ATR.

In September 1989 ATR announced that they had achieved their target of 400 sales of the ATR 42.

The ATR 42 maintained its original specs until 1996 when some modernising changes were made, one change was the introduction of the more powerful PW-121 engines which gave it better performance over the original PW-120.

The new model was known as the ATR-320 and essentially looked the same as the original ATR-42. Aside from the ATR-300 and 320, there was a further variant to this model which was the ATR-300QC.

This model was capable of switching from passenger to cargo carrying in a very quick time as the QC stood for Quick Change. The passenger cabin seating was modular and was capable of being removed.  This allowed for carrying passengers during the day and then switching to cargo-carrying at night.

Air Dolomiti ATR-42-500 registration I-ADLG.

There was an ATR 42-400, however, only 5 were built. This model was simply an ATR-320 with the same PW-121 engines but with a six-bladed propeller.

The ATR 42-500 was a much more modernised aircraft overall. The first one was delivered in October 1995 and featured improvements in the passenger cabin as well as performance.

The engines were the more powerful PW-127Es which drove six-bladed propellers. These more modern propellors resulted in a quieter passenger cabin, whilst the extra power gave the 500 a better takeoff weight, better performance on hot and high airfields as well as extra range.

Air Littoral ATR 42-500 registration F-GPYO landing at Zurich(ZRH).

As the ATR 42 was taking to the air for the first time, plans were already underway to create a larger model. The ATR 72 was designed to cater for 78 passengers and was essentially a stretched ATR 42.

The main differences between the two were an increase to the fuselage length of 4.5 metres (15 ft) and a slightly larger wingspan which allowed for the accommodation of 10% more fuel capacity. Both aircraft are assembled on the same assembly line as their components and systems are generally the same. In this way, they complement each other as demand may rise and fall for either model.

The launch of the ATR 72 project began on 15 January 1986 with the first airframe taking its maiden flight on 27 October 1988. On 25 September 1989, the French Directorate-General for Civil Aviation granted type certification, with launch customer Finnair putting their first ATR 72 into service on 27 October 1989.

Air Nostrum(Iberia Regional) ATR 72-600 registration EC-LRH.

There have been 5 main variants of the ATR-72 with differences mainly around engines, door configuration and performance. These differences can be seen in our spec table below.  The current version is the ATR-600 which features an all-glass cockpit with wide screens, an improvement on the old EFIS system. As well, in the passenger cabin, the seats are lighter and the luggage bins have a greater capacity. This variant has also been approved for a high-density configuration of up to 78 seats.

The ATR order book is still looking healthy with projected orders set to keep the production line running for some time yet.  The company had started investigating a 90 seat version of the type, however, there seemed very little interest by either Airbus or Leonardo to pursue this and it has reportedly been shut down.

Finnair ATR 72-201 registration OH-KRH at Tallinn(TLL).