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Aircraft with two propeller-driven engines on the wings are commonly known as commuter planes or turboprops. The most common ones seen in America are the Dash-8, Embraer Brasilia, ATR, and Beech 1900. The Dash-8 and ATR have their wings above the fuselage while the Brasilia has its wings at the bottom of the fuselage.
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Q The Dash-8 was
developed by DeHavilland Aircraft of Canada and is now owned by
Bombardier, the company that makes the CRJ. The actual name of this aircraft is DHC-8-100 (or -200, -300, -400) but is called Dash-8 for short. The newest versions have the designation Q400 with "Q" standing for "Quiet" as they have incorporated a new noise and vibration suppression system. Production began in 1986. The largest operator is Horizon Air, with a fleet of 53. |
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Q Embraer introduced the 30 seat regional airliner called
EMB-120 Brasilia in 1985. They're flown by Skywest Airlines under the United Express and Delta Connection brands, mostly in the western U.S. |
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Q The ATR is a French-built
turboprop consisting of two models: the ATR-42 (42 passenger) and the ATR-72 (72 passenger). Production began in 1985, and the largest operators are American Eagle, with 39, and Atlantic Southeast (Delta Connection), with 12. |
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Q The Beech 1900D was made by
Beechcraft from 1991 to 2002, over 400 in all. This plane only carries 19 passengers and is flown by several regional airlines, including Big Sky Airlines (Delta Connection), Skyway (Midwest Express), Gulfstream Airlines (Continental Connection), Colgan Air and Air Midwest (US Airways Express), and Mesa Airlines. |
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Both the Dash-8 and ATR have their wings on top of the fuselage. The major difference is that on the Dash-8, the landing gear retract up into the engine housing. The landing gear on the ATR retracts into the fuselage. (see picture below)
Also, the tailcone on the ATR is long and comes to a point.
The ATR-72 model is 14 feet longer than an ATR-42. |
Dash-8 |
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ATR-42
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  Dash-8 ATR-42/72 |
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| The Embraer Brasilia has a more typical appearance and can be recognized by the low wings and long nose. |
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The Beech 1900 is similar to an Embraer Brasilla, but it is smaller (19 passengers compared to 30), and can fly twice as far as a Brasilia. This plane can be distinguished by the tall and very narrow appearance of the cabin when viewed from the front. This was done to allow passengers to walk without bending forward. It also has winglets on the wings (not shown in the drawing) and extensions on the ends of the horizontal stabilizer on the tail (see photo) One more difference: the windows are oval shaped and dark tinted (to help keep the cabin cool) compared to the Brasilia. |
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Follow the links below to see photos of these aircraft. All photos © Bruce Leibowitz
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DeHavilland DHC-8-202 Registration: N358PH Horizon Airlines Seattle-Tacoma Int'l Airport (SEA) August 27, 2002 |
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ATR-72 Registration: N531AS Atlantic Southeast Airlines Hartsfield-Atlanta Int'l Airport (ATL) November 8, 2002 |
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Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia Registration: N500AS Atlantic Southeast Airlines Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l Airport December 16, 2002 |
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Beechcraft 1900D Registration: N831SK Skyway Airlines (Midwest Connect) Milwaukee Int'l Airport October 21, 2005 |
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