ATR has launched the second phase of test flights under the European Union’s Clean Sky Joint Undertaking (CS JU) programme. The latest ‘all electrical aircraft’ (AEA) flights follow the first ‘green’ flying demonstration carried out last July using a prototype ATR 72 (see Airliner World, September 2015). The aim of these latest trials is to test an all electrical energy management system, while also optimising electrical power distribution. It will also perform checks on a new air conditioning system.
The advanced technologies being tested through the AEA flying demonstrator have been jointly developed by ATR’s shareholder Finmeccanica and other CS JU companies including Liebherr, which has built the air conditioning system, while Thales is managing the electrical generation. ATR has been involved with the project from its inception in 2008 – Clean Sky has been adopted by the European Parliament to support the trend of public-private partnership initiatives in the field of research. The overall aim of the programme is to jointly develop a broad spectrum of technologies devoted to a clean, innovative and competitive air transport systems.
ATR’s Senior Vice-President Engineering Alessandro Amendola said: “The outstanding work jointly carried out by the teams at Finmeccanica and ATR in order to test the new ‘all electric system’ will help to develop a greener version of regional aviation.”
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