De Havilland Canada Dash 8
Horizon Air
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De Havilland Canada Dash 8
Scandinavian Airlines - SAS
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De Havilland Canada Dash 8
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De Havilland Canada Dash 8
The de Havilland Canada DHC-8, popularly the Dash 8, is a series of twin-turboprop
airliners designed by de Havilland Canada in the early 1980s. They are now made
by Bombardier Aerospace which purchased DHC from Boeing in 1992. Since 1996
the aircraft have been known as the Q Series turboprops, due to new engines
that are quieter.
The Dash 8 was the first of several new, efficient turboprop airliners
developed during the 1980s. De Havilland Canada initiated development in
it 1980 as a replacement for the earlier four-engined Dash 7 turboprop airliner.
First flight was in 1983, and the plane entered service in 1984.
All Dash 8s delivered from the second quarter of 1996 (including all series
400s) include an active Noise and Vibration Suppression (NVS) system designed
to reduce cabin noise and vibration levels to near those of jet airliners.
To emphasize their quietness, Bombardier has renamed the Dash 8 models as the
Q Series turboprops (Q100, Q200, Q300, and Q400).
Variants
There are several variants of the Dash 8.
Series 100: Original 37-40 passenger version that entered service in 1984
Series 200: Series 100 airframe with more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123
engines for improved performance
Series 300: Stretched 3.4m over the Series 100/200, a 50-56 passenger version
that entered service in 1989.
Series 400: Stretched and improved 70-78 passenger version that entered service
in 2000. 360kt cruise speed is 75kt higher than its predecessors. Powered by
PW150A engines rated at 5,000shp at maximum power. Maximum operating altitude
is 25,000 ft.
Other Applications
Two pre-owned Q400s, acquired from Scandinavian Airlines System, were modified
by Cascade Aerospace of Abbotsford, British Columbia, for France's Sécurité Civile
to act as fire-fighting water bombers in fire season and as transport aircraft
off season. The Q400 Airtanker can drop 10,000L (24,000lb) in this role compared
to Bombardier's CL-415 dedicated water bomber which can drop 6,140L. The latter,
however, is amphibious and requires less infrastructure.
Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Montana, have acquired a Q300 as a prototype for
future Q200/Q300 water bombers to replace current P2V aircraft.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "De Havilland Canada Dash 8".
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