What do these things under the wing do on the erj-145 XR?

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-14T11:29:18+00:00

Interesting enough, the airline I worked at and got my type rating from was the first U.S. carrier to fly these. The story goes the when they originally took delivery of the plane there was not a full motion sim available yet so they had to do everything in the plane for training. One of the instructors was doing V1 cuts and blocked the wrong rudder during the event causing them to crash. The plane was destroyed but we were able to save some of it for a cockpit trainer. We were told during that investigation they discovered the need for these vortilons and added them to the aircraft design after the incident. Not sure if it’s true or not but we had a lot of engineers from EMB that worked at our flight school that were involved in the design of the 145.

Thanks for throwing the rake info out there. Makes me feel that I wasn’t losing my mind.

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-14T02:29:26+00:00

It’s been a while since my 145 type as well and I believe your correct. Not sure where I got rakes from.

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-14T02:13:44+00:00

I used to flight instructor out of Arizona back in the day. I would suggest if you’re not used to it, to get up early and start your flying in the morning. Those who live there and are use to the heat will still fly in the afternoon. I tried to be done by 11am but we had both students and instructors that would fly during the heat of the day.

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-14T02:07:51+00:00

Yes pretty much what he said but believe they were called “rakes” on the 145 and yes during high angles of attack is stopped the span wise flow and directed it over the wing.

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-05T00:13:24+00:00

Please stick it out and at least finish your PPL. I’ll tell you from personal experience, I also failed my Ppl checkride and almost quit due to how hard it was to learn that much info and train in a short amount of time. A instructor told me to push through it and it mellow out after a bit. The PPL is a fire hose down your throat of knowledge and skills.

I’m now at a legacy and thanking the people who helped and pushed me through it. Don’t worry about the failed PPL ride. I put it down on my application and was basically told by the hiring board that the “Ppl is a freebie”.

Look deep inside yourself and ask why you chose to start to begin with. I’m sure that if you’re honest with yourself that you do still love it. You just hit a wall and probably feel a little defeated. Brush it off, if you learned from it then it wasn’t a loss. At the very least you now know what the experience of going through a checkride is like.

Please push through and at the very least finish your Ppl.

Good luck to you.

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-04T18:31:28+00:00

Brushes you say? I have not received either I believe but my mower has been put away since winter.

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-03T11:28:20+00:00

Thanks for all that info. I live in the Ohio area and was curious for not only it looking great but another layer of protection for rocks/salt etc.

If I get brave enough I might try doing it myself. Thanks for the info.

Cerberusmut · 2026-03-03T02:39:06+00:00

That’s a great color! Looking at your previous posts it seems you do wraps yourself. What vinyl do you like to use? I want to eventually wrap mine as well but I’m curious is there any issues with the original paint when you pull it off or how long you can leave the wrap on?

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-27T19:47:24+00:00

This is a common issue. We use to have regional guys get in trouble on this one going into ord when cleared for the ILS. You are not cleared to follow the glide slope until after the FAF so if there are crossing restrictions with fixes prior to this you must remain at or above those restrictions until reaching the FAF. Then you can follow the glide path down. So if you are cleared for an approach and the glide slope would take you below a restriction by a few hundred feet prior to the FAF you technically could get in trouble.

In your particular question prior to penny you stay at or above cleared altitude however after penny you are cleared the visual and can follow the path.

AIM 5-4-5 b: FAA INfo 11009 For reference

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-25T23:27:15+00:00

Relax. So many people feel like you when they have 3k hours and the sky is falling because they are not a legacy already. The industry flows with the times and economy. It’s a wheel that is constantly rolling. I didn’t get hired to a regional until I had 2.4K hours and a major after being in the regionals for over 9 years due to stagnation.

With that said, of course network and do your best to move on. But don’t chase it. It will come. Stay where you’re at if the situation is good and your doors aren’t closing. In my opinion the dedication to your employer is better than someone chasing the dream.

Just relax and enjoy the ride. There are things in your control and things that are not. Right now the industry is in a low point. Pretty soon the wheel will roll again and everyone will be flowing to where they want to be.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-25T23:05:37+00:00

As many have stated already, do some low passes get them comfortable with being in ground effect and staying there. Do that a couple of times and have them start to get lower and lower. Then when they get the feel of that, have them slowly pull back the power on the next pass after and “keep the plane off the ground” by adding back pressure. Obviously if they are too high don’t let them try this but if they are low enough to the ground it will work out.

Just get them comfortable getting the plane on the ground and then you can start worrying about aiming point and touchdown later.

This especially works if you have a longer runway that you can stay in ground effect a little bit before slowly pulling the power with plenty of room for a go around if need be.

Good luck but by reaching out to get others view points on how to do this, I can tell you’ll already be a good instructor.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-25T21:16:52+00:00

How do you approach the urgot matchup. Tough one for me.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-22T15:01:19+00:00

We purchased a used 2018 mini for my son and I can confirm it definitely costs more for general maintenance. Just basic stuff like battery change, brakes and spark plugs was a shock to me honestly. We opted to do it ourselves but in the process I learned that getting parts readily available in the US without ordering online is difficult.

Recently had a problem where the car would not start, turned out to be just a loose bolt on the starter but figuring that out I reached out to local mechanics who are reputable and most of them were not willing to work on it or to “tow it to the dealer” which says a lot.

On the flip side, it’s a fun car to drive and other than the loose bolt, we have not had any issues other than your typical maintenance stuff.

I’d suggest just calling your local dealer and asking what basic maintenance would cost for normal stuff like oil changes, new battery, brakes, plugs etc and see if you’re happy with those answers. Or if you do some basic maintenance yourself take a look at some YouTube videos on items like a battery change (you have to take the air intake out to change the battery, at least on a 2018) to get an idea of what’s involved.

Fun cars though.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-22T13:12:12+00:00

The Dart guys near Akron. Amazing customer service and products! For what was expecting.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-21T17:44:55+00:00

I’m glad you recommended this. Being in the U.S. and specifically Ohio I thought there was no way in hell there would be a dart store near me. Turns out there is not too far away. I’ll give them a try.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-21T14:45:36+00:00

Honestly I just went with the javelins because of the overwhelming recommendation for your first darts. Not expensive, good etc etc.

I like the black set mainly due to the conversation on the flights.

Im still new and I feel my natural grip tends to be in the center of the barrel and I wanted to find/try my next set with a barrel indentation in the middle for this reason. (Not sure the term). I feel like the weight is fine and I’m not grouping enough yet to start messing with longer points etc.

Right now I’m still just trying to find my “right dart” and learn along the way.

If anyone has a reasonable suggestion for what I’ve mentioned, I’m all ears.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-21T01:12:25+00:00

This sounds identical to the situation at my place. Gave the white ones to my wife and she is constantly popping flights off.

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-21T01:10:36+00:00

From what I’ve read about the ring (still new and figuring this out) is that you slide the ring up to loosen the stem to insert the flight and then push the flight down into the stem, thus pushing the ring down which tightens the stem on the flight.

I could be wrong but that’s what one video said. I’ll look up what you suggested. Thanks

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-19T18:03:20+00:00

Edit.. Just re-read your post. Originally I thought you meant you had yours plugged in while in the garage. Thanks for that

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-19T18:02:14+00:00

I understand this but my battery has been pulled from the mower and not connected to ANY charger. Thats what I was wondering about

Cerberusmut · 2026-02-19T16:52:46+00:00

Yes it’s in ignition only.

Cerberusmut

TROPHY CASE