slumav505

I've got some time now in the 200, 145 and the 170.

CRJ: Pilot wise the display's are more friendly. Pitch picture is a bit funky to learn on approach. (700/900 seems to have fixed this) Always feels like you were nose diving for the runway. You had some busy work starting engines and a good amount of switching moving to do. Numbers were all round as far as memorizing. I remember being able to squeak it on the deck pretty easily, but it's been 6 years. Climbed like a dog above 250. Once you leveled out it was faster than the 145.

145: Getting used to the yoke in a crosswind took some time, but the approach picture was similar to a PA-44. Embraer logic is cold and dark. so if you look up and the switches are all up and no lights can be seen things are working. When things did go wrong the old acronym of "Every Mechanical Breakdown Requires An Electrical Reset" takes over. The wing on this girl was pretty solid. I always called it a trainer jet. Would get up to FL370 at 1000 FPM and still have a decent margin above stall. You manually control most systems still but engine starting is much easier with the fadec than the CRJ. You can kick the AP off, chop and drop and get stabilized by 1000 AGL pretty easily.

170: (Just switched to this so I'm still learning, but this is what I got so far) This is more of a challenge to hand fly. Very ruddery and squirrly in gusty winds, especially with the AT on. There's actually a coffin corner on this plane, though not as tight as I saw sitting up front with UPS on the MD-11. Almost no switching moving. Engine start is more monitoring than anything. You can tell this plane was built to be more "mainline like". I got lucky that I flew two types before I got over here so I'm not rediculously behind the plane. You can't use the same 145 tricks in this one. Lower flap speeds for extension. Still getting the hang of it but if you are computer automation savvy you'll like it. Just don't be afraid to turn off the automation and fly it if you don't like what you see. Talk to me in 200 hours or so and I'll have a better idea.

Cruz5350

Beech 1900: Not much to be said it's a big King Air.

Saab 340: Pretty decent plane and the one I have most of my time in. Like most turbo props I felt it was a little squirrly on landing once the props were pushed up other wise it was a decent hand flying plane. Above 10K it was a dog in the summer. Air conditioning was non existent and the packs at least on our planes were garbage and smelled terrible at times. Whoever thought it was a good idea to run the FO's vent under the lav should be kicked in the head. I felt like this plane had the best AP and YD combo out of any I've flown and the ice it could carry was impressive. Overall a great transition for me and I do miss flying it.

Dash 8 (Q400): Any one that knows me knows this plane was my baby! Every time I see one it brings back memories. By far the best hand flying plane I've ever flown, but with one caveat.... The YD/AP was non existent for yaw. It's no joke that the rudder trim was the most worn knob in the whole cockpit. Any pitch or power change needed constant rudder/trim input, but other than that it was a beast. Way over powered and had no problems climbing to FL250. I felt like the landings in it were super easy and at QX we landed with Reduced Prop RPM so no squirrly action on final although there was a couple times we did land with the props forward and it wasn't as bad as the Saab or 1900. Kinda weird when you'd go flaps 35 and there was a lot of what I would call buffet in the yoke. Cat III landings with some captains could be hairy as there wasn't much room for pitch on landing before a tail strike, but for the most part it was a non event. It wasn't the best design for heating and cooling especially up front, my feet would never warm up and yet the cabin is on fire. Avionics wise this plane had the best screens good clean picture on the LCD rather than CRT on everything else. Overhead panel was a hot mess and there was a host of other things that didn't need to be on the plane if it wasn't for the idea to keep it a common type. Otherwise though it was a great plane I really liked it and wish some days I never left.

CRJ 200,700,900: I can't say much as it's my first jet and I have very little time in it, but it's not too bad. 200 is so odd to land as others have said, crosswinds can be annoying on it so in that regard I prefer the 7/9. It is a dog in climbs especially with any sort of anti ice on. I really don't like how it hand fly's to me it doesn't seem stable at all. 200 rolls way to fast and it seems like all 3 are not stable in pitch. I find myself only hand flying if I know I won't spend much time straight and level. Collins FMS is decent except 9/10 keyboards suck aaannnnddddd yyyoouuu get messages like that. I think like most people I prefer getting a 7/9 trips from start to finish the whole experience is better than the 200.

griff312

LOL! I HATE that finicky FMS key pad! I LOVE the 700 though. It's built like a tank, Great thrust to weight ratio, and is a performance beast! You can load it pretty heavy, fly to FL410 and cruise at .83M. I have only been weight restricted ONCE, and that was departing DEN on a hot day, with a full load of fuel for a long flight. It's very quiet compared to the EMB140/145. I will agree about it's pitch and roll instability. I hand flew a 1 1/2 hr leg with an MEL'd autopilot, and no matter how well you have it trimmed, after a minute or so, it starts to wonder, with that super critical wing. So, hands on pretty much the whole time. The only things I can think of that the EMB has that I wish the CR7 had, are elec adjustable seats, and better window shades.

mojo6911

Yeah, well I'm a KA350 CA for a 135 and make double what a GLA guy driving a 1900 gets and about what a E-145 CA gets at Republic and I am kind of on the low side of pay. 121 guys get a lot better schedule and QOL than what I get. It's not all about the money.

I would take a pay cut to go to a regional, but about 50k would be the lowest I would accept.

OnCenterline

ALL....THE....TIME!

To answer your question about how far we'd go to avoid the weather, it just would depend. The CRJ has a lousy radar, unless there is a lot of weather to see. The one thing about the Brasilia that I always pined for was the radar. It was great.

20 miles was "company minimum," but that was on paper. You quickly learn that in the summer, if you try to stick to that, you aren't going very far.

As to the complaints about the pitch attitude on landing, I liked it. Having to actually flare the plane was part of its charm.

One other thing about the -200 is that it makes great crosswind landings, and it makes them fun.

One fellow didn't like the start process on the -200, but I didn't think it was that bad, and it's actually less "busy" than the 737. The start on the Brasilia (at least at my airline) almost required a 3rd hand.

RJ's are like any other category of plane. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and for some planes, there is either great love or hatred. Some are just quirky. In the end, the decision on what to buy is made based on data and quantitative analysis that we as pilots never get to see. Sometimes political considerations are involved. But with any new plane, there is a risk that it will under-perform in some capacity, be it fuel burn, loads, MX reliability, T/O and LDG distance, etc.

BoilerUP

You thought the CRJ had a lousy radar, but loved the smaller dish in the Brasilia?

I never once had any issue with the CRJ radar. It wasn't really great beyond 80nm or so, but inside that it worked great (especially if the user could use tilt and gain to improve the image).

Cruz5350

It seems ok but like anything it all depends on the user. I've noticed at least at SKW nobody plays with the gain.

jumppilot71

I noticed you didn't mention the jumpseat in an erj 145. It makes the crj jump feel like you're in an airbus.

jumppilot71

How many days have you worked for skywest? Most people I fly with use the gain.

kfahmi

Great responses and discussion. (It's kinda refreshing to read a thread about something other than management/ unions/ downgrades/ base closures/ denied jumpseats, dontcha think?)

And here I thought that my days of sweating it out trying to dodge T-storms in the low flight levels were over If there's one thing I hate about flying, it's thunderstorms. Give me a nice OVC002 VIS1/2SM any day of the week. That's fun. Thunderstorms? Not so much.