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The Return of the Propeller

提交时间：9 年以前

Both rising fuel prices and increased demand for regional air travel have changed the economics of flight over the past 10 years. Now airlines are once again looking to smaller, more efficient turboprop planes to handle shorter routes, driving the development of a new generation of prop-driven aircraft technologies poised to take wing by the end of the decade. (www.scientificamerican.com) 更多...

Jeff Lawson

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preacher1 9 年以前 2

If they'll get something in there fast it will work. If it's just another run of the old ATR's and SAAB's, the public perception won't change.

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canuck44 9 年以前 1

The Q400 has solved some of those problems. Cruises at 360 knots and has range of 1500 miles. WestJet is loading up on them as they are ideal for many of their routes especially in Western Canada where the cities are around 500-600 miles apart. Porter has 26 of them.

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preacher1 9 年以前 1

Yeah they are. I think the noise is the big thing more than the speed. The 400 has made good inroads into that part of it. Folks kinda feel like 2nd class citizens that have turboprop on their route. These go a long way to over come that. Back in the day, creature comfort was not really on the developer's radar. NWA used to run them old SAAB's out of MEM to FSM. I hated a late evening pax flight back into town or early morning out. They eventually went to CRJ200 to keep up with AA but AA went to the ATR's on a couple of their daily runs. NWA went back to the SAAB's on some runs and never went back.

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preacher1 9 年以前 1

-8's have really quietened down, BUT, a lot of the noise thing is the airlines themselves and the way the birds are ordered, such as insulation, etc.

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Walter Wilson 9 年以前 2

Part of my presentations at Gravelly Point/DCA include the use propeller aircraft especially as the Q400s arrive and depart. "Just because it has propellers, don't think it is from World War II". I explain the concept of why Horizon Air replaced their regional jets with the Q400 and the efficiencies.

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preacher1 9 年以前 2

That is a perception problem that a good PR campaign is going to have to blow away. Problem is though, you get everybody hyped up on a Q400 and then somebody runs in an old ATR or SAAB and it starts all over again. Some of them older ones sound and feel like they came out of WWII. It is roughly 300 miles from DFW to FSM. CRJ 200 and ATR whatever carry about same# of PAX but the ATR takes about 20 minutes longer each way. AA had to put it on a popular mid morning flight to keep it going or they would have lost the flight altogether.

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Walter Wilson 9 年以前 2

I partially cover that too as a Piedmont Dash-8 visits DCA a few times a day. I explain that aircraft is older and not quite as "comfortable", but essentially comment to forgive propeller aircraft. They are no more dangerous than any other commerical airliner. I note that I will ride as a passenger on a Dash-8 of any type (especially the Q400) on a shorter flight any day compared to a CRJ200.

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paul trubits 9 年以前 2

Piedmont flies them out of KSBY. The climb up to altitude on the way to KCLT makes you feel like you are in a paint shaker. Now that you are retired, bring over some wrenches and maybe we can tighten up some of the loose bolts. As a pax, they seem very safe. At least until they flew one into the ground onthe way to KBUF a few years back.

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SmokedChops 9 年以前 1

maybe it is time to dust off the blueprints of the UDF idea. A lot of MD's are being parked with their thirsty JT8D's sitting silent. re-engine, reuse. A lot of companies that unloaded their SAAB 340/B's , 2000's and Shorts 360's, more than likely have not seen the financial gain they envisioned when moving to RJ's. As far as noise, ANR has come a long ways. SAAB had a system in the 2000, if my addled memory serves.

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The Return of the Propeller

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