As jets grew in importance it was also realized that some communities would never support
a full size jet. Into that void stepped the regional aircraft. Today we love to hate the
CRJ/ERJ, but they serve as a very important link to many communities worldwide.
deHavilland Canada, later Bombarier, is credited with creating the regional jet market, but
they also produced many propliners that served, and still serve, as vital links to communities.
The DHC-5 Buffalo and DHC-6 Twin Otter are usually associated with cargo, but they also
served as passenger planes for small towns all over the world, where the unique short
takeoff and rough landing ability of these aircraft meant the difference between having
service and not.
The DHCs were joined in this roll by the Pilatus PC-6C.
Capable of high altitude short field takeoffs the PC-6C links people in far flung communities
to the web global aviation and allowing people to travel to far flung locales they otherwise would not.
deHaviland Canad realized that the Twin Otter was too small for the regional airline market.
So they developed the DHC-7 or Dash 7
Using four engines and larger props to decrease noise, the DHC-7 was a highly
capable STOL aircraft, but few airlines needed that STOL ability. The extra engines meant
higher maintenance and fuel costs so the DHC-7 was not as successful as it could have been.
Not all regionals needed to be so rough and ready. The Dash8-Q202 is able to serve the
smaller communities that don't need the ruggedness of the DHCs or Pilatus. Serving many communities,
the Q202 meant even little towns with a paved runway might see service from an airline.
The BAe-146 did much the same with a small jet, but also allowed slightly larger communities
to see higher frequency due to the smaller load of the aircraft.
From the regionals, we move to a plane that attempted to bridge the gap between the regional
and the large mainline aircraft. The Boeing 717 was too big to be a proper regional, but
too small to feel like a proper mainline plane. It suffered from competition from Bombarier's
CRJ's and Embraer's ERJs, but found a strong niche among a few airlines that have used
it to great success. With a similar type rating to the MD-80 and DC-9 allowing pilots to be used more fluidly by certain airlines.
We're now up to aircraft that have helped shrink the larger world instead of those that
brought the larger world to the smallest towns. McDonnell Douglas's swan song in commercial
aviation was disappointing to the company, but still serves all over the world in cargo
capacity and with KLM for passengers. The MD-11 introduced many features to the venerable
DC-10 line, but failed to impress airlines who found the twin-jet offerings from Boeing
and Airbus more than capable at a lower fuel flow rate.
Maligned like the MD-11, the A340 was the sibling to the twin-jet A330. It was to serve
ultra-long haul routes that didn't need the capacity of the 747, but the introduction
of the 777's capable of serving the same flight profiles on a lower fuel flow doomed the quad-jet and it ceased production in the early 2000's.
The 777 has become a strong competitor for Boeing, not just against the Airbus offerings,
but also against its own 747 product. Capable of ultra-long range flight profiles using
a more economical capacity and fuel flow the 777 has become a standard of the long range
market for most airlines around the world.
While Boeing followed a point-to-point strategy, creating aircraft to fly long, thin mission
profiles, Airbus when the opposite route. They created an aircraft for a hub flow strategy
to move large numbers of people through central hubs. To that end they brought about the world's
first fully double decker jetliner, the A380. Capable of a higher passenger load than the
then offered 747-400 the A380 was a huge aircraft that challenged not just Airbus, but airports,
airlines, and regulatory agencies. The A380 introduced the ATC call "superheavy" to the
lexicon of aviation, but has also revitalized major hubs in the Middle East, allowing high
load hubs and long haul flights.
Continuing on their point-to-point strategy Boeing introduced the fastest selling widebody
to date, the 787 Dreamliner. Leaning on technology from military applications the 787 is a completely
new kind of aircraft, designed for highly efficient operations, ultra-long haul, and
thin routes that would not be economical on the larger 777 the 787 is opening new markets
that previously would not exist, such as Denver-Tokyo, Boston-Tokyo, and London-San Antonio.
While it suffered from various issues, if it regains the trust of airlines and passengers it will
likely shrink the world yet again.
For all this talk about shrinking the world, we are only shrinking it by allowing connections.
To truly shrink the world we have to go back to a plane that many in the aviation community
regard with a special kind of love.... Concorde. London to New York in 3.5hrs shrunk the world
in a way we only dream of today. Riding above the storms, surfing the stratosphere, moving
at twice the speed of sound, Concorde made the term "hopping the pond" a reality like
no other jetliner. Uneconomical in the best of times, she was a prestige plane more than
a financially viable aircraft, but for almost 28 years there was nothing faster, nothing
louder, nothing higher, and nothing with a "wow" factor like Concorde. In much of the
community she is still viewed as the pinnacle of commercial aviation.
While it didn't shrink the world, the Beechcraft Starship certainly redefined the look and
construction of commercial aircraft. Built in the 1970s of carbon fiber the Starship's unique look
made her an object of curiosity, but she was shaped for efficiency. Many issues doomed
the Starship, but the iconic look of the aircraft certainly shows the evolution of the commercial
planes and the capability of carbon fiber.
Sometimes the ugliest, ungainliness aircraft are some of the most important. When we think
of military aircraft we think of the sleek, fast, deadly fighters dancing through the
air. Sometimes we think about the bombers delivering a load of raining death, but these
are just two of the many aircraft in the military.
Military transport aircraft often were derived from, or the basis of, their commercial counterpart
in the early days. Today many state dignitary aircraft are still modified commercial aircraft,
but some military transports look nothing like a commercial plane, though they operate
in much the same flight envelope.
The C-119 Flying Boxcar is a unique prop transport for its look, but it served as a vital part
of the Military Airlift Command for many years before being replaced. It also straddled the
fence into an attack aircraft as the AC-119, the first cargo plane based gunship.
The C-130 replaced the C-119 and is still today a venerable, rugged airframe with a large mission profile.
From SAR to transport, from Antarctic operations to desert gunship, the C-130 has proven itself
a highly adaptable airframe capable of meeting needs of air forces and commercial cargo operators
around the world.
Strap a couple of JATOs on a C-130 and watch a Blue Angel pilot perform a dance in a large cargo aircraft.
Truly shows the adaptability of the C-130 Hercules.