Most Challenging Regional Aircraft??

[Copydat]

E-120 wins!

Any airplane with one generator for every 6 passengers must be a bugger. I always worried about a real v1 cut at the end of a long duty day, at night, in the weather. In the sim they gave everyone a free try on the pro check. Flap misconfigs were common and the rudder required constant attention. EEC's kicked off out of the blue and props killed a many a good crews and passenger. Other than that she was a tough bird and performed well. Short approaches were a blast. I loved the bird but as with all sport cars I knew she demanded respect. The training department was on speed by the way. When I was in training in 2000 one of the Airline publications listed the ASA E120 program as the hardest 121 training course in the USA.

 

[Cardinal]

Any airplane with one generator for every 6 passengers must be a bugger.

LOL, studying for E120 school next month and I was blown way, 5 generators!? WTF for? 3 ways to extend the gear? 15 individual deice boots? Still staring at the prop schematic, still haven't figured it out. What would have been so worng with using a big-ass spring like every other prop system on the planet?

 

[acaTerry]

Flown 'em all. The J32/J31 is the clear winner. Brasilia, tough but as soon as you said "stable at cruise" you lost the fight. The J32 wasn't even stable in cruise. The only time a J32 was stable was sitting at the gate. I'll never be so good a pilot as that again.

 

[airksk]

LOL, studying for E120 school next month and I was blown way, 5 generators!? WTF for? 3 ways to extend the gear? 15 individual deice boots? Still staring at the prop schematic, still haven't figured it out. What would have been so worng with using a big-ass spring like every other prop system on the planet?

Be glad it's got 3 ways of dropping the gear, I had to use all of them!

 

[SIR MILO]

I give it to the Jetstream by far

No way the Dash-8, you can get so far behind that thing and be okay.... The metro works yes but not the best in all conditions like the dash.... Don't know about the 1900 but i'm sure it's a solid contender.. The jetstream thought be aware all the time because when it decides to bite it will bite hard................

 

[Coool Hand Luke]

Cardinal:

The funny thing about having all those generators on the EMB-120 is that if you loose the two main generators and the APU is not available the packs are inoperative and you loose pressurization...even with the two aux generators working normally. Cool. Not.

 

[coogebeachhotel]

+1 on the E120 being the most challenging.

second that

 

[lowtimedriver]

Hopefully, no Skywest regular PAX's will be reading this post!LOL. I always wondered about the Brasilia. The bird looks like a real stable platform when landing and you rarely hear about accidents with the Brasilia. Seems to me the biggest complaint is more on systems & equipment rather than flying qualities. At any rate, this is a great thread.

 

[OPECJet]

Gotta suck having to reverse engineer a turboprop in ground school.

 

[BCpilot81]

I have never flown it, but from what I hear, the Brasilia was a ball twister, and I know that ASA has some stories involving that one. Thank God I did not have to learn it.

 

[Blade Runner]

For my own experience I would have to say the Metroliner. I don't know if they still are flying them in 121 service or just Part 135 now. My instrument skills was the best they have ever been after I flew that thing.

 

[ArcticFlier]

I've flown both the EMB 120 and the SA 227................The Brasilia was cake compared to the Metro..........................



AF

 

[NuGuy]

Dash is nice in a crosswind. Use the wing down, and let the SOB hit. Got a huge rudder back there to keep it going straight.

I've hear horror stories about that little Limey Jetscream.

Funny thing about landing the Dash. I had a month where every landing was a greaser. Couldn't have made a bad one if I tried. The next month, every landing was crap. Opened the overheads a few times. My paycheck was the same as when I was making the good ones... Now I just don't give a frogs fat arse.

Heyas OPEC,

I have to agree with you 100 percent on that. In my 5000 hours on the Dash, I ran into the EXACT same thing. You'd have good months and bad months for no rhyme or reason.

I did love Flaps 35 though...that freaky pitch angle and that BIG flair at the end.

Still, I loved that bird. Built like a brick privy, and still able to carry 37 people and their sh!t out of HHH on a summer day (well, "1995" people, anyway...they weren't as fat back then).

A/C was weak on the -100s, but MUCH MUCH better on the -200s. Summer in CLT or MIA, though, with a -100 was brutal, even with the APU.

Nu

 

[nickfaith]

As for the 402's...I imagine they are a handful. Same goes for the Chieftain.

GP

I have no idea how a 121 Cheiftain was.. but I flew a corporate PA31-350 and it was marvelous. Flew about the same as a Baron... if you could get the engines started.

 

[BenderGonzales]

I can't believe all you Brasillia wussies.

You had an airplane with APU (air-conditioning), a lav, an autopilot, glass, and an F/A to bring you coffee and you're whining?

You guys wouldn't have lasted ten minutes in the Jetstream.

To the tune of Gilligan's Island:

Just sit right back and you'll hear the tale
Of a typical Jetstream trip
(We) Stuff nineteen paying passengers
Aboard our tiny ship.

No Drinks, no Stu, no Cockpit Door
Not a single luxury
Like Or-ville and Wilbur Wright
As primitive as can be
As primitive as can be

My armrest's stuck, my back is shot
I have a second job
The engines are not making torque
I wish I flew a Saab

We wrote one up, the boss is mad
It's me he wants to fire
I should have stayed in dental school
The majors will not hire
The majors will not hire

The freon's out, the flows are bad
No damper is installed
The passengers are turning green
The new guy is appalled

The pressure spikes, the radar's shot
The brand new engine quit
I hope I live to tell the tale
Of a typical Jetstream trip.
A-board our ti-ny ship!