Tomorrow my bride and I will fly in a puddle jumper to see Ken's area of the world, the Cascades. Though I spent a lot of hours in planes, small Cesna and Piper models still bewilder me. Hopefully there won't be much turbulence or bad weather.
[OP]
Contributor
Tomorrow my bride and I will fly in a puddle jumper to see Ken's area of the world, the Cascades. Though I spent a lot of hours in planes, small Cesna and Piper models still bewilder me. Hopefully there won't be much turbulence or bad weather.
Contributor
Originally Posted by Rich Riddle
If it's any consolation, they're stronger than they look. They tend to be bumpy in turbulence for the same reason a lightly loaded vehicle doesn't ride nearly as well on a bumpy road as a heavily loaded one. A light single engined airplane might have a wing loading of 20 lb./sq. ft. at maximum weight. An airline transport might have a wing loading of 100 lb./sq.ft. Guess which one rides better? And which one needs long smooth runways because of higher landing speeds? Yaw dampers don't hurt either and are not typically found on light singles.
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When I took my current job, which requires the horrible task of travelling throughout the Caribbean, my friend warned me, "Be really careful of flying these puddle jumpers around the Caribbean; they crash a lot." That wouldn't have bothered me, except that he was a pilot who flew puddle jumpers around the Caribbean!!!
That said, the only issues I have had since were on big planes. My flights (knock on wood) in small planes since then have been very good. There was an incident in the states prior to this where I was supposed to be on a plane but had to cancel at the last minute. It crashed and killed the pilot and passenger. It was a private plane, and he tried to do an aerobatic maneuver in a Piper Cherokee that it's not rated for. He was a professional pilot and this was his personal plane that he flew when he wasn't flying jets for a living, so he should have known better. I was young, and probably wouldn't have objected, thinking he would have known what his plane can and cannot do. Today I know better.
I have flown on some crazy planes and love flying the sea plane between islands, but my favorite of all is landing in Saba on the shortest commercial runway in the world. The video link is not my video, but shows what it is like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXxGfJGwtoo When I have flown, we stopped in St. Barth's and St. Eustatia, which are both close runner-ups to Saba for shortest runways!
Don't worry- aircraft travel is the safest mode of travel there is. You'll be fine. If the pilot happens to ask if you want to do a hammerhead, the correct answer is no.
Member
Rick,
Please narrow this down a bit. "Puddle Jumper" might have a different meaning to different folks. Many people refer to the regional jets that service the smaller commercial airports around the country as puddle jumpers, while to others, a puddle jumper would refer to a single engine small plane that would seat 4-6 passengers. What type of plane are we talking about here?
Larry J Browning
There are 10 kinds of people in this world; Those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Larry, I'm guessing he means a turboprop, rather than an RJ or a smaller prop plane. The Dash8 and similar are still used for some runs rather than the smaller RJs for a variety of reasons, although they are fewer in number these days. They are safe and reasonably comfortable...the worst part is pretty much the noise level.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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I wouldn't consider the Dash8 to be a puddle jumper. I've flown in much smaller from Detroit to Toronto. I don't know what plane exactly, but twin engine, with 1 seat on each side of the aisle. Held about 20-25 people maybe?
Gerry
JointCAM
Contributor
That sounds like a Dehaviland Twin Otter, one of the best Short Takeoff and Land aircraft ever made for commercial use. That's the aircraft in the video I shared above. It's also what Seaborne Aviation uses for their float planes. Awesome aircraft. Hands down it would be my pick for short hops. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_H...C-6_Twin_Otter
Replies to comments above- The Dash8 is a great little reliable aircraft. I fly in them a lot, as well as the Fokker F27 and the Saab 340. The ATR's, however, have a history of icing issues which caused AA to move their whole fleet to the tropics. I hate flying on them, as they vibrate horribly and are the most uncomfortable aircraft you can ever imagine. They have a horrible maintenance record from my experience (working for a cargo airline). The Shorts 3-60 is my favorite small cargo aircraft. It looks like a flying box. We joke that it's proof you can fly the box the plane came in.
Sorry folks- I'm a plane buff and have worked in the cargo airline industry for 26 years, so this thread interests me more than it should. Fun fact: I have the unique ability to determine the make and model of most popular aircraft simply by their sound signature when they fly over. My wife is constantly amused as we dine on the porch and a plane will fly over and, without looking, I correctly identify it. Each aircraft- jet, prop, and turboprop- have their own little combination of hums, whistles, and other noises. A Lycoming engine makes a different noise from a continental. A Learjet has a unique whistle to it much different from a Citation. One day this unique skill will find a purpose. Maybe I should have been in the military.
[OP]
Contributor
Well the company had a "fleet" of aircraft from which to chose and we ended up in a Cessna 172 four-seater tail-dragger model. It was a fairly decent ride with little turbulence. We flew up close and personal to the glaciers in the Northern Cascades. The pilot was extremely customer service minded and only flew as close as we felt comfortable.
Member
Actually more like a Beechcraft 1900.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_1900
Gerry
JointCAM
Contributor
Wow, that is a puddle jumper! ...and a cool one at that. Nice choice. When you say your bride, are you newlyweds, or just still keeping the flame going? Congrats either way.
Contributor
Another reputable one. We have used them in cargo configuration but I don't believe I have ridden in one.
Moderator
I only used that as one example of what is often referred to by the term...but yea...they can be much smaller as the OP's clarifying post has indicated!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
Do typical accident and life insurance policies cover flying in small planes ?
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