I’ve searched everywhere for a topic solely on the Dash 8 family, but only found feature requests. If this is a duplicate, please tell me!
Let’s talk about the Dash-8.
Full Dash 8 info here!
“The Bombardier Dash 8 or Q-Series, previously known as the de Havilland Canada Dash 8 or DHC-8, is a series of twin-engine, medium-range, turboprop airliners. Introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984, they are now produced by Bombardier Aerospace. Over 1,000 Dash 8s of all models have been built.” - Wikipedia
The Q400 was modelled after the Dash-7, an aircraft capable of steep descents and short runway landing and takeoff capabilities. There are four MAIN series of Dash-8s:
- Dash-8-100
- Dash-8-200
- Dash-8-300
- Dash-8-400
Each variant came with different upgrades to the aircraft, most notably the cabin length changes and the landing gear design (-400). However, the -200 has the same airframe as the -100, but this aircraft was fitted with the more powerful Pratt & Whitney PW123s. Below are the photos of each aircraft, but they aren’t in order. These photos do NOT belong to me, but I’ve sourced them from google. See if you can work out which plane is which!
Want to know which airlines operate the Dash series? Go and click the text below this:
List of Dash-8 operators.
Here are some general specs of the aircraft: (again, not my image, but this is sourced from Wikipedia)
But why was the Dash-8 created in the first place?
Sources are all from: Wikipedia
”In the 1970s, de Havilland Canada had invested heavily in its Dash 7 project, concentrating on STOL and short-field performance, the company’s traditional area of expertise. Using four medium-power engines with large four-bladed propellers resulted in comparatively lower noise levels, which combined with its excellent STOL characteristics, made the Dash 7 suitable for operating from small in-city airports, a market DHC felt would be compelling. However, only a handful of air carriers employed the Dash 7, as most regional airlines were more interested in operational costs than short-field performance.”
”In 1980, de Havilland responded by dropping the short-field performance requirement and adapting the basic Dash 7 layout to use only two, more powerful engines. Its favoured engine supplier, Pratt & Whitney Canada, developed the new PW100 series engines for the role, more than doubling the power from its PT6. Originally designated the PT7A-2R engine, it later became the PW120. When the Dash 8 rolled out on April 19, 1983, more than 3,800 hours of testing had been accumulated over two years on five PW100 series test engines. Certification of the PW120 followed in late 1983.”
Let’s show some love for the mighty Dash-8 on Infinite Flight!
The developers have worked so hard to make the Dash-8 such a beast to fly, and I thank them everyday for all their efforts put into this plane. Personally, it’s one of my favourite aircrafts to fly on IF, as it’s just so elegant and satisfying to control.
Hopefully, after this post, you’ll know more about the Dash-8 and fly it more often. Thank you!
