Dash 8 Q400 To Be JAA-Certified
For London-City Airport Operations
Oh, that 5.5 approach looks steep! That's the first impression
pilots have when landing at London-City Airport (LCY), but it's
going to be routine for Dash 8-400Q pilots if Bombardier Aerospace
succeeds in its goal of obtaining LCY operational certification
for the 68- to 78-passenger turboprop. The JAA nod for London-City
ops would enable regional airline operators to fly between LCY
and such key business destinations as Budapest, Madrid, Rome,
Stockholm and Warsaw.
Q400 can depart LCY with all seats full and fly as far as 430
nmi. With partial payloads, it can reach airports as far as 800
nmi from London-City. Germany's Augsburg Airways and British European,
operators of the $19.6-million turboprop, both have expressed
interest in serving the airport, which is close to the UK capital's
business district.
Powered by twin PWC 5,071-shp engines, Q400 has a 360 knots maximum
cruise speed, making it the fastest turboprop airliner in production,
now that the Saab 2000 line has stopped. On typical missions,
though, Q400's block speed is 250 to 280 knots.
Bombardier's flight test personnel have completed 30 hours of
flight tests and have flown 130 steep approaches in preparation
for JAA certification. As a result of flight test, modifications
to the aircraft's avionics will be made and supplements will be
added to the approved flight manual. JAA certification is slated
for next month.
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