flybe, ncl-lgw….

matty

I fly the Q400 for Flybe. A few things about the route & Q400.

The block time quoted to you is the time off blocks (push back) to on blocks (on stand), airbourne time will vary dependent on wind direction/strength.
I have just flown the NCL-LGW-NCL route on Sunday and on the way down it took us 1hr 10 minutes airbourne, and 1hr 25 minutes block time (brakes off to brakes on)….

Top reply Dean!

I used to fly from Birmingham to Edinburgh every weekend and can vouch for everything said. I thought the Q400 was quieter, more comfortable and just far nicer to fly in the the likes of bmi Baby’s 737’s or BA’s 320’s.

Aircraft aside, I think flybe is a top airline. Very rarely was I delayed, the cabin crew were by far the most polite and overall just a great airline.

I also read a great article in Aircraft Illustrated, not sure if you read it Dean? Anyway, in it they talked about having to charter an ATR72 to operate on the Southampton to Dusseldorf route, it had to be taken off three days later as it was 35 minutes slower each leg than the Q400. Where do they get the speed from on the Q400!

If you haven’t read it Dean, give me a shout and I’ll scan it in and send it to you 🙂

Hi Matty

I have flown out of Newcastle for just over 3 years for Jet2, and up until last year we had flown this route albeit on a 737-300.

I have recently flown down to Gatwick on the Flybe Dash, and all i can recommend is sit at the front. In the middle you get 90 minutes of wow wow wow wwwoooow(the props) and behind the same except with added engine noise aswell.

We used to generally fly at FL330 but FL350/FL370 wasn’t unexpected. Our flight time averaged 1 hour.

The arrival is Willo3B with a Willo transition The transition links the arrival to the approach and ILS, with a hold at Willo. This is just north of Brighton. Our route was Leeds/Manchester/ south about 30 miles then a left turn heading 165 degrees. We then started decending over the Birmingham area to eventualy arrive at FL150 at Kidli(Kidlington) Oxford. Then it was straight and level to Midhurst(which is miles away from Midhurst) then a left turn towards Holly and the Willo. More than once i read back “descend FL080 and Hollo Willy” as opposed to Holly Willo!

Enjoy your trip and if you get to visit the museum at the end of 26L do so.

Thats great, I can get the stereotypical view of loads of noise, vibration, cramped seats and being stuck in there for ages out of my head now! I’m actually quite looking forward to the experience and a couple of nights on the beautiful south coast is a bonus!:D

Hello Matty

I flew on a flyBe DHC-8-400 a few weeks ago from Edinburgh to Cardiff.

I was sat close to the wing, and therefore the engine and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of noise – it compared very well to the 300 series I flew on a few years ago, was much much quieter than the ATR-72 I flew, and felt not a lot different to the flyBe Emb-145 I flew on a few weeks previous.

I found out that the aircraft I flew on was one of the older one’s in the fleet, but despite this, the cabin was well turned out.

Overall a positive flying experience.

Hi Matty, and welcome to the forum. What took you so long to join up?

Those that know me on here know that I love flying on a prop aircraft, it makes a change as I work on jets.

I have flown on BE Q400’s quite a few times now and really like them. Quiet, smooth, spacious and bright. You’ll have great time, and who knows you may have our own Deano at the controls. What brings you down to LGW?

1L.

Thanks for the welcome. I’ve never really had anything significant to talk about regarding aviation, thats the main reason for not posting for so long plus you guys seem really clued up on the subject and I’m not. haha!
I found the forum after I booked the honeymoon to the maldives a year gone december and wanted to know a bit about the a/c we would be travelling on to paradise.I fully intended on doing a trip report with a bit info and a few snaps but it was our honeymoon we were going on plus I was as hyper as a small child on smarties getting on the aircraft, fiddling with the IFE, looking out the window whilst flying over the middle east to see if I could spot the palm tree and basically it all went out the winodow!
You guys seem like a good bunch of people so I think I’ll try and get a bit clued up and see if I can think of some interesting subjects to post up.

edit. going to Brighton for my big bro’s wedding middle of june.

I fly DUB-LPL on a fairly regular basis (25 minutes airborne if the wind is behind you) and I think the aircraft normally cruises at approx 17,000 feet – for all of a couple of minutes before descent – no more turbulence than any other average flight and the Irish Sea isn’t especially renowned for it’s clement weather.

Hi Matty, and welcome to the forum. What took you so long to join up?

Those that know me on here know that I love flying on a prop aircraft, it makes a change as I work on jets.

I have flown on BE Q400’s quite a few times now and really like them. Quiet, smooth, spacious and bright. You’ll have great time, and who knows you may have our own Deano at the controls. What brings you down to LGW?

1L.

No worries at all, anything else feel free to post/PM

wow. i knew this place was helpful but i didn’t expect to get a first hand reply like that! excellent information, thanks deano!:)

matty

I fly the Q400 for Flybe. A few things about the route & Q400.

The block time quoted to you is the time off blocks (push back) to on blocks (on stand), airbourne time will vary dependent on wind direction/strength.
I have just flown the NCL-LGW-NCL route on Sunday and on the way down it took us 1hr 10 minutes airbourne, and 1hr 25 minutes block time (brakes off to brakes on).
On the way back it took 1hr 2 minutes airbourne time and 1hr 20 minutes block time. This did include waiting at the holding point for an extra 5 minutes.

So 1½ hrs airbourne would indeed be a long time, but it’s more like an hr to an hr & 5 minutes on a normal day.

As for the Q400, we cruise at 25,000ft on that route, and at that altitude we out-perform jets, so the Q400 is not a slow turboprop by any stretch. We have a speed of about 410mph at that altitude, and that is just still air speeds.

As for turbulence, it’s the same in any aircraft really. We had a really rough ride on Sunday, but so did the jets. They were all asking for different levels to fly at to avoid the bumps, end of the day you can’t factor for the weather. Most days it’s smooth, but the odd day it’s bumpy. In June you’ll be dodging Cbs in the cruise as opposed to worrying about the bumps.
The seat pitch is surprisingly ok, there’s more room than you first imagine.

Anything else I can help you with post here or PM me.

Dean

I’m not sure whether they fly lower on that route than the jets would – The type’s standard maximum operating altitude is 25,000 but I very much doubt a jet would fly any higher than that on such a short route!

I flew on a FlyBe Q400 a couple of years ago. Having never been on a prop before I expected it to be quite “bumpy” but it really wasn’t! One of the most comfortable flights i’ve ever been on, and the high wing allows for some nice views, without a wing in the way!