i was on a lear 35 last week, i think that thing would beat just about anything publicly flying out there!!! 6000fpm off the deck and easily maintained, yes we were empty and had the nose 30 degrees up, but it was one hell of a ride for me sitting sideways behind the cockpit!!! i am sure some of you know what company i am talking about!

It all depends on weight. Half full with only 6k in fuel onboard you can climb at 240-260 at about 1500fpm-1700fpm till about 10,000. At 210-220 you can do about 2800fpm at 8 degrees in the same conditions. If your full pax and full of fuel it is much less. Never below 200 and 1000fpm though.

Empty I've seen 7000fpm at 15 degrees.:D

I have to agree with The Dude. It depends on what you are looking for but I'll say that the Q400 will outclimb anything with 70 seats or less to FL250. That is if it's let loose. We usually have to sit and wait because of ATC. A climb starting with 210 and ending around 240 @ FL250 will hold 2000 fpm through 18 and reach 250 at between 1000-1500 depending on the load. That's with the props in the quieter cruise setting.

As for getting to the hotel I'll take my extra 15 minutes in the Q rather than one of those planes with those funny Fixed Pitch Ducted Propellers :) jk everyone. What can I say I'm a prop junky.

7000fpm empty is impressive but the 145 can easily do 2500fpm and more depending on weight and temperature. 3000fpm through 10 is easily attained and sustained at a moderately heavy weight, decent temperature, and depending on how bent the aircraft is. Above 10 depends greatly on how the pf chooses to fly.

Empty, the 145 can attain 7000ft but I have never seen it sustain that.

If the Dornobs will still flying, I don't think you would be able to make that claim. Climbing at 250 till 10K would yield between 4-6000 fpm, hot and heavy in the summer time it would dog around 2500-3500. The best I ever saw on a "normal" climb profile was 6700 fpm till 10k. After accelerating to 290 it could easily do 2000 fpm till TOC if climbing at the barber pole. If you were climbing at a slower IAS/Mach is could do 3000 fpm till TOC.

The Q400 holds the world record for time-to-climb in a turboprop: from sea level to 30,000 feet in 7.5 minutes. Not too shabby.

The Dude Abides = Greatest Name Ever.

Well, it seems like y'all can definitely outclimb me in a normal climb profile, but if I slowed to 240 I could get 2K+ FPM so I'll call it a draw :)
Either way, that's one really good-looking plane. I'd seen pictures before and seen a few planes from far away, but this was the first time I got up close. Actually, it was REALLY close - ORF knows how to pack planes into the gate!

I've heard some people describe pugs as being so ugly that they're cute. Well, that's sort of how I feel about the Q400.

Dosen't take much to out climb a E145. At 250kts I rarely saw more than 2000fpm. Now slow a bit and the climb rate picks up. Now the E135 climbs like a beast, always saw between 3000 and 6000fpm.