Author Topic: Toad, airline pilot question for you. (Read 693 times)

Toad · « **Reply #15 on:** January 20, 2003, 11:42:01 AM »

Probably the "RJ". It sort of defines the "Regional Jet"; we've got a slew of them.

Ridden the cockpit jump seat no them several times. Seems a very nice aircraft to operate. Somewhat power/altitude limited though and not especially fast for a jet.

Still, all airline managements are "hot" for these things. They were initially cheap to buy. IIRC, Comair got their first bunch for under 15 mil each. Now I hear they are in the 22 mil range. Usually flown by pilots at "entry level" in the industry so they can pay them low wages crap and get crews. (Son: Hey Mom! I'm an Airline Pilot now! F/O on an RJ! MOM: What do they pay you son? Well, $18K a year and I had to pay $18K for my training but NEXT year I'll make $18.5!) <--- Yeah, it's not that bad but it isn't real great.) And you'll notice management still charges the same for a ticket as they do for a flight on a "normal" jet

I don't think the comfort level in the back is anything the traveling public is going to fall madly in love with, however.

Still, RJ's are the "hot button" for the management lemmings and the phenom will have to run its course. RJ's have their uses and their limits. Right now, management has a hard time seeing the limits. Like when ours tried to run RJ's from Cincinnatti to Colorado Springs in the winter non-stop. Flight Ops told them it was too far but they flew for months stopping in KC to get gas.

Nifty · « **Reply #16 on:** January 20, 2003, 12:36:35 PM »

RJ's definitely aren't comfy from a passenger standpoint, tho it's not too bad when you're on the single seat side. Of course, it didn't help matters of comfort that the AC on the ground wasn't working and this was at Bush in Houston... with a mom and her crying baby sitting across the aisle from me...

Dinger · « **Reply #17 on:** January 20, 2003, 12:56:16 PM »

Canadair and Embraer make RJs, and I can't distinguish between the two. Seating's not bad: limited room for carry-ons (which may in fact be a Good Thing, except for the fact that they gotta have someone at the jetway take oversized carry-ons and stow them under.
Seat 1A (only seat in that row) is right behind the front left door (=the main loading door), and I can attest that at FL 30+ it gets pretty chilly.

Yeah, with RJs they can brag "All-jet service". And there are plenty of RJ pilots. AFAIK more than a few AH pilots fly RJs for a living.

midnight Target · « **Reply #18 on:** January 20, 2003, 01:05:08 PM »

Quote

Usually flown by pilots at "entry level"

I have to admit, that was one of the roughest landings I've experienced in a while.

My flight was Ontario, CA to Denver. Seems like a long haul for the little guy.

Sparks · « **Reply #19 on:** January 20, 2003, 05:09:13 PM »

As regards Flight Engs - if I'm wrong I'm sure Toad will jump in - but I think a lot went to the freight companies as many of the old 3 crew pax planes were converted to freighters - we did a load of Tristar conversions at our place. Jumbo Classics went the same way - rip out the seats and stuff pallets roller tracks in.

As far as the RJ goes its a Bombardier plane - I work on the Global Express which is the biz jet version basically and I'm surprised you say its bad for the pax - its cabin is way bigger than other planes its size in height and width - maybe I'm just used to seeing it full of 18 Connelly leather recliners

Sparks

funkedup · « **Reply #20 on:** January 20, 2003, 05:31:00 PM »

CRJ's are suboptimal but they beat the crap out of a Beech 1900. I think I rectally ingested several seat cushions riding in 1900's over the Rockies.

Of course I'm biased as a former member of the CRJ-700 team.

Thrawn · « **Reply #21 on:** January 20, 2003, 05:59:46 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by midnight Target
Toad,

I flew Frontier Express the other day, a "Canadair" Shuttle. First I've ever heard of this jet. You know anything about it?

Made by Bombardier. The same Bombardier that invented the Ski-doo and Sea-doo...and made Cretien their squeak.

This diddlyer wants the Canadian Forces to buy another couple of these diddlying things, they bought 20 odd of these things about a decade ago. And he wants the CF to pay for them out of their own damn wallet. Corporate welfare our of our military's meager budget...there ought to be a law.

Toad · « **Reply #22 on:** January 20, 2003, 07:44:07 PM »

A couple of notes.

First, I am in no way impugning the "entry level" pilots. The reference is merely meant as "that's where airline flying starts". A scheduled carrier Regional Jet pilot IS an airline pilot. The F/O's are fully qualified to sit in the right seat and by the time they move over to the left seat they are highly experienced in airline operations. Which are quite different from "commerical flying" and considerably different from military flying.

So don't take it as a negative comment. It's merely meant as "this is where the airlines start".

Sparks, yes indeed. The old three seaters are doing a lot of freight work and doing it well. We tried to talk our company into a freight operation but they were not interested. This dispite the fact that at the time we had a daily 3 airplane backlog of freight going to and coming from Asia. Europe only had about a 2 day backlog. "No money in air freight" they said. Tell that to FedEx, I guess.

Thrawn, Canadair has sold a TON of RJ's. There's tons more on order. Can't believe they aren't making money on it.

Thrawn · « **Reply #23 on:** January 20, 2003, 08:02:43 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Toad
Thrawn, Canadair has sold a TON of RJ's. There's tons more on order. Can't believe they aren't making money on it.

I'm sure they are. I think it's Cretien's way of saying "diddly you." to Brazil for subsidising Embrae.

Toad · « **Reply #24 on:** January 20, 2003, 08:17:54 PM »

The "Jungle Jet"? Haven't heard much good about them from the folks that have to fly them.

beet1e · « **Reply #25 on:** January 22, 2003, 03:45:33 AM »

Hehe, Mr. Toad hates management.

I know the feeling. As you get older with more experience of the "shop floor" of whatever profession you're in, you come to realise more and more how management consistently screws things up AND (more importantly) how they never listen to the advice of those working at the coal face. That was certainly true in my profession, and was one of the reasons I was not sorry to get out. I always remember one classic case in which my advice was ignored. I'll spare you the wall-0-words details, suffice it to say that "management" decided they could do without me. I produced a document suggesting why it was a bad idea to go in the new direction they had chosen, only to have it ignored. Oh well... 5½ months later, I got a phone call asking if I was available to come back - could I start the very next day? Yes, OK. Took me 6 weeks to get them out of the mess they'd got themselves into. When I reminded my former manager that I'd said they were heading in the wrong direction months earlier, I was told that I had "not put the case forcefully enough". But oh! It's never management's fault for not listening.