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Originally Posted by captainphil  whats it like flying one those who fly it and I was just curious ,what is the point of prop feather, does it cut fuel costs? |
I fly the Dash 8. It's an amazing aircraft. It does what you want it to do. You can make this airplane your bitch with speed changes. 140 knots until short final and watch it slow down to Vref of 98 (or whatever the speed card says for the given weight). Vref is as low as 81 knots at 35 degrees flaps and light weight. How's that for a large turboprop? ATC knows what the Dash 8 can do, so they make some crazy requests, like in PHL.
The cockpit is nice and roomy. The airplane is pretty reliable. The flight controls are somewhat heavy. The A/C system sucks. It's difficult to get a smooth landing out of it (but that's because it's the Dash). It does great in crosswind landings. It can take on a lot of ice. It is a blast to hand-fly.
On landing I rarely use the brakes unless we really want to make a taxiway. When those 14 foot diameter props go into Discing, the props turn into "parachutes" and is enough to throw your body into the shoulder harness. We'll take the Dash 8 in on RWY 33R in Boston with a decent load of pax - you know how long that runway is? 2557 feet.
What do you mean by "what is the point of prop feather?"
Edit: I think you are asking "why do we feather a prop" - it was just answered in the post above.
Is it a fuel efficient airplane? Yes! The Dash 8 Q400 only needs a 33% load capacity to break even. That's pretty cool.