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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0373.PDF
Above The final assembly line at Toulouse, where Aerospatiale unites the fuselage, fin, and tailplane which arrive separately from Aeritalia Naples. Below Use of composites KEVLAR/NOMEX sandwich "] Glass fiber/NOMEX : . sandwich ATR 42 — composite materials KEVLAR/NOMEX sandwich with stiffening carbon plies Propeller blades: f iberglass/polyurethane foam filler/solid aluminium alloy and blue independent hydraulic systems, each served by an AC pump. The DC pump can serve either. So there is no mystery about the way in which the basics of this aircraft work. ATR has gone for simplicity, and at the one point so far where they have chosen to be sophisticated—the flightdeck—they chose sophistication because it is easier to instal and maintain. Where else have these hyper-technological experts chosen to use the experience of which they boast? Experience with composite materials is one of the most important points, and they are extensively used in the ATR42, as shown in the diagram above. Composite parts are acknowledged to weigh, on aver age, 20 per cent less than their comparable metal counterparts. But there is a saving in manufacturing cost, too, because the number of parts in a given structure which is composite rather than metal can be reduced by up to 95 per cent. The saving from parts reduction is evident not only on the production line, but also in mainte nance. ATR has not constructed any primary parts of the aircraft from composites, as Airbus has done with the A310 fin and is doing with the entire tail of the A320, but load-bearing structures such as the flaps are completely composite. Another gain in strength/weight ratio and reduction in parts handled during manufacture is achieved by the increased use of milled or chemically milled sections of wing skin on the wing box, where sheet aluminium with attached stringers has been the norm. Competitors have been heard to scoff, particularly in the early days after the ATR42's launch, at the planned payload/ range performance and a price which, it was promised, would not exceed that of an in-production machine—the BAe 748, for example. ATR always pointed first at the new wing design to explain the promised I Double slotted simple rotation flaps maximum lift ATR 42 technology 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Flap ATR 42 new airfoil characteristics CI 2- 1-5- 1- 0-5^ ft t ft ft 1 ft fa ft Lift 10 CI 2 1-5 1- 0-5 a • ATR 42 type airfoils efficiency, then at the lightness of the aircraft compared with older aeroplanes, and finally at its simplicity and planned low-cost production methods. The wing, says ATR, is an advanced design which the partners were able to achieve because of the windtunnel and computer design facilities available to them by virtue of their work in the field of much more sophisticated aircraft manu facture. With little or no modification it will lift the ATR72, says ATR. Of course the ATR72, the 60-seater- plus stretched version of the basic machine, is now not only launched but ordered. And while ATR concentrates on the civil market for the time being, the company has military variants of the '42 constantly in mind for search and rescue or maritime surveillance. A civil version with side cargo doors is available now. Success for the ATR42 family looks a reasonably safe bet. It first flew in commercial service on December 9 last year, and there are no signs of discontent from operators. Orders at the end of last year stood at 60, with 38 options, and there were 21 pledges of various kinds for the ATR72. Within the first few days of this year five of the ATR72 options had been confirmed, and ten sales were won for the -42. Things are moving. The prod uction line rate is only two a month, but by the year's end it will be up to 3| per month, and the planned four will be reached during 1987. The capability is six aircraft a month after aircraft No 100. The way things are going, six a month does not seem an impossible dream. n FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 15 February 1986 29
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