Which regional jet/turboprop is hardest to fly?

[rgnlwannabe]

I've heard the Dash is like trying to land a shopping cart. Whatever that means.

It's a piece of cake. When it is time to flare, just close your eyes. Works every time!!

 

[philo beddoe]

Not on the list, but I've heard the Metro is a workout, at least.
I'll bet the J-31 is in the top three, from the stories I hear.

Are all of the Dash 8s equally hard to grease on? Or is it like the 727, where one is supposedly easy, and the other difficult?


Also, 'hard to fly' is a deep topic. Do you mean hard to hand fly, or hard to manage systems? Hard to handle on one engine, or hard to deal with emergencies? Complicated FMS or poorly laid out cockpit?

Lots of different ways to look at it.

I think that they all have their easy and hard parts.

 

[Mesabi Miner]

The Saab is sweet 'cause you gotta trim 'er out when the FA moves front and back with her freshly brewed Carvelli Coffee. Toughest to fly? The Tomahawk... no question. Anyone for a spin?

MM

 

[capt. megadeth]

Mesabi,
That is so true.

The Jetstream was a biatch! Great flying experience though...

 

[Sphrynxlla]

ive never flown a turbo prop or an RJ. I have time in a Citation and Lear 35.. and i will have to say the Lear is not very stable and very fast.. a little gusty wind on final and it can have a tendancy to dutch roll a little. I love the plane but it takes time to get where you can smoothly hand fly it on a windy day. The citation is the easiest plane ever made however.

 

[Standby 1]

Also not on the list, but the MU-2 wasn't a walk in the park.





....

 

[B190Captain]

B-1900d

I guess it's just a matter of opinion. The 1900 (all variants) are a piece of cake to fly.

 

[B190Captain]

I have a buch of buddies who came over to Chautauqua as street captains on the JS-31. Most came from Ameriflight with types in the 99 and Metroliner. After Chautauqua went through the Saab, E-145, and now the 170, they all agreed that the Metro was the plane to beat.

I also have some friends who came from the Dash and described a love hate relationship

The 99? you mean the Beech 99? If so, it does not require a type.

 

[acaTerry]

J31/32 hands down

 

[CatYaaak]

Whichever one you just made a crappy landing in.

 

[enigma]

I've flown the BAe3100 Junkstream, the B1900's(UB, UC and UE's), and the E120. I'll grade them on how tired I was after an eight leg day. On the 1900, I could come home and then go out dancing. On the Brasilia, I could come home and mow the yard. On the Jetstream, I could come home, eat, throw down a cool one and have just enough energy left to hit the sheets.

The junkstream is absolutely junk, no pun intended. It is heavy on the controls yet marginally stable, meaning that it constantly wandered off of straight and level and was hard to get back. The only good thing about the stream was that the time went in the Turbine 121 PIC column.

enigma

 

[IFLYASA]

I flew the Brasilia for 3 1/2 years, about equal time in both seats. It's pretty intimidating at first, but like anything, once you get use to it, it was a fun airplane to fly. As mentioned earlier, everytime you added or reduced power, you immediately had to adjust rudder trim. There were definately way too many switches. On a really long boring flight, I actually counted 400+ functional switches and knobs. That's alot to keep up with. As far as redundency, it had 5 generators. I'm sure that could have been designed better. The systems were a nightmare. If you could fully explain the electrical and prop system, you were either a mechanic or an engineer.

The CRJ is a different story. This thing is very easy to fly and simple to land. May be a bit tricky on a strong crosswind landings due to low wing tips. The hardest thing about the CRJ is keeping the boredom away.

 

[Gr82Aviate]

I can't comment on all the aircraft in question, but the only hard part about flying the Metro in 9000 hours was on the really hot days when the airplane became the "Sweatro", other than that it was a joy to fly! The only thing better in the Brasilia and CRJ is the paycheck...

 

[Stearmandriver]

Well, I've flown the ERJ and the 120. Considering that your list runs from the most simplified, automated jet to the most complex, over-engineered turboprop, I'd say it runs roughly from easiest to hardest.

It's relative, though. I mean, we're talking big, stable airplanes with almost a century of cumulative aerodynamic knowledge put into them. By far the most pilot-intensive airplanes I've ever flown are a J3 cub or a Stearman in a gusty crosswind. Compared to that type of flying, any transport airplane is dumbed-down to the point of being brain dead.

 

[J32driver]

All right... I'll chime in too.

J32.... No autopilot, no yaw damper, a flight director that didn't work, no electric trim, and the son of a gun would roll over the instant you took your hands off of it.

That being said, it was a hell of a lot of fun!!!



P.S. You know why the yoke on a 32 comes out of the dash and not the floor? Its because the pilots need room for their BALLS!!!

 

[Kyzer Socei]

P.S. You know why the yoke on a 32 comes out of the dash and not the floor? Its because the pilots need room for their BALLS!!!

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LegacyDriver]

Jetstream 31 by *far*. How could you have failed to list it? They don't call it a J-Ball for nothing.

ERJ is absolute CAKE to fly. I think it is a dream, esp. compared to the J-Ball.

 

[TWA Dude]

The J31 isn't hard to fly; all the rest are too easy!

 

[BAe3100FO]

All right... I'll chime in too.

J32.... No autopilot, no yaw damper, a flight director that didn't work, no electric trim, and the son of a gun would roll over the instant you took your hands off of it.

That being said, it was a hell of a lot of fun!!!



P.S. You know why the yoke on a 32 comes out of the dash and not the floor? Its because the pilots need room for their BALLS!!!

I'll second that! The BE1900 was a cadillac compared to the Dungbeattle. Now all I do on the RJ, is sound out the words in the USA today.
Ah...the memories!

 

[probablecause]

J-32.....