Originally Posted by
stamps
Having flown the C-17 in and out of Afghanistan for 7 years now with four beefy engines and 3 or four sets of eyes up front, I'm not sure you could convince me to do it in a CRJ with just one other guy in the cockpit. Kabul is a zoo. Herat... same. Mazar, sure, just don't hit the ridge. The hostile fire part isn't what would bother me. It's literally everything else about the airspace. That and the -200 performance on a hot day around some of those 20000 MSL peaks... meh. Maybe for someone younger and more adventurous.
I'll keep putting up and down the east coast in my RJ and be quite content.
Welcome to the Dash 8 world, lol!
I've personally enjoyed my time here in Afghan. Granted I live on a US Base, not a "safe house" in Kabul. Like somebody already mentioned, the threat really isn't in the air, its on the ground, ie, rockets, morters, rpg's, suicide bombs, vbieds, ect. When a 107mm rocket hits about 25 yards from where you're sleeping and knocks you out of bed, you start thinking, what the hell am I doing here!!??
As far as the infrastructure, it sucks. Within radar coverage, its ok. Out of it, strictly position reporting with barely readable coms. Know the terrain. In the Dash its nice because we can get down lower than than the heavies, enabling us to know the valleys and mountains a little better.
In all honesty, this RJ gig isn't a bad deal for the right person. The commute to and from work sucks (might get blown up) but other than that, its a challenging flying environment, ICAO/international experience, and a chance to experience a different culture.