SA Airlink Planes

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Aharon

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Hi,

Just wondered with these Turboprop SA Airlink Planes -

Are they less stable in the air than an engine plane. Is one more likely to get motion sickness in one of these than say a 737?

Thanks
 
I presume you mean a jet engined plane?

if you suffer from motion sickness then chances are you will be more susceptible if there's rough air
 
Aharon said:
Hi,

Just wondered with these Turboprop SA Airlink Planes -

Are they less stable in the air than an engine plane. Is one more likely to get motion sickness in one of these than say a 737?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I wouldn't fly in one of them. They look like flying coffins to me.
 
Nah they are actually quite nice. Lighter planes get tossed around much easier than bigger ones. But the Airlink planes are quite nice to fly in and turbo props are awesome!!
 
a plane is a plane.. it doesnt matter what size the airframe it is or what engine it has, if there is turbulence you will get bounced around in it. Some turbulence you can see and is avoidable, others are not like clear air turbulence.

The effect just feels more pronounced on smaller aircraft because they are lighter and therefore its easier for the turbulance to push them around (simple kinda explanation).

ps...

and turbo props are awesome!!
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props are for boats .... :)
 
Ol' Mean Bastid said:
I presume you mean a jet engined plane?
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Technically speaking a turboprop is also a 'jet engine' which drives a prop via a gearbox.

Think a more appropriate word would be turbofan as jet engine is a very broad term.
 
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genetic said:
Nothing wrong with SA Airlink. Quite nice to fly actually. :)
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I've been on one from dbn-cpt (no idea how that happened) in the early 90's and the only thing I remember is that I had a helluva headache, the noise of the the props got to me.
 
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Aharon said:
Hi,

Just wondered with these Turboprop SA Airlink Planes -

Are they less stable in the air than an engine plane. Is one more likely to get motion sickness in one of these than say a 737?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I've flown on quite a few of these in the recent past and quite a few of the larger jet powered bigger planes as well.

Apart from looking less stable and feeling like you are in a bus with wings, I can't say the little turboprop planes felt any less stable or worse than the bigger ones. I've experienced bad turbulence in both types before.

As mentioned above, the engines do seem to make a bit more of a racket but that might just be more of a mental thing, as you can more easily see (and hear) the actual propellers spinning and starting up and what not.
 
ponder said:
Technically speaking a turboprop is also a 'jet engine' which drives a prop via a gearbox.

Think a more appropriate word would be turbofan as jet engine is a very broad term.
Click to expand...

pffft

In common parlance, the term jet engine loosely refers to an internal combustion airbreathing jet engine (a duct engine). These typically consist of an engine with a rotary (rotating) air compressor powered by a turbine ("Brayton cycle"), with the leftover power providing thrust via a propelling nozzle. Jet aircraft use these types of engines for long-distance travel. Early jet aircraft used turbojet engines which were relatively inefficient for subsonic flight. Modern subsonic jet aircraft usually use high-bypass turbofan engines.
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I talk common parlance
 
Aharon said:
Is one more likely to get motion sickness in one of these than say a 737?
Click to expand...
Yes though not because of the props / jet engine part. Small planes are affected more by turbulence.

Think of the US aircraft carriers - they're so big that there length covers multiple "waves" at the same time...end result is that it doesn't go up and down with each wave (aside from huge waves).

As for safety - don't worry about it. Planes are super safe & turboprops are - afaik - easier to maintain well anyway. Now JHB traffic...there you can worry about safety.
 
hj2k_x said:
I've flown on quite a few of these in the recent past and quite a few of the larger jet powered bigger planes as well.

Apart from looking less stable and feeling like you are in a bus with wings, I can't say the little turboprop planes felt any less stable or worse than the bigger ones. I've experienced bad turbulence in both types before.

As mentioned above, the engines do seem to make a bit more of a racket but that might just be more of a mental thing, as you can more easily see (and hear) the actual propellers spinning and starting up and what not.
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You get the most noise if you sit in the plane of the propeller (i.e. right next to it). You probably don't want to sit there anyhow. If the landing gear folds up on landing, which happens, then the propeller blades go flying if the pilot did not shut down the engine beforehand. Sometimes these blades penetrate through the fuselage.

Better to sit further back.

Q400_1.jpg
Q400_2.JPG
 
garyc said:
You get the most noise if you sit in the plane of the propeller (i.e. right next to it). You probably don't want to sit there anyhow. If the landing gear folds up on landing, which happens, then the propeller blades go flying if the pilot did not shut down the engine beforehand. Sometimes these blades penetrate through the fuselage.

Better to sit further back.

View attachment 94323
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Good point.
 
Turbulence is turbolence...
Even the gigantic A380 bounces from time to time. These poor sods werent strapped in in turbulence and heads went through the overhead luggage compartment lol...
iodtlw.jpg

My biggest problem with these SA Airlink Turbo props are noise and vibration. The last time I flew to East London I could barely hear my music coming out of my earphones. That and the they are quite slow if you are used to the jets.
 
Nothing wrong with them! Have flown on plenty of flights without any issues.

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