De Havilland Canada Dash 8
- "Dash 8" is also a series of diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives
The de Havilland Canada DHC-8, popularly the Dash 8, is a series of twin-turboprop airliners designed by de Havilland Canada in the early 1980s. They are now made by Bombardier Aerospace which purchased DHC from Boeing in 1992. Since 1996 the aircraft have been known as the Q Series, for "quiet", due to installation of the Active Noise and Vibration Suppression (ANVS) system designed to reduce cabin noise and vibration levels to near those of jet airliners.
Development
De Havilland Canada had invested heavily in their Dash 7 project in the 1970s, creating what was essentially a larger four-engine version of their De Havilland Twin Otter (or DASH 6), concentrating on excellent STOL and short-field performance, their traditional area of expertise. However the DASH 7 found only a handful of operators, as most regional airlines were interested primarily in operational costs, as opposed to short-field performance.
De Havilland responded in 1980 by dropping the short-field performance requirement, and adapting the basic DASH 7 layout to be propelled by only two engines that produced more power. Their traditional engine supplier, Pratt & Whitney Canada, developed the new PW100 series engines for the role, more than doubling the power from their PT6.
Notable features of the Dash 8 design are the large T-tail intended to keep the tail free of propwash during takeoff, a very high aspect ratio wing, the elongated engine nacelles also holding the rearward-folding landing gear, and the pointed nose profile. First flight was on June 20 1983, and the plane entered service in 1984 with NorOntair. Piedmont Airlines (formerly Henson Airlines) was the US launch customer for the Dash 8 in 1984.
The Dash 8 design had better cruise performance than the earlier Dash 7, but was less expensive to operate, and more notably, much less expensive to maintain. The Dash 8 had the lowest costs per passenger mile of any feederliner of the era. The only disadvantage compared to the earlier Dash 7 was somewhat higher noise levels, but only in comparison as the Dash 7 was notable in the industry for extremely low noise due to its four very large and slow-turning propellers.
Market timing
The design was being introduced at a particularly advantageous time; most airlines were in the process of adding new aircraft to their fleet as the airline industry expanded greatly in the 1980s, and with the older generation of feederliners from the 1950s and 60s ready for retirement. De Havilland was unable to keep up with the demand. In 1988 Boeing bought the company, both in order to improve production at De Havilland's Downsview Airport plants, as well as to better compete for a new Air Canada order for large intercontinental airliners. Air Canada was a crown corporation at the time, both Boeing and Airbus were competing heavily via political channels for the contract. It was eventually won by Airbus, who received an order for 34 aircraft in a highly controversial move with allegations of bribery in what is today known as the Airbus affair. Boeing immediately put De Havilland up for sale, although it was several years before it was puchased by Bombardier in 1992, cash flush after the success of the Canadair Regional Jet.
The demand was so great that a new company was formed in France specifically to compete with the Dash 8. The resulting ATR 42 was even less expensive than the Dash 8, but De Havilland responded with newer models to close the gap. In the late 1980s the ATR suffered a series of icing related crashes that seriously affected its reputation, and although it appears De Havilland was consulted on fixing the problem, ATRs were never again a major competitor. Other companies competed with smaller or more tailored designs, like the Saab 340, but these were introduced at a time when the market was already starting to saturate.
Regional jet competition
The introduction of the Regional Jet altered the sales picture. Although somewhat more expensive than aircraft like the Dash 8, their longer range and higher speeds allows them to operate on routes that passengers would not fly on a turboprop. Sales of all turboprop feederliners ended almost overnight.
When the market for new aircraft to replace existing turboprops once again grew in the mid-90s, De Havilland once again responded with the introduction of the "Series 400" design. By this point Bombardier had purchased the company, and in an effort to use a single brand the De Havilland name was dropped and the aircraft became the Bombardier Q400. Although the market does not appear to be as robust as in the 1980s when the first Dash 8's were introduced, the Q400 is proving popular due to its higher cruising speeds, which makes it less disadvantaged against the regional jets, while continuing with ever-lowering operational costs. The aircraft breaks even with about 1/3rd of its seats filled (or 1/4 in a tighter arrangement), making it particularly attractive on routes with varying passenger loadings where some flights will be largely empty.
