On this Alaska/Horizon Q400 departing out of Sea-Tac, the prominent strakes under the fuselage aren’t for stall recovery but act as dams to block the propeller slipstream from curving under the fuselage and impinging on the rudder on the opposite side, adversely affecting directional control. This happens primarily in crosswinds and during single engine situations. The fuselage strakes weren't part of the original design but during the Q400 flight test program. It was found that at V2 (the air speed at which the aircraft may safely climb with one engine out), the vortices from the big six bladed props would wrap around the longer fuselage and hit the opposite side of the fin and rudder from the operating engine, adversely affecting handling. The fuselage strakes prevent this from happening. The strakes aren't a feature in the smaller Dash 8 variants as their engines aren't as powerful as the PW150s on the Q400 nor do they have the bigger six-bladed propellers. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KSEA #SEA #Seattle #SeaTac #Washington #airport #planespotting #instaplane ⠀ #Bombardier #Q400 #AlaskaAirlines #HorizonAir #N444QX #instagramaviation #splendid_transport #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight ⠀ #AvGeeksAero #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeekNation (at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKAitIuhg94/?igshid=2spr1ljadwoi
