So commercial airlines still use planes with propellors

[eflat]

really i was shocked when i found myself flying in one a few days ago.

if anyone is claustrophobic (i am!), i highly recommend you fly in one to either get over your fear or give yourself a nervous breakdown.

i myself took so much xanax that they practically had to escort me off the plane

still not sure how i found my way home that afternoon..

 

[Ronstang]

You must have found your way onto one of those commuter planes. They use turboprop engines and your worries are completely unfounded as they have a better track record regarding accidents than the jet planes do, according to a pilot friend of mine who used to fly them.

 

[Squeeken]

They are smaller, but if it makes you feel any better, many of the turboprop aircraft being flown by the regional airlines are newer and more advanced than most of the MD80s and early model 737s that the major airlines still fly today.

 

[ironcrotch]

I like flying in smaller turbo prop planes. Horizon Air flys many of those... much cooler than those jet things. :disgust:

 

[thelanx]

They are loud though, at least the one I was in.

 

[loic2003]

Turboprop, chief.....

Edit: Having said that, I regularly go on These trislanders. They are proper piston/prop aircraft still used to server the public. They have to be loaded up in a ceertain way otherwise the plane will tip up on it's tail!

Noisy, but great fun!

 

[Squeeken]

Bring your mp3 player or your Bose noise canceling headphones and its all good.

 

[interwebgeek]

I flew in one a while ago, was flying from Switzerland, it was a small commercial plane, nice ride. Bit loud though.

 

[Lord Evermore]

I've flown twice on turboprops, and they weren't exactly "commuter" distances. Going from like Chicago to Boston or DC to Boston on a prop plane is awful.

They're slower, louder, and more uncomfortable. They don't even have space for carry-on luggage. During one trip, there weren't many people on the plane so before we could take off, the stewardess had to come down and judge everybody's weights and ask if there were people willing to move to the front of the plane. I nearly got off right there.

I wish they'd make it clearer what type of plane you'll be on when you're buying tickets online. It's almost unethical to be selling people tickets and then cramming them onto those piece of crap machines. The tickets certainly weren't any cheaper (obviously I was buying coach class tickets but this is beyond coach class comfort).

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: ironcrotch
I like flying in smaller turbo prop planes. Horizon Air flys many of those... much cooler than those jet things. :disgust:

it really wasn't that bad. i think i actually like them better than the big jets. i can just stomach the idea of a small plane flying better than those beasts i'm used to.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: Squeeken
Bring your mp3 player or your Bose noise canceling headphones and its all good.

i had an iPod w/ a Bithead amp powering some HD600's and earplugs.

I couldn't hear the engine but my neighbor enjoyed the music

 

[The Stigenator]

first off prop plans are NOT slow.. depending on the plane, it can hit 400mph in a turbo prop!
the dassult Dash8 is very popular as well as the bomberider one.. i like turbo props, soemday i will own one.. for my own personal use.

 

[Eli]

Hmm.. I know my girlfriend flew on a smaller plane when she flew to AZ, I'll have to ask if it was a turboprop.

 

[Mickey Eye]

I flew around Canada in various Dash 8s last month, good ride, not so noisy and plenty of space. The Fokker I took to northern Norway was a little less comfortable... and I was eye line with the prop.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: Eli
Hmm.. I know my girlfriend flew on a smaller plane when she flew to AZ, I'll have to ask if it was a turboprop.

really i wonder if she was the cute girl i was flirting with on my way over

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: Eli
Hmm.. I know my girlfriend flew on a smaller plane when she flew to AZ, I'll have to ask if it was a turboprop.

really i wonder if she was the cute girl i was flirting with on my way over

but before you try to kill me i was flying to sf

there was a girl on the plane though. and there was one empty seat on the whole plane and it was next to her. so i'm sitting there looking forward to a great flight and then this old man comes in and insisted on sitting in his "assigned seat" and i got stuck alone by the emergency door.

on the bright side i would have been the first one out if we crashed and somehow managed to get out of the mangled mess that would have resulted through that little door.. right.

 

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
first off prop plans are NOT slow.. depending on the plane, it can hit 400mph in a turbo prop!
the dassult Dash8 is very popular as well as the bomberider one.. i like turbo props, soemday i will own one.. for my own personal use.

they'll go faster than that. Tu-95 does 550MPH iirc.

thats kind of a different beast than a commuter plane though

 

[rudder]

Pure jet engines suck up a lot of gas at slow speed and low altitude. So it makes sense to use turboprops on shorter routes. These are also jet engines, they jusy have a propeller geared to the engine which improves the low altitude/slow speed efficiency. Very reliable.

 

[Leper Messiah]

Gulfstream for the win.

 

[Kipper]

I rode a commercial airflight on a single-engine plane from Kauai to Maui...

 

[AMCRambler]

Never flew on a turbo prop. I've flown on an MD80 and that was pretty damn small for how many people they packed into it. Only prop jobs I've flown are the Cessnas from my pops flying club.

 

[Kelemvor]

They normally only use them for short distances. We flew from WI to CO a number of years ago and had a normal jet. Then when we went from Denver to Colorado Springs it was in a puddle jumper prop plane.

 

[Squeeken]

Lord Evermore,

Your flight attendant wasn't trying to guess your weight; everyone weighs the same on a commercial airliner, even a turboprop. Standard weights are used for all passengers (unless more than half of the passengers are obviously so far off the standard weight range that safety dictates actual weights should be used). The standard passenger weight during the summer months is 190 lbs. and during the winter months its 195 ibs. The reason it changes is because that weight also includes your carry on luggage and passengers pack heavier in the winter months.

The reason you were asked to change seats is because the weight of the aircraft has to be centered within a certain area. If the plane is light and all the passengers are sitting in the front or in the back then sometimes the pitot will ask the flight attendant to move some of the people forward or backward in order to bring the aircrafts centered weight back to within limits. It's much faster to move a couple people than to unload and reload the cargo.

 

Everyone loves the puddlejumpers.

 

[Squeeken]

I'm sure you meant that in a good way.