Dash 8 Q100

de Havilland Canada · Canada · first flew 1983 · airliner

The Dash 8 Q100 (originally DHC-8-100) is the original and shortest member of the Dash 8 turboprop family, seating 37-40 passengers and designed for thin-route regional operations.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	2 × turboprop, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Shortest Dash 8 — noticeably stub-fuselaged with only 2-2 seating for 37-40 passengers
T — Tail	T-tail

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Shortest Dash 8 — noticeably stub-fuselaged with only 2-2 seating for 37-40 passengers
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 engines; no NVS noise/vibration suppression on early Q100 examples
T-tail and high wing identical across Q series; fuselage length is the main discriminator

Shortest Dash 8 variant — the Q200 is the same length but has more powerful engines; the Q300 is 3.43 m longer and the Q400 is 13 m longer.

Specifications

The Dash 8 Q100 has a length of 22.25 m (73 ft).
It has a wingspan of 25.89 m (85 ft).
Its maximum speed is 490 km/h (304 mph).
Typical crew: 2 flight crew.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in 1983, the Series 100 entered service with NorOntair and established the Dash 8 as the benchmark regional turboprop; the 'Q' designation and NVS system were added to Series 100 aircraft from 1996.

Variants

The Series 100A and 100B introduced progressive engine and weight improvements; the Q200 used the same fuselage with more powerful PW123 engines.

Where you'll see it

Operated extensively by Canadian regional carriers, Air New Zealand Link, and many small carriers; some survive in charter and cargo service.

Related aircraft

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