Good afternoon gentleman,
Im posting for a friend if mine who is not a member yet.He has two job offers,one flying the dash and the other a crj,both are an easy one leg commute .He is leaning towards the dash 8.I have never flown the dash so im trying to get some insight for him on the difficulty of the dash to learn and fly.I know its a lot of hands on flying as opposed to the crj which is 80% AP.Can any dash 8 guys chime in with any info for him.Any insight would be helpful.Ive heard the dash is hard to learn and fly so I really don't know.He will be reading your posts.thanks

Its just an airplane man.

I loved the Dash 8 but to be honest Jet time is what it is all about now. Of course PIC is too so whatever gets you that faster, but all in all, I wouldn't trade my Dash time with anything. Most fun I have ever had. It taught me so much that you just don't learn on the jet. I still wish everyone would start out with a prop before going to a jet, but all the props are being retired in favor of the jet. That said, as far as pay goes, this is a job, so I would probably choose the jet not knowing what fun I would miss on the Dash, but at least I would be able to have more money to pay the bills.

All things being equal, a jet probably lends itself to a better career outlook.

What pays more? If you want prop time go fly 172s.

Depending on Company sometimes the Dash 8 will pay more.

Fly the dash. What an education and some pure hand flying experience. If you want to have some fun and the ability to fly it however you want, the dash is a blast! There will be plenty of time to fly a jet later...

My first airliner was the Brasilia, and it was a monster to learn, but a ball to fly. I've heard nothing but great things about the Dash from guys who flew it--they are almost wistful about the Dash as they are about a lost love.

That said, I agree with wt in an earlier post: I think everyone should start with a turboprop, but jet time is the necessary step. I flew the CRJ for 14+ years, and while it has its drawbacks, it's a great airplane and I loved it. Tell your buddy to get the jet time. If he wants a job with a major, he needs to be competitive.

So true... Had to jumpseat from CLT to LAS. Captain was an ex Horizon Dash Captain. He lite up like a candle when I told him I was on the Dash. On my 4.5 hour flight I heard "damn I miss that plane" about 10 times. Felt bad for the FO cause he had no input at all.

She's a fun and very forgiving bird.

Don't worry about the FO he makes twice as much as you.