Air Canada Embraer E190

"crazedclay: SBC murderer" (crazedclay) 07/23/2014 at 14:41 • Filed to: planelopnik

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The oppo deconstruction.

(Disclaimer. Air Canada wanted me to fly the Embraer e190 so badly that they went bankrupt a few times, decided to charge more for in flight conveniences, hooked up with star alliance and within that handed out a flight for me from Edmonton to Halifax on points.)

At first blush? It's like someone got a Westjet really soggy and then tumble dried it on super hot. It feels like the shrunken head on the altar of the regional commuter jet voodoo church.

Everthing seems teensy weensy.

In terms of exterior styling, the one very interesting point is the upswept wingtips. Neo futuristic with I'm sure no small purpose. Assuming that they generate lateral stability at cruising speed, at the expense of reduced handling of crosswinds at landing. But I'm no aviationist, so correct me with fact or funny.

Interior.

I'm a thin guy. 30" waist but very broad shoulders. You probably don't have to guess which section of me fit in the relatively slender seats. Luckily my seat mate was 120 percent of me, so she made it snug all the same.

Legroom? I did not bonk my knees on the seat ahead of me. Until I sat down. Hemmed in by the thighs of mount doom next to me due to my window seat position I could not position them comfortably without my leg hair making grasshopper noises as it rubbed on the overtaxed leggings of Femme Galactus.

Are you using that continent or do you mind if I just sit down?

So I just sort of tucked into the corner. No mention of an arm rest. It disappeared into my seatmate's forearm. Presuming they will charge her for that later.

Fit and finish on the e190 is roughly between an old ginger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and 90's Kia. Many of the interior panels do not line up, and the overhead compartment doors were a little worse than that. Plastics were fairly hard, and they never gave up any semblance of pliability.

To add to the joy, my in-seat entertainment locked up a few times and blatantly refused to provide trip data in anything but imperial and french. Now THAT's a funny one.

The in-seat screen also came with a USB slot. And part of me wonders if I could have written a Linux boot drive with the intent of hija.... Erm... Repurposing the all the screens in all the seats to display relevant data like a locked in rotating gif of Laser Nick Cage. Unfortunately, all the toys to do so are at home.

Pictured: Instant flight diversion.

Also, better than the in flight movie selection.

Ride.

It rode. We didn't die. Warranty doesn't matter one lick at a cruising altitude of 35000 feet, so I'm happy to report that the owner seems to be taking care of his plane.

We didn't die.

Automation:

The stewardesses were wonderful, thanks for asking.

The e190. The shrunken head of commuter jets.

I am now on layover in the hat of America's hat but not for much longer.

Just enough time to not have enough time to go outside to get through security again to get on the plane.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > crazedclay: SBC murderer 07/23/2014 at 14:50

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Never been on a plane, never plan to be. Too small and cramped. Rather drive.

Where are you heading?

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > crazedclay: SBC murderer 07/23/2014 at 15:09

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Huh, I actually quite like the E190. I used to be travelling industrial automation systems mechanic, and I flew in and out 3/4s of the small airports in the USA and all of the Major ones... Whenever I saw an E190 listed as the aircraft I'd sigh pleasantly. Here's why...

(evaluation based mostly on USA Star Alliance E190s)

1) The E190 is amongst the quietest planes you can fly on, its far quieter than any of the other "commuter" jets (or God forbid, a Dash 8...) and quieter than all but the latest generation of 737s and A320/321s.

2) The oldest one in the fleet is 10 years old, even if it hasn't been re-fitted, it's likely to still be quite clean and smell fresh-ish.

3) Reasonable seat size! No three-abreast, some semblance of knee room! (I'm 5'9" tall, 190lbs, wide shoulders,) If you think the E190 is tight you should fly a United 373 :P

5) Bright, airy cabin! big windows and tall center section make it feel much less claustrophobic, also the overhead bins are HUGE considering the size of the aircraft.

