Bombardier Dash 8Q-400

Type (Muster)
Twin-turboprop regional airliner (Regionalverkehrsflugzeug)

Country (Land)
Canada (Kanada)

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Bombardier Regional Aircraft
Garrat Boulevard
Downsview, Ontario M3K 1Y5
Canada

Phone: 001-416/633-7310
Fax: 001-416/375-4540

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2 + 2 cabin attendants
Passengers (Passagiere): 68 to 78 in a four-abreast configuration with seat-pitch of 76 to 84 cm
Baggage volume (Gepäckraumvolumen): 14,22 cu m

Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A turboprops
Power (Leistung): 2 x 5071 shp (3778 kW) maximum, 3947 in continuous cruise
Propeller: Dowty model R408 six-bladed, reversible pitch, turning at 850 rpm in cruise. Diameter 4,11 m

Takeoff noise levels: 82 EPNdB (estimated)
Approach noise levels: 89 EPNdB (estimated)
Sideline noise levels: 84 EPNdB (estimated)

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 32,84 m
Height (Höhe): 8,34 m
Span (Spannweite): 28,42 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 63,08 sq m net
Fuselage diameter (Rumpfdurchmesser): 2,69 m

Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 18,80 m
Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 2,49 m at mid-height
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,95 m
Cabin floor area (Kabinenfläche): 43,6 sq m
Cabin volume (Kabinenvolumen): 77,6 cu m

Weights (Massen)
Standard operating weight (Einsatz-Leermasse): 17146 kg
Max. payload (max. Nutzlast): 8480 kg
Max. fuel (Max. Kraftstoff): 6707 litres
Max. zero-fuel weight (Max. Masse ohne Kraftstoff): 25628 kg
Max. take-off weight (Max. Startmasse): 28917 kg
Max. landing weight (Max. Landemasse): 27783 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. cruise speed (max. Reisegeschwindigkeit): 350 kts (648 km/h)
Climb (Steigrate): about 16 minutes to 25000 ft (7620 m)
Max. operating altitude (Dienstgipfelhöhe): 7620 m (25000 ft) or 8230 m (27000 ft) as an option
Single engine ceiling (Flughöhe mit einem Triebwerk): 20000 ft (6248 m) or 19000 ft (5790 m) for the hight gross weight
FAR take-off field length (Startstrecke über ein 15-m-Hindernis): 1350 m at sea level, ISA
FAR landing field length at max landing weight (Landestrecke): 1295 m at sea level
Max. range (Reichweite):
- 2400 km with 70 passengers
- 1625 km with 74 passengers
Crack fee live: 80000 flights / 40000 flight hours

Costs (Kosten)
The aircraft had a list price of 18,3 million US-Dollars in 1998.
Development cost was estimated at 420 million US-Dollars, of which about a third came from outside partners and vendors. Also, the Canadian Government provided a 57 million C$ reimbursable loan.

Customers (Kunden)
By December 1999, Bombardier had accumulated 125 orders and options for the Dash 8Q-400 including 61 firm aircraft orders. Known customers are as follows:

Augsburg Airways (Germany. 5 firm. The first three were ordered in the spring of 1999)
Changan Airlines (China. 3 firm orders)
Horizon Air (USA. 15 firm)
Jersey European Airways (UK. Four ordered in the spring of 1999)
Rheintalflug (Austria. 1 firm + 1 option)
SAS Commuter (19 firm)
Tyrolean Airways (Austria. 5 firm. First ordered in January 1997 for delivery between 1999 and 2001)
UNI Airways (Taiwan. 6 firm + 6 Options. This was the launch customer in February 1996, then known as Great China Airlines)
Wideroe (Norway. 1 firm + 3 options)
Undisclosed customes (5 firm)

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
ATR 72-210

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The Dash 8Q-400 is a further stretch of the de Havilland DHC-8 series of regional airliners. It is designed for high-density, short-haul routes, but can also take on longer-distance markets. Changes over the Series 300 include new PW150A engines, a fuselage stretch of no less than 6,84 m and a new tapered inboard wing section. Common type qualification is retained, so that crews can be scheduled across the whole family. The Q (for quiet) designation indicates installation of a Noise and Vibration Suppression system made by Ultra Electronics of the UK.
According to Bombardier, "the Q400 has the lowest seat-mile costs of any turboprop".
For the Dash 8Q-400 Bombardier has assembled a team of aerospace companies from around the globe, including

AlliedSignal (electrical power system)
BF Goodrich (brakes)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (fuselage and tail sections)
Menasco (landing gear)
Microtechnica (wing devices)
Sextant Avionique (avionics)
Shorts (engine nacelles)

History (Geschichte)
After on/off studies in the late 80s/early 90s, the programme was finally launched by Bombardier at the Paris Air Show in June 1995. The Ontario Government als well as the Canadian Government have assisted in financing.
Component manufacture began in August 1996, with assembly starting in December 1996. The new engine was test flown on a Boeing 720 from January 1997.
Roll-out of the Dash 8Q-400 at Downsview was on 21. November 1997, and the new aircraft took to the sky for the first time on January 31, 1998 (see photo). The flight lasted three hours, during which the aircraft reached a speed of 370 km/h and an altitude of 2285 metres. On the controls was Wally Warner, chief engineering test pilot at de Haviland, assisted by engineering test pilot Barry Hubbard.
Five Q400 aircraft have been involved in the flight test program at the Bombardier Aerospace Flight Test Center in Wichita, Kansas, as follows
  * 4001 (aerodynamics, performance and handling)
  * 4002 (system testing. First flight 26 May 1998)
  * 4003 (avionics testing)
  * 4004 (interior, NVS and evacuation testing)
  * 4005 (function and reliability work).
Certification by Europe's Joint Airworthiness Authorities (JAA) was received in December 1999. Denmark and Sweden became the first European countries to issue type certificates for the Q400 on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2, respectively. FAA approval followed in late January 2000.
Deliveries of the Dash 8Q-400 started in mid-January 2000 with the handover of the first aircraft to SAS Commuter. This represents a delay of at least four months, or about nine months to the original schedule. Production problems will apparently hit the service introduction at other airlines as well, with delays of between two and four months being the norm for much of 2000.

Last updated February 2, 2000

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