Upgauging

“We did have clients who requested we operate something above the 30-odd seat aircraft [range], and we felt there was a little bit of a gap in the market, and that we needed to be able to satisfy these clients in meeting their needs,” Wild said of the -300 acquisition.

“We also acknowledge that in times of the peak season – being the dry season – on several days there is a requirement for an aircraft bigger than the 30-odd seat to move our passengers. So as well as satisfying the contract market with some of our existing clients, we felt it was a good time to bring them into our fleet so we can put it selectively on our RPT network during the peak periods. ” A key client market that Skytrans is targeting with the -300 acquisition is the FIFO sector serving Australia’s mining boom. Once both aircraft are inducted into the fleet, they will operate from the airline’s Brisbane base, providing passenger transport to a number of mining sites throughout western Queensland. Having acquired one -300 on a mid term lease and purchased another, Wild also did not rule out obtaining more -300s in the future, given the dwindling number of -100s currently available in the market.

“As most people know, it’s never good to have a one-off type, so having two Dash 8-300s certainly makes a lot of sense. It also means that because of the shortage of the Dash 8-100s and the high price, there are more Dash 8-300s out there. So we consider the incremental costs that we’re paying for a -300 versus a -100, as well as the fact that it can support growth in the mining areas,” Wild noted, adding that an eventual move into RPT operations may be possible if demand is strong enough.

“We believe the market is growing slightly, and it’s better that we bring the aircraft into our fleet when there is an aircraft available in the market and at a relatively good price. ” While stressing that Skytrans was “very happy” with its Dash 8-100 workhorse fleet of and their ability to serve a number of smaller airports with limited size and weight runways, Wild believes that the heavier -300 can also be used during wet season ad hoc charter operations, where keeping up with passenger demand poses a challenge for the airline. Normally using two 36-seat Dash 8-100s in a 28- seat passenger freight/combination load (combi-load) configuration, the addition of the -300 now means Skytrans can offer 36 seats on a single aircraft, but still hold a similar freight capacity to the -100. Without a combi-load capability on the -300, this extra payload is achieved through the use of ‘seat packs’ secured to the remaining 14 seats available on the aircraft, in addition to the use of the cargo hold.

“Rather than put two flights on, we’ll put the Dash 8-300 on and uplift a full Dash 8-100 dry season payload. We can also get return fuel and uplift urgent cargo which is generally required during the wet season… So that is certainly a benefit,” Wild said.

Leading the Dash 8-300 transition team is Skytrans head of training and checking, Rohan Hilyear. Having flown the Dash 8-100 and later the Q400 for Japan’sAll Nippon Airways, Hilyear brings a wealth of experience to his role in being able to assist Skytrans pilots converting onto the -300 for the first time. Having been preparing for the expected arrival of the first -300 for at least a month before it arrived in May, Hilyear outlined the extensive process required to induct a new type of aircraft into the Skytrans fleet.

“While it’s the same aircraft type…there were a lot of changes that needed to go in to cope with the slight differences you get with a different variant of Dash 8…We needed to prepare all the documentation and changes to the company to get the aircraft operating. There were a lot of compliance changes that needed to happen,” Hilyear explained.

“For example, we needed to review flightcrew operating manuals and training and checking manuals…And it just so happened that we were intending to put in a lot of other changes just as the company has evolved as well, so we’ve taken the opportunity to rewrite some manuals to not only cope with the addition of the -300, but also to improve the way we do things in general. So the project has probably been a bit bigger than just a simple -300 variation,” he added.

Featuring an EFIS incorporating an electronic horizontal situation indicator (EHSI) and electronic attitude director indicator (EADI), the Dash 8-300’s avionics suite is certainly an improvement over the full analogue cockpit commonly found in the -100. However, Hilyear points out that pilots converting across only require a relatively minor conversion course before they become fully qualified on the -300.

This is due to Bombardier’s common crew qualification (CCQ) system across all four Dash 8 series.

“Many of the upgrades are subtle systems changes…The advantage is that you tend to have more information available to the pilot and better situational awareness,” Hilyear observed.

“From a pilot’s point of view, the -100 series Dash 8 and the -300 series Dash 8 is the same qualification…However, we’ll be providing simulator training as well as line experience before they [Skytrans pilots] get certified to operate the larger aircraft, but for all intents and purposes, it’s the same aeroplane,” he said, adding that both Dash 8 variants feature a high degree of parts commonality.

“We have gone and provided CASA with syllabuses for differences training for both cabin crew and pilots. And in many ways, the biggest differences will be for the cabin crew, because…they’ll now have a two cabin crew operation [on the -300]. ” Yet despite the straightforward transition to the -300 under a CCQ, Hilyear explained that Skytrans Dash 8-100 pilots must still undergo an approximately two week conversion course, aimed at aircraft familiarisation and new procedures. This involves a one day differences ground school to identify specific systems differences between the -100 and -300, a single four hour simulator session based on differences training and finally, a requirement to fly a minimum of 10 sectors before being cleared to the line by a check captain.

“In addition to that, all crew – both cabin and flightcrew – need to undergo what we class as emergency procedures training.

So being familiar with the emergency equipment, evacuation procedures and use of emergency exits, which are. . . a little bit different on this larger aircraft. There’s more emergency exits and they’re slightly different types [compared to the -100],” Hilyear noted, alluding to the -300’s innovative ditching dams.

“If you ditch in the water, obviously if you open an exit, you don’t want water to enter the aircraft to prevent people from escaping, so some of the exits have a dam that will self inflate, and effectively cover the base of an exit. So if an aircraft is sitting in the water, it prevents to a certain degree water from entering the aircraft while the cabin is being evacuated,” he said.

Given that both Dash 8-300s are likely to be based in Brisbane, initially Brisbane based aircrews will convert to the new aircraft type, encompassing between 15 and 20 pilots. And with Skytrans’ first Dash 8-300 having recently been added to its air operator certificate (AOC) by CASA, it is hoped the airline’s second aircraft (due this month) will soon follow suit before beginning flight operations out of Brisbane later in the year.

“The second [aircraft conversion] will be much easier, because all of the changes that we’re doing from a regulatory compliance point of view are obviously applicable to any -300 that we operate, so a new type will be a much simpler process to introduce, that’s for sure,” Hilyear concluded.