Question on Horizon Air Turbo Prop Planes
 

My family and I will be connecting to Horizon Airlines in Seattle in order to fly into Vancouver. I understand Horizon uses the De Havilland Dash 8-300 prop planes. Has anyone flown on these aircraft and how is the ride? Is it fairly comfortable? The flight is less than an hour, but my wife is a bit apprehensive. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Oh man. One of those crash at least every week and the FAA won't do anything about it..............

I've flown those aircraft in the past-nothing remarkable about the plane in any way.

The most unique feature I remember was being able to notice how Seattle's smog cloud thinned out and then met Vancouver's smog cloud.

The ride is fine. I have flown on them many many times. It seems by the time you are up in the air it is time to prepare to land. The seats are a little cramped but not bad. They wheel out a cart for any large carryon cases and return it to you when you get off because there isn't a lot of room to stow it on board. Of course if you have a laptop or something you really want to keep with you it isn't a problem. I am sure your wife will be fine. They even offer a free drink including local beer or wine.

Jets and turboprops are both turbine engines...the difference is that with a turbojet the combustion gasses drive a propeller instead of a compressor. What kind of engine a plane has should have no place in a travel decision. I have flown (in) Horizon jets and turboprops and there is little or no difference.

I've flown on the Dash-8 many times, and while a bit cramped, it's fine for flights up to two hours or so.

I don't know what icithecat is talking about, unless it's a heavy-handed attempt at irony. The Dash-8 is one of the safest aircraft flying, and has been in service with many airlines around the world since 1983.

I appreciate all your replies. I just wanted some reassurance for my wife as she has only flown on jets. Your comments are most helpful and she feels better about it now.

To a pilot on a career path, turbine time is turbine time, whether the plane has propellers or not. All of Horizon's flights operate under Part 121 of the federal aviation regulations, so maintenance and crew qualifications/training are identical.

There are differences between turboprops like the Dash-8 and a turbofan "jet" like the CRJs, which have similar cabin size and made by the same company.

First, turboprops have lower speed and lower cruising altitudes. Because they don't fly as high, they are more suspectible to low-level turbulence. But for a short SEA-YVR flight, it makes little difference.

But here are some stats. I looked up some flight data for this route.

The Dash-8 usually spend an average of about 38 minutes in the air, and may spend about 5-7 minutes at its maximum altitude of 14,000ft.

Even a 737 that Alaska Air sometimes fly on this route, the maximum altitude is usually only 16,000ft.

The more noticeable difference is noise. They are significantly noisier than a RJ or a mainline jet.