Dornier 328Jet "Envoy 3"............

[Apache06]

There was a company at NBAA last year doing corporate retrofits on the CRJ200. The aircraft uses a lot of runway and is a bit heavy on fuel burn.

I really have nothing to do with the selection process. I was offered a job with this company last year when they were going to get the Legacy. I just spoke to them yesterday asking if I was still available that they were settling on something soon.

I think your choice is excellent in the CRJ-200. Just checked it out, it would be perfect with a corporate interior. I would assume it could seat about 20 in a moderate corporate set-up. Not talking about big giant seats, but nice and comfortable. A max of 20 is what they'd like to carry. Short trips like they're planning on would be quite nice for that plane.

What would one go for $$$???

 

[BoilerUP]

Fltplan.com has profiles for both the CRJ2 (CL850) and J328; it appears as though the Dornier would burn 800lb less than the CRJ on a TEB-PBI segment and take 25 more minutes to get there.

Sounds like a regular old E135 would do the trick, giving you the seats you need at a higher speed and probably less fuel than the Dorkjet. I also understand there are quite a few E135s from Expressjet and Chautauqua looking for new homes...

 

[JJET44]

It was a fun A/C. Slower than snail snot but fun.

I too had fun flying the Dorkjet. The only airplane that climbs, cruises, and descends at the same airspeed.
I remember panels falling off in the cockpit during the summer due to the heat melting the glue that held them on.

TOGA-TA-10!!

 

[BoeingBaller]

I flew it as CA at ACA.

Pro's:
* Nice avionics package (for 2000-2001) VNAV; vertical profile on HSI display and systems pages on EICAS ...
* Great climber (10,000 fpm sustained if it was light/winter)
* Relatively roomy cockpit
* The most comfortable pax cabin of any RJ.

Con's:
* It broke -- a lot.
* Had a cheap, plastic-and-velcro feel to it, far worse than an Airbus.
* Was a moving roadblock at altitude (one profile had us cruising at .66)
* The packs had a hard timing keeping it cool in the summer
* Noisy cockpit.
* The APU had no auto-fire-fighting feature, thus we could not leaving it running unattended (this is probably a package ACA went cheap with.)

I have found if you keep the curtain and the rear service door closed on the gound it stays very cool. All the ones I have operated that have had good 328 mechanics work on them did not break a lot. It is a slug at altitude but a blast to fly.

 

[Fly91]

I remember panels falling off in the cockpit during the summer due to the heat melting the glue that held them on.

TOGA-TA-10!!

Thats great. Seems like the plane that an owner wishes he never bought....after they buy it.


.

 

[Cat3C]

not to drift but I think there is an FBO out of KCAK that operates them on a 135 certificate- used to do a ton of sport team trips.

 

[soardtk]

I really have nothing to do with the selection process. I was offered a job with this company last year when they were going to get the Legacy. I just spoke to them yesterday asking if I was still available that they were settling on something soon.

I think your choice is excellent in the CRJ-200. Just checked it out, it would be perfect with a corporate interior. I would assume it could seat about 20 in a moderate corporate set-up. Not talking about big giant seats, but nice and comfortable. A max of 20 is what they'd like to carry. Short trips like they're planning on would be quite nice for that plane.

What would one go for $$$???

Check out the Part 125 regs. If you have more than 19 seats, then you will have to operate under a Part 125 letter of compliance. It can take some time to get done if your FSDO doesn't have any experience with Part 125.

 

[con-pilot]

When it first came out we saw the mockup at a NBAA Convention. The boss was real impressed with the intial offering price and the size of the cabin. However, after I reasearched the performance we decided against buying it primarily because the slow speed and lack of international range.

It is a darn good looking aircraft.

 

[flying zephyr]

I flew the 328 at Skyway, flew great, climbed awesome, but speed brake at cruise. Boots for de-ice, I saw a lot of ice in Midwestern winters, no reverse, but good brakes, no speed brakes, definately need to plan the descents, but it will side slip down nice if you need it. Good luck. I know that parts were a little problem toward the end for us??? I don't know how they rectified it or stopped flying them altogether before it got bad.

 

[J3CubDriver]

I currently fly the DO328 jet for Ultimate Jetcharters out of KCAK. Flown it Part 91 and 135. 12 seat Envoy config and standard 30 passenger config. Like any other plane many pro's and con's. Any specific concerns?

 

[Fly91]

I currently fly the DO328 jet for Ultimate Jetcharters out of KCAK. Flown it Part 91 and 135. 12 seat Envoy config and standard 30 passenger config. Like any other plane many pro's and con's. Any specific concerns?

I'm just so bored really I thought I'd ask about it. Just a possible job with a friends company if they get one so I just thought I'd ask here about it.

How's the maintenance and parts support? I understand there's only one supplier in the world.

Where do you do your type-rating and/or recurrent training?


.

 

[rumrnr78]

I really have nothing to do with the selection process. I was offered a job with this company last year when they were going to get the Legacy. I just spoke to them yesterday asking if I was still available that they were settling on something soon.