All Dash 8s delivered from the second quarter of 1996 (including all Series 400s) include an active Noise and Vibration Suppression (NVS) system designed to reduce cabin noise and vibration levels to near those of jet airliners. To emphasize their quietness, Bombardier has renamed the Dash 8 models as the Q Series turboprops (Q100, Q200, Q300, and Q400).
Bombardier has singled out the Q400 for more aggressive marketing, launching a website [1] centred around the aircraft.
Variants
There are several variants of the Dash 8.
- Series 100: Original 37–40 passenger version that entered service in 1984.
- Dash 8M-100 : Two aircraft for the Canadian Department of Transport.
- Series 200: Series 100 airframe with more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123 engines for improved performance
- Series 300: Stretched 3.4 m (11 ft) over the Series 100/200, a 50–56 passenger version that entered service in 1989.
- Series 300A : Version of the Series 300 with increased payload.
- Series 400: Stretched and improved 70–78 passenger version that entered service in 2000. Its 360 kt (670 km/h) cruise speed is 75 kt (140 km/h) higher than its predecessors. Powered by PW150A engines rated at 5,000 shp (3.7 MW) at maximum power. Maximum operating altitude is 25,000 ft (7,600 m).
- CC-142 : Military transport version for the Canadian Armed Forces in Europe.
- CT-142 : Military navigation training version for the Canadian Armed Forces.
- E-9A : Two aircraft for the US Air Force.
Current Operators
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- Series 100 Air Canada Jazz, Air Crebeec, Air Inuit, Arctic Sunwest, Aires Colombia, Caribbean Star Airlines, Caribbean Sun, Island Air, LIAT, Mesa Airlines, Olympic Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, QantasLink, Skippers Aviation, Tobago Express, Widerøe, National Jet Systems, US Airways
- Series 200 Mesa Airlines, Euromanx, Horizon Air, Rwandair Express, Piedmont Airlines, Surveillance Australia, National Jet Systems
- Series 300 Bahamasair (Launch Customer), Air Canada Jazz, Air New Zealand, Air Nostrum, Air Southwest, All Nippon Airways, Augsburg Airways, Austrian Arrows, BA Connect, Denim Air, Euromanx, Flybaboo, Piedmont Airlines, QantasLink, National Jet Systems, Voyageur Airways, South African Express, Widerøe
- Series 400 All Nippon Airways, Augsburg Airways, Austrian Arrows, flybe, Hainan Airlines, Horizon Air, Japan Air Commuter, Island Air, QantasLink, Royal Jordanian, Royal Wings Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines System, South African Express, Widerøe
- In February of 2006 it was announced that REGCO Holdings Inc. had purchased 10 70-seater turboprops to service the Toronto Island Airport.
Military Operators
- Canada, Kenya Air Force, United States.
Other Applications
Two used Q400s, acquired from Scandinavian Airlines System, were modified by Cascade Aerospace of Abbotsford, British Columbia for France's Sécurité Civile as fire-fighting water bombers in fire season and as transport aircraft off season. The Q400 Airtanker can drop 10,000 L (22,000 lb) of water in this role compared to Bombardier's CL-415 dedicated water bomber which can drop 6,140 L. The latter, however, is amphibious and requires less infrastructure.
Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Montana have acquired a Q300 as a prototype for future Q200/Q300 water bombers to replace current P2V aircraft.
Specifications (Q400)
Data from manufacturer’s website[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 68-78 passengers, depending on configuration
Performance
References
- ^ "Specifications". Q400.com. Retrieved 2006-03-06.
External links
Related content
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era