Revamp of turboprop family's flightdeck will make debut on Turkish navy aircraft
ATR will introduce a new-generation Thales glass cockpit on its turboprop family in 2009, while a replacement for the 50- to 70-seat turboprop is likely to be ready by the middle of the next decade.
The existing ATR flightdeck incorporates a basic 1980s-era electronic flight instrument system with two small displays for each pilot and electro-mechanical engine gauges.
The Alenia Aeronautica/EADS joint venture has been evaluating offerings from Thales as well as Honeywell and Rockwell for what it says is a "fairly sizable upgrade", and according to Alenia the selection of Thales was made during September.
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© ATRATR plans a "fairly sizeable upgrade" for the family's 1980s-era cockpit |
ATR says officially that it is "still in discussions with the suppliers" and an announcement is expected by the end of September. However the selection of Thales was revealed earlier this month by a senior Alenia executive on the sidelines of the company's press conference in Venice to announce the Sukhoi Superjet 100 tie-up.
The development timetable is tight as the Turkish navy is contracted to be the first customer for the new cockpit on its 10 ATR 72s. These will be delivered in the type's anti-submarine warfare version from 2009. Within ATR, Alenia is designated as the leader to promote and sell specialised versions, including for military applications.
Alenia has formed a joint venture with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft to support and market the Superjet 100 regional jet - for which Thales is supplying the cockpit avionics. The Superjet International division's chief executive Alessandro Franzoni told Flight International that selection of Thales for ATR came after it was established that "there was the opportunity to leverage synergies between the companies regarding our various programmes".
Franzoni says that the Superjet tie-up will not impact its investment in the ATR family. The company is working Alenia Aeronautica is working on a more environmentally friendly regional aircraft under its Clean Sky technology initiative. This includes a commitment to ensure "the ATR product has a follow-on" with a replacement tentatively scheduled for 2015.
ATR is riding high on the back of the turboprop sales boom with a backlog of 170 aircraft and its annual output expanding to 60 aircraft.
Source: Flight International
