilot? Does it handle well in the sh*t? Thanks a lot!
I'mbatman

 

[flyhard]

Still one of my favorite airplanes. Solid on instruments, over powered, can handle ice like no other airplane. Probably one of the easiest airplanes to fly. Fairly fast for a turboprop.

 

[BRA]

I like it. It's very stable. I just went over 100 hours in it and now it is getting pretty easy. The C model feels much easier to fly then the D. it's more responsive. You usually don't fly it long enough in any one sitting to get too tired. Our legs never go longer that 1.5. usually .5 to 1.0. I'd rather have longer legs though. If you have one of those all IMC days though it can be a work out. Plus, with the 1900 you often go to hick airports where you have to do the full instrument approach. It will make you a good pilot fast though. All the other airliners look bigger and better then it, but it is a good experience i think, it makes you a good pilot. It is pretty freaken loud. I can't believe we even present it to the public, if i was afraid to fly, and my first flight was on a 1900 that would not be cool. But most of my passengers seem to be alright with it, all smiles believe it or not.

 

[danmark2002]

It is an airplanes and it flies just like all the rest. You just got to get use to fly performance airplanes thats all

 

[chperplt]

I can't believe we even present it to the public, if i was afraid to fly, and my first flight was on a 1900 that would not be cool. But most of my passengers seem to be alright with it, all smiles believe it or not.

Every day I hear comments like...

"You've got to be fu@king kidding me"
"This piece of Sh!t belongs in a museum"
"Oh my god"

And the list goes on...

Frankly, I can't blame most of them. The airplane is not meant for a LGA-IAD or LGA-SYR run. It's meant for the airports in BFE with people who don't have any other choice. A business traveler who pays bucu bucks for his ticket deserves better than a 19 seat no bathroom, loud as he!! airplane.

As for the original thread... It's a real fun airplane to fly. It's great in all weather, and will carry tons of ice without a problem. It's a fast little plane, and can slow down in a hurry when your instructed to maintain 200 or greater till 5 on the approach to mins.

As BRA said, the C model is a much easier handling airplane, and flies just like a C172. The D is a little more to handle and requires a little more attention.

 

[climbhappy]

1900...fun to fly

it's a party up there in the sky.....been flying one with flaps deferred all weekend..you get hold 220 till the marker... then flight idle, dump the gear, and 160 down the slope... it's a ball ...ref is about 140 with no flaps..throw in some for mom and the kids when it's windy....

scream up to altitude at 2000 fpm... can cruise climb at 210.. 1200fpm...

tired with no autopilot, c'mon man he's sitting to my right..

he's also shines my shoes!(just kidding)

first impressions.....excellent!

 

[dondk]

Great aircraft!!! If you thought your instrument skill's were good before the 1900, they will be MUCH better after the 1900. Fly the 1900 then take a sim ride for an interview, you will ace the sim part with ease.

248 to the marker in PIT or PHL and cross the fence at ref AND get off by the third taxiway, no problem.
Intersection departures? In the 1900 without a doubt, beats standing in line behind those who can't!

Great aircraft for those routes that rarely have more than 17 pax, get 19 with a ton carry on bags and it can get cramped.
But to give a different perspective... the other day going into PWM in the RJ, I had 50% of the pax complain about how "tight" the aircraft felt. I actually had one pax tell me "he never thought he would fly in an airplane that was "tighter" than his 182!" To support his argument, the flight was full and most pax were guys better than 220 and 6' tall.

As for the long legs... I have done some 2.0+ legs, for the pilots and the pax it sucks, 1.5 or less is more than enough, less than 1.0 is good for the pax but not enough for us.

Weather is no problem and getting some EFIS time is really nice for being a 1900.

Dislikes...
tight cockpit you have to climb into.
No heat in the winter until you get them cranked.
10 minute turns, because you can do them.
A environmental system you have to play with.
going direct is rarely something heard when flying a 1900, unless you were the lucky few with GPS.
Getting the trim just right is something that will take time to master
Pax that have comments like chperplt mentions

As for the aircraft, the best I have flown to date, and that is for the responsiveness and the "fun factor".

 

[I.P. Freley]

Great airplane!

Some of the best times I have ever had as a pilot were in that airplane. Stable instrument platform, overpowered as he!! so the climb performance is great, carries ice like a champ, and it sure will sharpen your flying skills.

I will mostly agree with what's been noted above about the airplane and its' characteristics, but I only flew D-models, and most of those were brand new... We were even able to "proceed direct" to whenever and wherever we wanted, which is more than I can say for this bloody Saab I am driving around these days. LOL

I never really understood the complaint that the airplane is cramped from a passenger perspective... Unless you have 19 people, everyone has their own seat with NOONE next to them, almost everyone has a window, the headroom is unlimited, the vents flow well, and I have been on mainline flights that had seats in front of me that were just as close to my chin as they are in a 1900... And in the D's the center aisle has the same or better ceiling height as any other TP or RJ. For a "loud airplane" it's not really THAT loud when one considers, say, the Saab or (God forbid) the Screaming Jetstreams. I thought the world was ending once when I was sitting next to the prop on a Dash-8-100... So really the 1900D is pretty much "normal" for a turboprop IMHO.