I think your choice is excellent in the CRJ-200. Just checked it out, it would be perfect with a corporate interior. I would assume it could seat about 20 in a moderate corporate set-up. Not talking about big giant seats, but nice and comfortable. A max of 20 is what they'd like to carry. Short trips like they're planning on would be quite nice for that plane.

What would one go for $$$???

I am picking one up right now in Canada. A refurbished CRJ (Indy bird in a former life) with corporate interior and seating for 16. IPOD Docking stations, individual viewing screens, 17" flat screens, 2 "living" areas dividing the cabin with a center pocket door and each one has it's own captain chair, another pocket door seperating the galley from the first living area, 2 very nice lavs, and cabin access to the cargo bay (a great feature). We have the aux tank set up which holds 600 gallons. Cargo bin is about a third of the size and limited to 900lbs. But, in my experience that is enough. Upgrades for the cockpit, we have dual FMS and dual IRS, SELCAL and sattellite phone. About a 3000nm range. It is no global but for the luxury interior and cabin size (the bins are gone of course, think stretch challenger) coupled with the fact that Skyservice in Canada has "zeroed" out the engine and landing gear this bird is a steal.

The airframe is life limited to 100k hours so you could get a steal on a CRJ with 20k hours and still have a lot of years left based on corporate usage. Sounds high but you would never guess ours has that kind of time. Refurbished from the ground up. I would guess mid-teens on the price depending on options. Even our seats up front have been repadded with new sheepskin covers. The over head panel still is a little crusty as is the lower CB panel but other then that you would swear it was new.

Just to echo what someone posted about Part 125. You really want to avoid that at all costs if you can. Real pain in the arse if you ask me.
To give you some numbers for comparison, we are planned to fly KBDL-KBFI in 5.08. Our burn looks like 13200lbs
Check out www.flyingcolours.com

Good luck with your search!

 

[J3CubDriver]

Parts / Maintenance are available. We do most of our's in house, including the phase 6 inspections. MYR has a DoJet maintenance center and also store airplanes there. The is a company in Europe that makes new parts for the jet. However they are not cheap or abundant. The DoJet and prop version for the most part are the same, so scrap prop's planes can be used for parts.

Types are done down in MCO at SimCom and there is 1 in Europe and 1 in China. We go to MCO.

It's a good reliable plane. Typical modern plane with mostly computer issue's. Easily operate out of 4000 runway, 5000 at max weight. Burns 2000 lbs/hr at .65 Range is 1000 miles, 1300 long range tanks. Like any plane it has pro's and con's.

 

[JJET44]

I am picking one up right now in Canada. A refurbished CRJ (Indy bird in a former life) with corporate interior and seating for 16. IPOD Docking stations, individual viewing screens, 17" flat screens, 2 "living" areas dividing the cabin with a center pocket door and each one has it's own captain chair, another pocket door seperating the galley from the first living area, 2 very nice lavs, and cabin access to the cargo bay (a great feature). We have the aux tank set up which holds 600 gallons. Cargo bin is about a third of the size and limited to 900lbs. But, in my experience that is enough. Upgrades for the cockpit, we have dual FMS and dual IRS, SELCAL and sattellite phone. About a 3000nm range. It is no global but for the luxury interior and cabin size (the bins are gone of course, think stretch challenger) coupled with the fact that Skyservice in Canada has "zeroed" out the engine and landing gear this bird is a steal.

The airframe is life limited to 100k hours so you could get a steal on a CRJ with 20k hours and still have a lot of years left based on corporate usage. Sounds high but you would never guess ours has that kind of time. Refurbished from the ground up. I would guess mid-teens on the price depending on options. Even our seats up front have been repadded with new sheepskin covers. The over head panel still is a little crusty as is the lower CB panel but other then that you would swear it was new.

Just to echo what someone posted about Part 125. You really want to avoid that at all costs if you can. Real pain in the arse if you ask me.
To give you some numbers for comparison, we are planned to fly KBDL-KBFI in 5.08. Our burn looks like 13200lbs
Check out www.flyingcolours.com

Good luck with your search!

Hey was that you at Jet in BED on sunday night?

 

[rumrnr78]

Hey was that you at Jet in BED on sunday night?

No, we were still flying around Canada finishing the last of our acceptance flights on Sunday. I saw another corporate CRJ yesterday in Bradley (Bombardier service center). Good to see more flying around. Might give some regional pilots looking to transit to corporate an option. With all the belt tightening, companies are really putting a strong emphasis on being typed and current.

Cheers-

 

[Fly91]

Parts / Maintenance are available. We do most of our's in house, including the phase 6 inspections. MYR has a DoJet maintenance center and also store airplanes there. The is a company in Europe that makes new parts for the jet. However they are not cheap or abundant. The DoJet and prop version for the most part are the same, so scrap prop's planes can be used for parts.

Types are done down in MCO at SimCom and there is 1 in Europe and 1 in China. We go to MCO.

It's a good reliable plane. Typical modern plane with mostly computer issue's. Easily operate out of 4000 runway, 5000 at max weight. Burns 2000 lbs/hr at .65 Range is 1000 miles, 1300 long range tanks. Like any plane it has pro's and con's.

1,000 miles......wow. Thats slooooooow. But I guess for a short-range corporate shuttle its just about the perfect large cabin aircraft...for the price to get into one.