DHC-8-400 Combine announced

[leftoftrack]

50 pax combi announced for the Q400

Dam auto correct topic title is supposed to say Combi

[ikarus]

interesting!

http://atwonline.com/manufacturers/bomb ... q400-combi

[sstaurus]

There's an 86-seat version? Encore's seats are already like riding on wooden benches...

[dhc#]

Interesting to hear some airlines were asking Bombardier to restart the Q300 line, making the Q400 with a combi version seems to be their answer to these requests.

The FWD cargo compartment is an udder and complete waste of space on the Q400, so getting rid of it and adding a few more rows makes sense for some operators, as long as they don't bulk out on luggage in the aft baggage compartment.

[Canoehead]

Our 400's are typically close to the forward limit- and that's with a very cavernous fwd bag compartment with just a few crew bags in there. I wonder what adding another 380-760 of people would require in the back end to make things work (besides ballast).

[dhc#]

What I find interesting, is that at a typical pax load will default to having the plane nose heavy (forcing the fa's to move people back to the middle or aft sections ), all the while, the system knows the plane sits nose heavy empty,

[sanjet]

What I find interesting, is that at a typical pax load will default to having the plane nose heavy (forcing the fa's to move people back to the middle or aft sections ), all the while, the system knows the plane sits nose heavy empty,

It will be interesting to see how airlines will manage that when cargo load is light. I imagine a few sandbag ballast will be kept at stations.

[ahramin]

I'm surprised no one beat me to it but I think I've found a picture of it.

q400 combine.jpg (152.99 KiB) Viewed 5568 times

[MartinB]

Canadian North will be all over this I think. When they replace all of their 732's with the new 733's, what are they going to be flying into those remote communities with gravel strips that are usually flown with 732 Combies? It'll be a bit of a compromise but there's not much of a choice. Or is there?

[leftoftrack]

Canadian North will be all over this I think. When they replace all of their 732's with the new 733's, what are they going to be flying into those remote communities with gravel strips that are usually flown with 732 Combies? It'll be a bit of a compromise but there's not much of a choice. Or is there?

Horizon would be another potential customer

I'm surprised no one beat me to it but I think I've found a picture of it.

q400 combine.jpg

It took longer than I thought it would take

[brooks]

I've heard Canadian North are already looking 737NGs for the range. Does anybody know if they have had problems with range on the 300's?

I think Canadian is in denial that a turboprop will have to replace the aging 200's. Unless the Canadian government plans to pave the runways in places like Cambridge bay. The Q400C would be a good measure but obviously it would require more frequency.

[fish4life]

I know companies like perimeter have problems with the 300's getting too tail heavy with a light pax load and lots of freight when combi'd I wonder how 10 000lbs of freight would balance in the Q? Also I would imagine with the merger it will be more ATR 72 combi's like First Air has with the nice big cargo door.

[sstaurus]

I'm pretty ignorant on this, is there no chance (because its so prohibitive) that there will ever be another large jet certified for gravel ops? Is there anything smaller?

[leftoftrack]

The 146 is I believe. Don't think there is any combi version and they to are getting long in the tooth

[fish4life]

I think part of the problem is the high bypass engines are probably a lot harder to protect from sucking up gravel

[thirdtimecharm]

Does Canadian North or First Air still fly scheds anywhere on gravel? I thought Cambay and Kug were turboprop routes?

[Donald]

5T goes to ycb and yco with the -200

7F used to (still does?) go to yrb with a regular charter

Yoa and dk2 were both served by -200's, but now I think Ledcor has the dk2 contract with a 146

Mary River gets the -200 from Nolinor

Raglan has their own -200 I think

Plus whatever ad hoc charter stuff happens: alert, nanisivik, hall beach, etc

[fish4life]

Meadow bank gets a 200 from nolinor to

[thirdtimecharm]

Any word when 5T gets their first -300 combi?

[brownbear]

if operators want a 300 series it is to have a less expensive plane. Smaller engines and lower purchase price.

Paying 26M for a 400, when a 737 200 is 2-3M is a big difference.

The distances are so huge up north that sitting at 25,000 feet in turbo prop really isn't the answer on these flights. You need the altitude and speed of a jet. I think peoples max tolerance of turboprop is around 90-120 mins. I've done tons of 120 min flights in turbo props as a pax and it gets very old in hurry.

Sitting at 20-25,000 feet your smack in the clouds all the time too.

the solution might not be a western made aircraft for our north, and something from over the hill in Russia. Who else has conditions like us?

[Ki-ll]

An-74