It’s sometime in the late 90s and an Air Wisconsin BAe-146 is readied for it’s milk run from Denver to Aspen. Though flying into Aspen even in good weather may not exactly be most pilots’ definition of a milk run! For years, the BAe-146 was the only passenger jet that could fly into Aspen/Sardy Field (ASE). There are noise sensitivities in the area, naturally, and aircraft are restricted in wingspan to 95 feet or less due to the non-standard displacement of the parallel taxiway from the runway. But most challenging, ASE sits in a box valley at 7800 feet elevation with mountains on three sides rising to 13,000 feet. For the longest time, the BAe-146 was the only commercial jet that could meet ASE’s most stringent restriction, being able to execute a missed approach with one engine out seeing as to how an engine out in a 146 is only a 25% loss of total thrust. Air Wisconsin (flying as United Express) and Mesaba (flying as Northwest Airlink/Northwest Jetlink) were for quite a time the main operators at ASE. Newer aircraft now serve Aspen that have more powerful engines that can safely accommodate the engine out requirement, but many miss the BAe-146’s four engines and STOL capability that was once a staple of ASE passenger services. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #airlines #planeporn #TheChickenport (follow this tag to see more of my collection) #airlines #aerosanctuary #BritishAerospace #BAE #BAe146 #UnitedExpress #AirWisconsin #N292UE #400Scale #GeminiJets #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #Avgeekery #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge
