What is the trade off?

Eagle

New Member
I do a lot of flying in the northeast and hear the 1900s/J-31S(41?) saabs in and out of places like ALB, ABE and BUR etc.

The legs on these flights are maybe 80 miles.

What would the expected altitude be on the short legs like that?

And what about the RJs for real short legs what it the trade off, when is the leg far enough that you can go high enough to warrent a RJ vs Turbo prob. (I am thinking fuel burn and $ per seat/mile)
 
I wonder about the cost as well. Mesaba flies the Saab from KMSP-KSTC whic cant be more than 60 miles. I cannot imagine that the plane ever gets very full.
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Peidmont flies the Dash 8 at 8,000 b/t SBY and PHL, about a 90 mile trip. And the same altitude to BWI and DCA (I think they stopped flying that route tho).
 
A rule of thumb we used to use for altitude planning when I flew charter and was flying both Turbo-Props and Turbo-Jets was:

Turbo-Prop: take your trip distance and add 2 zeros to the end. Exp: 120 NM, you would fly at 12,000 ft (direction permitting)

Turbo-Jet: take your trip distance, add 2 zeros to the end and add 5,000 ft. Exp: 260 NM, you would fly at FL310 (direction permitting)
 
Well, I know when we fly from CMH to CVG in an MD-88, we're filed at 8,000 but we usually get clearance to 10,000 so we can kick it up a notch. I'm not sure how far that is at all.

I think my lowest altitude in cruise was about 6,000, but then it sucks because you're more or less doing 'tower enroute control' and there's a bazillion GA aircraft cluttering the TCAS that you've got to look out for on the weekends.
 
I've always wondered how an MD-80 could be profitable between MGM and ATL.....Montgomery is pretty small. I'm probably related to 50% of the people there!!!!
 
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Well, I know when we fly from CMH to CVG in an MD-88, we're filed at 8,000 but we usually get clearance to 10,000 so we can kick it up a notch. I'm not sure how far that is at all.


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Somebody's been watching the Food Network!
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Anyhow, I fly between Morgantown and PIT a bit on USAir's B1900s and those flights are normally done between 6000 and 12000 feet, depending on the weather, the direction and plenty of other stuff I have no clue about.

Ethan
 
The Food Network rocks.

Alton Brown ("Good Eats") is my culinary hero; but Emeril is a buffoon.
 
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The Food Network rocks.

Alton Brown ("Good Eats") is my culinary hero; but Emeril is a buffoon.

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Alton Brown is awesome, but I get dangerous because I find myself in the kitchen trying to mirror him and cobine science and cuisine. Very dangerous, people.....

So, there I was at 3 this morning, watching Good Eats, and suddenly wanting prime rib.....I've gotta stop watching that show!
 
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I wonder about the cost as well. Mesaba flies the Saab from KMSP-KSTC whic cant be more than 60 miles. I cannot imagine that the plane ever gets very full.
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Well, actually, it's 62 miles--I take that flight a few times per year and last time I took it (in September) they were asking for volunteers. Sometimes its very full and others loads are sparce. Anyway, it's generally not the loads, but yields that determine a route's profitability. NW flies DC-9s from Detroit to Flint, which is 54 miles and I'd guess that if they could make more money flying a smaller plane (or a larger one) that's what they'd do.
 
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I've always wondered how an MD-80 could be profitable between MGM and ATL.....Montgomery is pretty small. I'm probably related to 50% of the people there!!!!

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Apparently DL wondered the same thing as there is no longer MD88 service between MGM and ATL. Biggest thing DL flies into MGM now is the CRJ700.
 
i ride the mesaba Saab 340 between Memphis and Tupelo, MS everytime i go home. I think it is about 88 miles. Even if it is a hundred bucks more, it is still worth it. Driving to Memphis International is about an hour and a half each way (100 miles).
 
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Quote:
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USAIR flies 737's from GSO to CLT a 72.2 nm hop.


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USAIR is broke, too....

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They've been using a 73 for that route for many years. The funny thing is, I've never been on that flight when it hasn't been completely packed. Even post 9/11. I'm assuming it's cheaper to fly only one trip on the 737 VS 2 RJ's.
 
In our Saab 340s we do MDW-MKE which is around 95 miles and MDW-SBN which is very close to 95 miles as well. Going to MKE from MDW, we will fly at 7000 feet. Coming back, we fly at 4000 feet. Both directions to and from South Bend, we fly at 5000 feet. I normally hand fly these entire flights since they are only about 20-25 minutes in duration (wheels up to wheels down).
 
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In our Saab 340s we do MDW-MKE which is around 95 miles and MDW-SBN which is very close to 95 miles as well. Going to MKE from MDW, we will fly at 7000 feet. Coming back, we fly at 4000 feet. Both directions to and from South Bend, we fly at 5000 feet. I normally hand fly these entire flights since they are only about 20-25 minutes in duration (wheels up to wheels down).

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Hey, cool--I'll bet I've seen you flying out over the lakefront going north. I almost always see a ChiExpress Saab on a clear day while I'm walking the dog on the beach!

Next time you pass by the pink hotel thing, look down, I'll be the dot on the beach with the smaller dot next to it.
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Skyway used to do the MDW-MKE flights for a short period of time.

We'd normally spend more time sightseeing than actually flying the aircraft!
 
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