Q400 SOP

[Luckystar77]

Hello,

Does anyone have any kind of SOP for Dash Q400, which could share?

I am interested in all kinds of procedures, mnemonics, flows which are not described in AOM, however they make pilots lifes easier and save the time in air and on ground.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Tu.114]

Hm...

firstly, which variant of the OM-B do You hold (the deHavilland issued or a company version)?

Secondly, I certainly could write about my company SOPs, but not knowing Yours, I cannot possibly advise You to disregard the ones Your company expects You to follow and follow ours instead - while they both will result in a safe flight, some items will certainly be different. Standardisation within a company is of paramount importance.

Or do I misunderstand Your question and You are not after SOPs but techniques that make life easier on that type?

If so, here are some points in random order.

- It can spare You much trouble with pressurisation if You make it a habit to take a close look at the two bleed switches, the bleed selector, the pack switches and the AUTO/MAN/DUMP switch during climb around FL100. It is all too easily forgotten to switch the bleeds on when airborne (especially when workload is increased for whatever reasons), and also maintenance has been known to occasionally leave switches in weird positions. The cabin is rather airtight and a wrong setup of those switches will often only be noted way above FL100 via the CABIN PRESS light and a Master Warning otherwise.

- The FMS fuel calculations are rather inaccurate; it predicts the fuel at destination based on current fuel flow, TAS and wind. This leads to absurd figures right after departure (on longer flights, estimates around -2000lbs at destination are not uncommon). When established in the cruise, it will be more realistic, but still throttling back for descent will cause the fuel estimate to rise by several 100 lbs. However, if You have tankered for the next flight, resist the temptation to call the ground station with fuel figures for the next leg - in most cases, it will be off by quite a margin and either require a fuel LMC or a completely fresh loadsheet, thereby eating up all the initially saved time.

-If You wish to have the WX radar radiate on the ground with weight on wheels (e. g. during lineup), pressing the STAB button four times will do the trick and get it going.

-The aircraft uses rather little fuel. If You fly short legs, do consider tankering - if You plan on refuelling on every field, You will often find the minimum uplift way too much and then end up with much more fuel in the tanks than You originally anticipated. This also might save some ground time.

-The rear airstair saves much time during boarding and deboarding when the aircraft is full. However, experience shows that many passengers are not used to it. Consider keeping it closed when expecting less than 40 passengers; only if more than that are booked or if it is raining, some will leave the queue at the forward entry and board at the rear door. Your cabin crew will greatly appreciate this, as the rear stair is notoriously hard to open or close sometimes. Also, some airports do not like the use of the rear door at all (LWO comes to mind here).

-Keeping the rear galley service door and the forward passenger door open at the same time will get the air in the cabin moving very quickly. This is desirable and very helpful in summer, especially when the APU is broken, but way less so in winter. If practical, closing the forward door when catering is at the plane helps a lot to keep the heat inside the aircraft. These two points might save You from having to order an external air conditioning unit on occasion...

-If the aircraft has been on the ground for a long time and the parking brake reservoir is empty, bring the alternate gear extension handle for the walkaround. It is both easier to reach and way cleaner than the otherwise identical handle that is stored in the right main gear bay.

-When turning the propellers during the walkaround in bad weather, stand a bit on the side - every blade will dump water on You.

-Also, if You can avoid it, do not go to the toilet when alone in the plane or do properly latch the cockpit door when going. It has happened to many already that after their session, they found the cockpit door about 1/3 open and blocking their exit. There is no way to move the doors in this situation and the waiting time for the next crew to come along and free the detainee gets rather long.

[Clandestino]

Everything what Tu.114 said!

If you are really going to get or already got Q400 rating, I'd first suggest changing the handle to Unluckystar77 :}

I hoarded a lot of Q400 material, official and unofficial, before going to Downsview for 4-weeks course that included groundschool and sim. As expected, very little of it was of any use.

[Tu.114]

Clandestino,

allow me to respectfully disagree with Your opinion on the DH8. Sure, it can be a diva on many occasions, Bombardier took great care to dump as much workload as possible on the crew in any phase of flight, the flight deck is an ergonomic nightmare and one better learn to wind down ones expectations with regards to smooth touchdowns.

But on the other side, it is one of the fastest civil turboprops around, it outclimbs some jets by rate and some more by gradient. And also in case of an engine failure, it still has remarkable performance left: it climbs approximately like a heavy -300 on two engines AND it will even show a noticeable ROC with the failed propeller unfeathered unlike its ancestors. So with all its quirks, it is certainly a challenge to handle and an experience I would not want to have missed.

[Clandestino]

Don't worry, today was a payday so I have about 4000 more reasons to consider Q400 the best aeroplane in the world. I concur with all your points and advices on her, however I have logged just a bit north of 1700 hours since getting Q400 endorsement and it came after spending 2600 hrs in ATR 42-300 and 1200 in A319/20 so IMHO that makes me qualified to make some comparisons. Not all of them turn out favorably for my beloved, though. Anyway,given the same T&C, I would rather pick Q400 over ATR because of: 1.performance 2. APU 3. nosewheel steering connected to pedals 4. HGS.

[Tu.114]

Ain´t that the truth... the plane that puts food on the table is the best one in the world, even if it was an Y-10 or something.

I did not yet get the opportunity to try an ATR (and having read Your words, am less than sorry about this) or an Airbus, but compared to the -300, the -400 is a much better aircraft in most respects. And compared to the Fokker 70/100, which I experienced as a rather thought-out, easy to handle straight-forward workhorse (with the F100 having been my favourite among those two), in my eyes, the -400 is a capricious diva; and just as You wrote with regards to the Airbus - the comparison is favourable in a few, neutral in many, but rather unfavourable in several other aspects.

So the Mantra of the -400 pilot should be "It´s not a bug, it´s a feature", and when equipped with a slightly sarcastic mindset, one can indeed find some enjoyment flying this odd aircraft...

[Lord Spandex Masher]

...and it could and should have been a WHOLE lot better!