Regional (local) plane - a small plane, which is designed for one hundred and thirty passengers, flight routes it is usually within a region or a country. This class of aircraft often use regional divisions of major airlines, as well as for the transport of troops and local transportation of goods.

 

 

In the initial stages of the history of aviation, most aircraft performed short flights, which means that all passenger aircraft were local (regional). With the advent of seaplanes and increased flight range situation has improved. Many regional airlines were bought large national carriers.

 

 

In order for aviation companies to work as efficiently as possible, considerable investments are needed in new aviation equipment, since this situation was impossible for small aircraft. New aircraft were created very slowly, so regional airlines for many years were forced to use the old equipment, which after the commissioning of new models was released. In the post-war time in America, the most common local aircraft was DC-3; De Havilland Dragon Rapide - in the UK, which for many years remained in operation. This process continued even later: Vickers Viscount, DC-6 and Convair 440, which were regional aircraft when they created the first jet airliners.

 

In the middle of 1950-ies there was an urgent need for a more economical model of regional airliners. It was turboprops, which compared with piston aircraft has been lower fuel consumption and significantly lower operating costs. Among these early models is to provide local aircraft Avro 748, ley Page Dart Herald, Avro 748.

 

These aircraft models were so successful that for many years there was no need for new models. But be that as it may, several models were created that were designed to solve special problems. For example, the Handley Page Jetstream was designed for higher speeds and fewer passengers - it succeeded in displacing smaller Beechcraft Queen Air aircraft.

 

 

By 1970-th year of operation began to emerge from the first generation of local aircraft. At the same time, work was conducted to develop new models for this segment of the economy. In 1978 year Beechcraft Queen Air began producing Dash 7, but it was a plane with a short landing and take-off, rather than regional aircraft. In 1984, the airline requirements have become more stringent. The plane has become much faster, more efficient and quieter than the previous generation representatives. It was how many orders that the power plant could not meet demand.

 

The great success of Dash 8 stimulated the creation of new models of local aircraft, among which were the Fokker F50, Saab 340, ATR 42. The rapid growth of their production led to the fact that the old aircraft from Vickers, Vickers and others were withdrawn from service until the end of the 1950s. ... As a result of intense competition, the production of many types simply declined. As of 2006, there were only two models in production - the Dash 8 and the ATR 42/72. In the postwar period in the USSR, the main regional aircraft was the Il-14, and then the An-24, which was produced from 1962 to 1979. A large number of them are still used in the countries of Asia, Africa, the former USSR. To replace the An-24, the An-140 and Il-114 were created, which are produced in our time, but after the collapse of the USSR, their number has significantly decreased.

 

The decline in the market for local turboprop aircraft is largely due to the emergence of local jet aircraft. Despite the fact that most small jet planes were formed in 1950 and 60, at that time they could not compete on regional lines with turboprops due to low fuel efficiency and were designed for a smaller number of passengers than for flights to small Distance. Thanks to this progress in engine building, operational costs have significantly decreased, and the predominance of cruising speed has caused airlines to prefer jet planes to turboprops.

 

Features include aircraft