New ATR ‘Made for Plymouth’

French/Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR has made the first flight of the ATR 42-600S Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) variant of its ATR 42-600 aircraft.

The 30-50 seat turboprop is designed for runways as short as 800m making it ideal for a resurrected Plymouth City Airport whose 13/31 runway has a notional length of 1160m.  See BTN 2 May Fly Plymouth.

The crew onboard performed a number of tests to measure the upgraded aircraft systems' performance.

The aircraft will enter its final configuration at the end of the year with the addition of a new larger rudder and move on to the certification phase in 2023.

There are currently close to 500 airports around the world with a runway length of between 800 and 1,000m (2,625 to 3,281ft) that could welcome the ATR 42-600S. This new STOL variant will help passengers benefit from an increased regional connectivity.

ATR has also announced its new EVO variant paving the way towards a decarbonised future for aviation. Key benefits include a 20% overall fuel improvement and 100% SAF compatibility. This means that the aircraft will emit over 50% less CO2 than a regional jet when powered by kerosene. When using 100% SAF, ATR says its emissions will be close to zero.

www.atr-aircraft.com

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