Tiger119 From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 1919 posts, RR: 0 Posted (8 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 2560 times:
I recently was on a flight on Chicago Express from MDW to IND. Either the Captain or F/O made a PA and stated the cruising altitude but I missed the announcement (could not hear the announcement). What are the normal flight levels for Chicago Express flights on the Saabs between MDW and their destinations? One of the photos below has a remark that the aircraft is at 15,000 feet. What is the ceiling for a Saab340B?
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21289 posts, RR: 19 Reply 1, posted (8 years 7 months 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 2147 times:
4R/22L and 13C/31C are the only runways used for commercial ops at MDW.
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
Tiger119 From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 1919 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (8 years 7 months 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 2110 times:
Another C8 question, I had an early flight the other day from IND (to Florida) and noticed three S340Bs on the ramp. Is it normal to have three C8 aircraft RON at IND? I don't remember seeing that before here. Having two here at the same time seems to be fairly common.
Flying is the second greatest thrill known to mankind, landing is the first!
Jjbiv From United States of America, joined Jan 2001, 1226 posts, RR: 6 Reply 4, posted (8 years 6 months 4 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 2047 times:
The announcements can be hard to hear, especially if you forget earplugs. C8 usually flies MDW-IND at 11,000 feet and the typical route is MDW..EON.V24.JAKKS..IND.
C8 flies 17 ex-American Eagle SAAB 340B aircraft. You can learn more here: http://www.saabaircraft.com/download/files/340BInsertFAR.pdf.
I'm not sure on the exact number, but C8 flies MDW-IND in the neighborhood of 16 times a day, so three RON a/c is not out of the question.
As far as runway usage, we use 31C the majority of the time and 4R/22L as needed. I can't recall ever arriving on or departing from 22R/4L or 31R/13L. However, several of our pilots monitor these forums, so you may get a better answer from them.
Thank you for flying with us; I hope you enjoyed your trip on our humble little airline.
Tiger119 From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 1919 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 1998 times:
- Thanks for the link but it was just forwarded to Saab's website. Are all of your S340s former Eagle planes? How many Saabs do you guys fly? I saw a line of them parked at what looked like a maintenance base at MDW. I remember when RP flew S340s in and out of IND their lavs were in the very back and yours were up front. Are all of your planes that way? Is it a customer request deal with Saab where they stick the lav?
"I'm not sure on the exact number, but C8 flies MDW-IND in the neighborhood of 16 times a day, so three RON a/c is not out of the question."
- There used to have around 11 flights a day between MDW and IND but they were increased when TZ stopped their two 738 daily flights.
"Thank you for flying with us; I hope you enjoyed your trip on our humble little airline."
- Not a bad ride at all. I used to fly on Saabs all the time but not so much here lately. When I fly to Chicago, I have been flying WN lately but C8 is not bad, and the trip is not that much longer than on a 737. Would have liked to have a beer on the flight though.
Flying is the second greatest thrill known to mankind, landing is the first!
Jjbiv From United States of America, joined Jan 2001, 1226 posts, RR: 6 Reply 6, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 1992 times:
Yes, all 17 Saabs we have are ex-Eagle ships. The line of aircraft you saw on the south side of MDW is the area we affectionately call the South Ramp and is our operational home at MDW. Until recently all C8 flights arrived in and departed from this area using busses to take customers from the terminal to their aircraft. To cut costs, we've recently moved nearly all operations to the main terminal (gates A8 and A4A) and use the South Ramp for excess capacity. MDW does RON and line Mx and SBN is our Mx base. Heavy checks are done by contractors in LAN and/or BNA.
The B-model of the SAAB 340 moved the lav to the front (amongst other differences) from the back. All C8 aircraft are B-models, thus all have this configuration.
Oh, by the way, we carry Miller Lite and MGD to satisfy your beer needs along with a small selection of wine and mixers that should prove to be more than enough to keep you busy for an hour
Thank you for your business and flattering comments.
Tbanger From Australia, joined Jul 2004, 266 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 1977 times:
The B-model of the SAAB 340 moved the lav to the front (amongst other differences) from the back. All C8 aircraft are B-models, thus all have this configurationWRONG
Lav location is a customer optionCORRECT
We operate msn 175, 209, 257, 275, 279, 285, 287, 290, 291, 293, 303, 322, 325, and 369. All these are B's with rear lav. 369 is a B+.
175 is a 33 seater and all the rest have 34.
We operate 008, 011, 016, 085, 131 and 155. All are A's with rear lav
We also have 205, 207 and 311 that are all B's with forward lav. These 3 are 36 seaters.
All of Chicago Express aircraft were delivered new to either Flagship Airlines or Simmons Airlines. This would have been the configuration that they'd have wanted.
Jjbiv From United States of America, joined Jan 2001, 1226 posts, RR: 6 Reply 9, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 11 hours ago) and read 1962 times:
Thanks for the clarification. Is there a reason you'd want the lav in back? Most of our flights seem tail-heavy enough as things are now.
Also, I didn't know you could cram 36 in a 340.
Do either of you know about the mod to raise ZFW? I know we're considering it closely since most of our flights are unable to go out with a load of more than 30-32 customers -- especially this time of the year with the heavy bag loads.
Tbanger From Australia, joined Jul 2004, 266 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 1965 times:
The 3 that we operate with 36 is done with a forward lav. The rear bulkhead isn't tapered like most models, it is flat along the rear right side and then juts out 90deg near the cargo door to allow ease of cargo access. This provides a recess that allows a triple seat along the back row. ie seat 12a looks straight down the aisle. It is very quiet down there, but you feel a lot of turb and you don't get any windows, so it becomes a little clostaphobic. It is a bit like being in the last row of a Metro23. Oh yeah and the pitch is fairly low aft of the row 6 exit.
The only mod I know of to increase ZFW is on the B plus. It has an option to install extended wingtips. It increases MTOW.
If it is decreasing ZFW that you want to do, ie make the aircraft lighter therefore increasing the useful load, then let me know when you find out. We operate in Summer with as low as 30 pax due to our climate and shortish runways. We have also increased our nominal pax weight up to 90kg for an adult. This is an increase of about 440kg on a 34 seater since the aircraft first came into service in Australia.
The lav in the back is better as far as health regs go. The forward lav is smack bang inside the galley......oooooooooooooooooooooohhh!
I also believe the rear lav to be more personal. If someone uses the forward lav, then every pax on that flight knows. If you use the rear, then only those that you have to walk past know.
Also, in light of todays security, people become uneasy when someone stands up with say there handbag over their shoulder and walks towards the cockpit.
As far as W+B is concerned, you either have seats along the bag row or a lav. I don't think the weight is all that different. The rear bulkhead is in the same place in all models regardless of whether there is a lav or seats there. It doesn't effect w+b that much.
Great topic by the way, I could ramble about this stuff all day.
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