And yes, as the FO you have to listen to the occasional "har-har-yessir-you're-a-real-card" comments, but the actual RUDE comments were heard maybe once every other month or so. The rest are the "hope you fed the hamsters/wound the rubber band" kinda stuff. When I make the mistake of standing around outside while pax are boarding in the 340 I STILL hear comments like that, so it's par for the course in props I guess...

Because propeller-driven airplanes are dangerous, you know.

 

[NEDude]

Heavy D

Love the airplane. I have over 700 hours in the thing now and still get a kick out of it. Yeah flying all day in the northeast without and autopilot (wait, I am the autopilot) gets tiring - this past week has been a bear. And it would be nice to have a lav like the Air Alliance (Canadian) guys, and be a bit quieter as well. But like everyone else says, a ton of power, handles ice like a champ and rock solid. And it will make a great instrument pilot out of you. If the pay were better it would be a fun plane to spend a long time on.

 

[bigboeings]

Agree

I would pretty much agree with all the replies so far. It pretty much is a pilots airplane. Load it up, fuel it up, and away you go. Rock solid in all sorts of weather, and ice, even those nasty approaches into RUT. Ice on the runway no problem either. I got about 5000 hrs. in it, and have to say that it was the funnest airplane to fly, besides this 75. It sure has made some lousy pilots, become good ones. I'm still working on that one. Have fun!!!

 

[throttlejockey]

The B1900 is a rocking chair compared to the JunkScream. Anyone who has put in there time on the J31/32 can be considered a hero in my book............

 

[cl-65link]

If there are two things the Brits don't do very well, it's design and build autos and airplanes. However, if you can fly the "lead-sled" on instruments, you can fly ANYTHING with wings on it.

 

[climbhappy]

junkscream

i think as an FO, it seemed more challenging at first during cruise because many a captain would secretly keep activating the wings boots on me!


on the beech, there definitely should have been an airspeed associated with the gear horn. otherwise, "silence the horn should be incorporated into every approach checklist...when flying the line and not the sim profiles of course.

 

[BRA]

silence the horn .......that is so true. Then when you go push the button.....it's way over there, another stupid idea. I always thought the go around button on the throttle should be the horn silencer button. Not having an APU is not cool either. I also love when you go to take off and the engines don't come up evenly...that makes you look so good. The EFIS is a cool thing though,something that you would think the plane wouldn't have. The speed cards i think are kinda a waste. The #'s only change like a fraction of what you can read off your airspeed indicator....not only that, but as you call the speeds out.....the CA and FO's indicators are usually not reading the same anyway. And then you have the altimeters, aren't they always reading equal. Not. We can fly with the door open. I think it is kinda cool that the passenger sitting behind me can see what's going on. Sometimes they are so interested. I like hearing their questions. Something that you won't get at pretty much every other airline.

 

[skidbuggy]

Hi,

A fun thing to do in the summer is start two and then feather with a cutie wearing a short skirt while going up the airstair. The plume of air will blow up her skirt.

 

[ACWild]

I'm going to go against the crowd and saying that I think the D is more stable than the C. I could actually trim the D. The record that I have for hands off flying in the C is 8 seconds. Then again, the Cs that I flew were beaten and the Ds were brand new.
It was definitely nice to fly a plane with enough power that you never worried about overloading.
When doing 13 leg days, an autopilot would have been nice, but you do become the best pilot that you can possibly be. Good memories except for pulling out the diapers from the seatbacks.

 

[chperplt]

on the beech, there definitely should have been an airspeed associated with the gear horn. otherwise, "silence the horn should be incorporated into every approach checklist...when flying the line and not the sim profiles of course.

It wouldn't be so bad if they all came on where they should. The book says 86-88%.. I've seen them come on as high as 95 and as low as 75.

I also love when you go to take off and the engines don't come up evenly

Hold the brakes until the props come up on the governors... won't have that problem anymore.

The speed cards i think are kinda a waste. The #'s only change like a fraction of what you can read off your airspeed indicator....not only that, but as you call the speeds out

Welcome to part 121 flying.

And then you have the altimeters, aren't they always reading equal. Not.

That can be a pain... I was glad I was an instructor and didn't have a problem flying off the CPTs panel when I was an FO.

 

[snine3departure]

I would agree with most everything previously stated above. Great airplane, easy to fly, and most of all fun. (a true pilots airplane). Barber Pole to six dme power to idle to meet the speed restriction of 200 by 5 dme and land effortlessly and make taxiway of choice.
Only complaint is slowing for alleghany (? spelling) on what seems like a daily occurence. Guess all I am saying is its realitively fast for a turboprop, but remember props are for boats!
Last point, seems like Beech drivers always stick together and there is a shared respect from all present and past 1900 guys and gals.

 

[pilotian]

Do all of the 1900's have a 4 tube EFIS? I am especially interested in the ones Colgan flies.

 

[sligo1]

No only the 1900D has the Collins EFIS tubes. The 1900D is a great plane to fly. As previously mentioned the only plane that I've flown " barber pole to the marker" power to idle and cruise right on down the ILS to a text book landing. Have fun you'll enjoy it if you get the chance.