People often ask me what my favorite type of plane is to fly on. I have flown in some military planes, so those were definitely my favorites. 🙂 If I restrict it to commercial flights, however, it is not the type of plane that most people imagine.
Flying In One Of My Favorite Planes
I can qualify this by saying that this is one of my favorite planes (I have a couple favorites) so that people do not think this is the favorite!
It is not the Airbus A380 (which I really love flying on) that surprises people, in fact most people assume that would be the favorite I am talking about.
Emirates Airbus A380
But the one the usually surprises people is that I really like flying on the Beechcraft 1900D. That’s right – one of the smallest planes in commercial aviation!
Beechcraft 1900D
Beechcraft 1900D
My first time flying on this was a number of years ago on a Continental flight from Albany, NY to Rochester, NY. I thought it was a really cool plane then and continue to think so now. I look forward to flights that are Rochester to Toronto (or reverse) because I know that is the plane I will get to fly on.
The plane itself is quite small. It has 9 rows and seating for 18 people. In my many times flying on them, I have never seen the plane close to full. In fact, there are times that they will actually use people’s carry-on luggage (that was gate checked) to put in the back seats for convenience and space.
The plane has a range of over 900 miles and a cruising speed of over 300 mph. It can be quite noisy on board but it is really quite an interesting ride!
For one thing, there is no flight attendant on board. The safety briefing is given by the co-pilot and there is no in-flight service. In addition, there is no bathroom!
So, what makes this one of my favorite planes? It is the fact that I like airplanes and this plane has no door to the cockpit! My favorite seat is 1A which puts me in a great position to look into the cockpit. Not only can I see the cockpit but it gives me a great view out of the front window. It is really interesting to be able to catch that view on landing!
Our little guy enjoying his seat by himself
My kids got to experience this plane a couple of weeks ago and they really like it as well. Sure, it is a noisy, annoying type of plane but the small size and unique views (unique to commercial planes) are a nice touch and make it one of my favorite planes!
The doorless cockpit
Have you flown on this plane? What did you think?
Years ago I was involved in a project on the island of Nantucket – USAir and Delta (Business Express) both offered flights from Boston to the island, and at $50 roundtrip, it was cheaper than staying over. Like the USPS motto – neither rain, nor snow, nor fog, nor sleet, whatever, they flew – sometimes I’m not sure why, but I’m here to talk about it. Given the choice of DL:’s Saab 340’s or US’s Beech’s, I typically went with the Beech. They bounced around in all directions in some of that weather, but the steady drone of those prop’s and the feeling of being in a solid plane manned by folks who were flying the route day in day out was one I remember quite well and ultimately felt quite safe on despite the downdrafts! Good solid planes – not luxurious, but sure as heck dependable.
I don’t think I have but am flying one this summer and scared! I flew a commuter, 9 seater in Hawaii and was having a hard time. Does this plane shake a lot? Thanks.
It makes a lot of noise but the shaking was not really there (and this was crossing Lake Ontario). Don’t worry – if you feel nervous, just try to look out the front window. It is strangely calming to be looking straight ahead!