F50 Questions
 

Hi everyone,
I hardly post on here but i do a lot of reading on the forum. I'm not a pilot but I am very much into aviation. I do feel a little hesitant to create a thread because I sort of feel out of place as I'm not a pilot but one thing we all have is the "aviation bug" and well...what a great bug it is to have.

i wanted to talk about my favourite turboprop aircraft (I hope that's ok and if not then I apologise) which is the Fokker 50. I flew on the F50 for many years with Skywest to Carnarvon and I always enjoyed the flights. Also a special hello to those people who worked on the Skywest F50s (pilots, flight attendants, ground crew, engineers etc).

These are just random questions that I have always wanted to ask:

How did the F50 conpare against similar sized turbo prop aircraft such as the Dash 8-300?

Do people think that there was still a need for F50s in WA?? I know VA got rid of then but they did so well in WA for a long time. I know Alliance operates them in S.A and QLD and I assume they are doing well there.

I have often heard people call the F50 "Slow Tug Boat" Why is that? I assume they are referring to the F50s speed?

Anyways these are a few questions to get the ball rolling.


Cheers,
Saintly.

Only 213 F50s were made so not a lot. In terms of the F50s speed.....a few websites have different figures. I have seen speeds such as 468km p/h, 532 km p/h and other figures.

Where does the F50 sit in terms of speed with other turboprops?

So the Dash 8 100/200/300 is around 265 knots. What's the F50s cruise speed?

Slow news day Geoffrey?

Didn't mean to bore you mate. Sorry.

Wickapedia says:

Maximum speed: 560km/h (302 knots)

Cruise speed: 530km/h (286 knots)

Alliance website says:

Typical cruise speed: 510 km/h (275 knots)


Fokker website says:

Maximum indicated speed: 532km/h (287 knots)


Interesting how different websites have different figures

Cruising speed is dependant on a number of factors, Weight, Altitude, CoG, and more importantly where engineering set cruise thrust, she doesn't like being heavy with an aft CoG. Like most turbo props fly them as hard and as fast as you can for best fuel efficiency. For cruise the power levers sit in a detent and torque is set by the EEC (electronic engine control), with some variation at the fuel control unit. Best leave the ERP (engine rating panel) in climb mode for cruise, she'll cruise along at typically 265 knots.

Oh! and when she was built back in 1985, she was way ahead of her time and arguably still is.

In what ways is the F50 ahead of her time? Its an interesting comment you make and I assune you have flown a wide range if turboprop aircraft?

I'm not sure what the King Air 350s speed is in comparison to the F50. They are handy aircraft those King Air's

F50s maximum altitude is FL250 (7,620m)

See below, different figures. Also other interesting information. Info from Airliners.Net

Reference: http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/fokker-50/218

Performance:
Series 100 - Max cruising speed 532km/h (287kt), economical cruising speed 454km/h (245kt). Max operating altitude 25,000ft. Range with 50 passengers and reserves 2055km (1110nm), or 2822km (1524nm) for optional high gross weight version. Series 300 - Typical cruising speed 526km/h (284kt). Range with 50 passengers and reserves at high speed cruise 2033km (1097nm), or 3017km (1628nm) for high gross weight option at long range cruise.

Weights
Series 100 & 300 - Operating empty 12,520kg (27,602lb), max takeoff 19,950kg (43,980lb), or optionally 20,820kg (45,900lb).

For those interested, see below, this was the last F50 leave WA..on 21/12/2016, on a ferry flight to Bali for a new operator. I didn't think they could have that endurance to go that far:

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SYU1608/history/20161220/2300Z/YPPH/WIHH