CommutAir: Boston to White Plains

Well, I had to try it, didn't I. Barry Blaisdell's group, Premaircraft, has launched a new airplane for FS2004: the Beechcraft B1900D Commuter. For years we've been using Mike Stone's B1900, mainly for AI but occasionally for to fly ourselves. CDAI and Tomkaweicz have produced better AI models of the plane, but until now, only payware versions of this popular commuter plane were available -- and I don't use payware. So this was a must-see.

The route I planned for my debut flight was from the schedules of CommutAir, a regional affiliate of Continental that exclusively flies the B1900: Boston-Logan (BOS) to White Plains-Westchester County (HPN). Not, you would think, a very scenic choice, but actually, it's well worth the pilot's attention. I don't often fly in this region, and when I do, it's almost always at high altitudes in a big jet, so I don't really see much of the area. This flight, only 143 miles, at 18,000 feet, afforded a rare view of the metropolitan congestion from Boston to New York. What's more, I left at 3:30 p.m. on Nov-7. The sky was thick with clouds. FL180 put me just above the majority of it during the cruise part of the flight. And by the time I was arriving at White Plains, daylight was waning into early dusk, with a fiery sun setting on the horizon. All in all, there was a lot to look at, and the sense of being out there in the real world was almost tangible.

The airplane (you can find pictures of it on Barry's site) performed marvelously. Note: it seems to be the custom that Premaircraft always provides their own panels for their aircraft, so you don't have to hunt around for some King Air style panel to dress up your flight. They provide a custom panel for your B1900 that seems to me to be the finest panel yet published for this class of aircraft. The plane climbed easily at 1800 fpm to the desired cruise altitude, as it should, and even more surprising, it descended at 1800 fpm without building up undesirable speed. Throttles at idle and 1800 fpm descent managed to hold 180 KIAS, just as you would want.

The plane was a little nose-up at 140 knots and one notch of flaps, on approach, which is not unusual. I also noticed that, unlike many other small turboprop models, this B1900 lost speed due to drag when the landing gear is extended -- good job! I found the autopilot glideslope following on the money, and smooth as glass, without a lot of undesirable porpoising.

Between the lovely late-autumn route and the lovely new airplane, it was a very successful outing. I strongly recommend the plane for you turboprop afficianados; it's another success story for Barry Blaisdell's expert group.