Would appreciate an answer to this question: at what altitude during a climb (or descent) does an ERJ (say 145) automatically switch from IAS to MACH mode (or vice versa) - and what is the default Mach value when that happens?

Thanks!

I haven't flown the 145 in over 6 years and the 175 in 4 years, but if I remember correctly on the 145, we'd climb at 290 IAS and transition to 0.65M until reaching our cruise altitude. Transition to mach is usually in the high 20s. Again, take this with a grain of salt, it's been a while.

Thank you. That's helpful.

Snuffaluffagus wrote:

I haven't flown the 145 in over 6 years and the 175 in 4 years, but if I remember correctly on the 145, we'd climb at 290 IAS and transition to 0.65M until reaching our cruise altitude. Transition to mach is usually in the high 20s. Again, take this with a grain of salt, it's been a while.

Interesting speeds. From what I've learned from friends who fly the CR2, it sounds like the 145 is a much better climber.

N1120A wrote:

Snuffaluffagus wrote:

I haven't flown the 145 in over 6 years and the 175 in 4 years, but if I remember correctly on the 145, we'd climb at 290 IAS and transition to 0.65M until reaching our cruise altitude. Transition to mach is usually in the high 20s. Again, take this with a grain of salt, it's been a while.

Interesting speeds. From what I've learned from friends who fly the CR2, it sounds like the 145 is a much better climber.

Never once in my 1900 hours on the 145 (ER, LR, XR variants) did I ever have to level off when climbing. We were able to go right up to our cruise altitude, no problem whatsoever.

Snuffaluffagus wrote:

N1120A wrote:

Snuffaluffagus wrote:

I haven't flown the 145 in over 6 years and the 175 in 4 years, but if I remember correctly on the 145, we'd climb at 290 IAS and transition to 0.65M until reaching our cruise altitude. Transition to mach is usually in the high 20s. Again, take this with a grain of salt, it's been a while.

Interesting speeds. From what I've learned from friends who fly the CR2, it sounds like the 145 is a much better climber.

Never once in my 1900 hours on the 145 (ER, LR, XR variants) did I ever have to level off when climbing. We were able to go right up to our cruise altitude, no problem whatsoever.

Ever need to trade off that 290 knots for a little more vertical speed?

Martinlest wrote:

Would appreciate an answer to this question: at what altitude during a climb (or descent) does an ERJ (say 145) automatically switch from IAS to MACH mode (or vice versa) - and what is the default Mach value when that happens?

Thanks!

Depends on the vertical mode you’re using.

If you’re in SPD mode, it switches from IAS to Mach and vice verse at FL250.

If your in FLCH it switches in the climb at 17377ft from 270kts to M0.56

From what i remember about flying the EMB-145 is that you don’t want to be stuck flying in trail behind an ERJ. An ERJ is a flying roadblock that causes ATC to issue speed restrictions to everyone behind an ERJ, while the ERJ it told to maintain a faster speed until the aircraft behind are at an altitude above the ERJ.

I do remember climbing out in PITCH mode and just adjusting the pitch using the TCS button to target 290kts / M0.74. If you used FLCH mode , you’ll be climbing at M0.56 and pissing off every pilot stuck behind you.

Woodreau wrote:

From what i remember about flying the EMB-145 is that you don’t want to be stuck flying in trail behind an ERJ. An ERJ is a flying roadblock that causes ATC to issue speed restrictions to everyone behind an ERJ, while the ERJ it told to maintain a faster speed until the aircraft behind are at an altitude above the ERJ.

When I was working departures in the TRACON during a push and the tower would shove a much better climber right up the E145's rear end so to speak, I'd tell the 145 "at 10,000' increase speed to 300 KIAS or better and I don't care if you climb another foot or not" which would allow them to at least pull away from the trailing departure while that plane would simply climb above them all the time increasing their speed as well. Yeah I'm sure the 145 kids didn't much care for that, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do in order to keep things moving.

Another retired controller friend of mine from the Center had a famous phrase around these parts, "Jetlink4030, if you had a vertical climb rate, what would that be"!!!

Had to be careful flying the ERJ in SPD mode - if you set a speed that was too high during the climb, the ERJ doesn't stop at level flight unlike a Boeing/Airbus/Canadair - it starts to descend to get you the desired speed... lol

The ERJ has no problem getting up to altitude, sacrificing airspeed for vertical speed. You could always sacrifice airspeed to get altitude. But the CRJ is different, you can't get slow (<M0.74) at all, I would always cringe at the ERJ pilots that transitioned over to the CRJ that didn't have any hesitation sacrificing airspeed to get altitude and do a zoom climb. Once you lose airspeed on a CRJ - you didn't get it back and invariably we'd have to descend to get airspeed back to continue the climb.

IAHFLYR wrote:

Woodreau wrote:

From what i remember about flying the EMB-145 is that you don’t want to be stuck flying in trail behind an ERJ. An ERJ is a flying roadblock that causes ATC to issue speed restrictions to everyone behind an ERJ, while the ERJ it told to maintain a faster speed until the aircraft behind are at an altitude above the ERJ.

When I was working departures in the TRACON during a push and the tower would shove a much better climber right up the E145's rear end so to speak, I'd tell the 145 "at 10,000' increase speed to 300 KIAS or better and I don't care if you climb another foot or not" which would allow them to at least pull away from the trailing departure while that plane would simply climb above them all the time increasing their speed as well. Yeah I'm sure the 145 kids didn't much care for that, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do in order to keep things moving.

Another retired controller friend of mine from the Center had a famous phrase around these parts, "Jetlink4030, if you had a vertical climb rate, what would that be"!!!

One of my former 737 FOs had been a CRJ captain - he referred to them as “cholesterol of the airways.”

Woodreau wrote:

Had to be careful flying the ERJ in SPD mode - if you set a speed that was too high during the climb, the ERJ doesn't stop at level flight unlike a Boeing/Airbus/Canadair - it starts to descend to get you the desired speed... lol

The ERJ has no problem getting up to altitude, sacrificing airspeed for vertical speed. You could always sacrifice airspeed to get altitude. But the CRJ is different, you can't get slow (<M0.74) at all, I would always cringe at the ERJ pilots that transitioned over to the CRJ that didn't have any hesitation sacrificing airspeed to get altitude and do a zoom climb. Once you lose airspeed on a CRJ - you didn't get it back and invariably we'd have to descend to get airspeed back to continue the climb.

I don’t find that true at all about the CRJ. If you want to get to altitude quicker (at least on the 200), you climb at 250 to LRC and then use that all the way up.

Sure the 200 is a dog, but even will a full boat in the summer it’ll get to FL300 using that method. It does take a bit to accelerate but it’s not awful

I once had a 727-100 outclimb a CRJ2. And a 727 was not exactly a hot rod in the climb V/S wise although It would belt along though, thankfully whereas the CRJ was slow and climbed crap. And the 727 were happiest at F280 or so.

The analogy that a CRJ is the cholesterol of the airways is really apt. Up to F100 the CRJ2 was OK, after that you needed a few backup plans to get the thing up there to crz level.

On the 170/175, we usually climb in FLCH. The default at my airline is 270/0.74. The changeover occurs whenever the two intersect, which is usually somewhere around FL290.