6) I had my entrainment screen reboot on me too, but at least it's not a freaken' burnt-out, washed-out, poorly color-adjusted CRT hanging from the ceiling three rows in front of you... quite a few short-haul USA carriers still have planes thus equipped... *shivers*

4) I think it's one of the handsomest commercial planes in the sky, and everyone likes to be seen in a classy-looking ride ;)

my total favorite though? in 2012 Delta still had a couple L-1011s in service, they were loud as hell, and didn't even have the emergency exit track-lighting on the isles and the leather was looking a little ragged, but they hadn't been re-fitted since the early 90s, so the coach seats were bigger and cushier than First class in a modern 737! Hell, I could more than just avoid bumping my knees, I could STRETCH! *sigh* almost made up for all the times I got to ride center-isle-end-bitch in Dash 8s...

Jayhawk Jake > crazedclay: SBC murderer 07/23/2014 at 15:33

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Assuming that they generate lateral stability at cruising speed, at the expense of reduced handling of crosswinds at landing. But I'm no aviationist, so correct me with fact or funny.

No., although they don't hurt stability

The purpose of a winglet is to reduce the size of wingtip vortices, thereby reducing induced drag

They also look cool, so there are some airplanes out there that have them for appearances.

Jayhawk Jake > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 07/23/2014 at 15:35

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I rode a 170 recently, and noticed a couple things that make it far more comfortable than 737s and the like.

First of all, the cabin is actually pretty wide at shoulder level and above, so that's nice. It's basically an upside down egg.

The fuselage frames are relatively thin, so unlike a 737 they don't intrude into your space if you get the wrong seat.

The seats only have two supports: one at the wall and one at the aisle. That gives you lots of leg room, especially on an empty flight like mine with no one next to me.

thebigbossyboss > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 07/23/2014 at 15:50

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Yup, it's all fun to drive around Ontario or around western Canada....and then you come to the "zone". The sparsely populated gap between Eastern Canada and Western Canada.

It's called Northern Ontario...it's 1209 miles from one side to the other and there is no interstate. There only one two lane road that traverses it's length: Highway 17.

That's it. You can take part of the route on another Highway called Highway 11, if you want. It's even less populated than Highway 17.

Traveling this route once you get out above Sudbury it can be anywhere from 37 to 160 miles between gas stations alone.

I should add: No cell signal for most of that distance. So if you run out of gas, it's going to be a LONG walk son!

ttyymmnn > crazedclay: SBC murderer 07/23/2014 at 18:35

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Best. Review. Ever. I'm glad you didn't die.

Kevin Rhodes > crazedclay: SBC murderer 07/24/2014 at 00:52

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Compared to a Bombardier CRJ-200, the E-jets are flying Rolls-Royces. I fly 100K+ a year, almost entirely legs of 500 miles or less in the US. Based out of Portland, ME, and flying entirely on US Airways. 80% of my flights are on regional jets, mostly these Embraers. The E170/175/190 are fantastic, at least how US and their Express partner Republic equip them. US themselves fly the 190, Republic flies the 170/175s. They have first class, to start with, but even in coach they have more room than the domestic full-size planes do. Quiet, comfy, quick to get on and off, no middle seats, great windows. As opposed to CRJs, which are cramped like a coffin, have windows placed such that your elbow gets a lovely view, no legroom, LOUD, and no overhead space at all. And best of all, the E-jets use the MAIN terminals at US's hub airports - not the off in the hinterland commuter jet concourses.

The only plane I liked better was back in the good old days of NorthWest Airlines - their express partner Mesaba flew RJ-85s. Now THAT was A FANTASTIC little airplane. Imagine a 60 passenger aircraft with *16* first class seats - upgrade city, even when I was a lowly Silver! Four tiny engines, no thrust reverse, and they made the weirdest howling noises when the flaps where going in and out. Also super comfy in coach. Slow though, and serious hanger queens.