Originally Posted by
CrustyFE
A lot of them are pieces of ****. Then they beat the hell out of you and make you sweat like a pig.
no apu/prop brake is downright terrible. there's no escaping it..dfw/mia/sju are all equally horrible. the pca carts are rusted out and do little to cool the airplane.
I never flew the ATR but I have about 6000 hrs in various models of C-130's. (Not J models) I suppose the ATR 72's with the six bladed props are smoother than the four bladed versions, but I would just be guessing. I'd have another thousand hours or so in the Herc if it didn't break all the damn time.
i never noticed a difference up front, but there may be a noticeable one in the back
Vibrations from the props tend to beat the hell out of everything and maintenance has to stay on the plane all the time to keep it in decent condition. Eagle does okay as far as I know, but it's always a battle.
"battle" is accurate. 1/2 problems are poor engineering, (ex emergency light wires exposed right next to main door steps, so pax feet and bags rip the wires and we're grounded) 1/2 problems are from ground handling and such (ex all powered up and ready to turn #2, ask for air to be removed and they shut the whole ground cart off and airplane goes to battery basic. no bueno for the electrical system). the airplanes are also getting old.