I was a radio operator/loadmaster on a KC-130 at 44,000! Big props rule!

who give a flying tea cup how high you can go and how fast my airplane is. all comes down to the 15th and 30th of the month when i get a paycheck.

Be careful when you say "ERJ" people may think you're talking ERJ135/145

"Paycheck"? What's that?

All Boeings are big when viewed from my crappy regional jet.

I like these two.:D
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/IMG_5176.jpg

View out the window at 510.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/IMG_5060.jpg

Yeah, I know ... been there, done that ! ;)

Back to the question of buffett margin. It has been awhile for me, but I thought that the CRJ-200 did have a very small envelope (20-30K) at 410. I know the first pic is of a 900, but someone claims the 200 margin is also 80K ?

I'm so old it could be blurred, but when I had initial training on the CRJ-200 in Montreal, the sim instructor made a lasting impression on me by climbing the sim to 410 and "demonstrating" the balancing on a pinhead design. Has my recollection of this event become blurred with age ?

Always look at the 1.3G charts...

With the crj's wing design and the underpowered engines it is a safer bet to stay in the mid 30's than it is to take it up to 410 and pray for smooth air. (If you really want to get technical its not that the engines are underpowered as much as it is the plane is nose heavy and the tail isn't able to create enough lift to compensate for it at altitude, but thats another discussion) I agree with most everyone on here. after 3000 hours in the plane with about 1200 of that PIC I don't think the possible gains at 410 out way the risks of being there. Turbulence, engine failure, or the likes can be just enough to kick part of the wing into a stall. Like mooney said being up there is like trying to balance the plane on the head of a needle.

The 135/145 will do it as long as you stay ahead of the curve. Get behind and you're gonna have to step climb it or maybe hold 500fpm for a while. I always have to laugh a little bit when I watch guys get a few knots fast in the climb and then get all ambitious with their climb rate just to bleed all that extra speed off and then some. Better to just keep those few knots for when you get into the upper 20's-mid 30's.

Now the XR, that is a different beast. She'll go right on up in pretty much any weight/temp condition without a lot of babying.