ATR Turboprops: A Visit to the Final Assembly Line

DALLAS — The Saint Martin site in the southwest corner of Toulouse Airport is where you'd find one of Airbus' sites that also hosts ATR's Final Assembly Line, simply known as FAL.

The specific hangar that houses ATR has witnessed a rich and glorious past, under its roofs, several thousand aircraft have been manufactured, starting with the Dewoitine fighter plane that was used during the Second World War, followed by the introduction of commercial aircraft like the Armagnac, the iconic Caravelle, the Transall and finally the ATR.

The manufacturer is the result of a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo (present-day) and was founded in 1981. Ever since, ATR has been crafting single-aisle turboprop aircraft, with its very first type being the ATR 42-200, which took to the skies three years later.

In time, a stretched version of its initial product was brought from paper to metal, and in 1998, the ATR 72 made its way to the open skies. This particular variant has remained the most promising and even today, the external design has barely changed, but avionics, engine technology, and the onboard cabin experience have progressed significantly.

The present-day models of the ATR family are the ATR 72-600, ATR 72 Freighter, ATR 42-600, and the ATR 42-600 STOL. Over a thousand ATR aircraft are flying around the globe, and they remain the sole planemaker in their category.

The ATR Team is pushing hard to compete against regional jets in the under 500 NM range and can back that up thanks to its sustainability advantage, lowering fuel consumption, and, all in all, a much cheaper platform to operate compared to its jet counterpart.

How an ATR Is Assembled

In a nutshell, the fuselages are built in Naples, Italy. Once ready, they are loaded onto a truck in Naples and make their way to the port in Rome, where the truck is shipped across the sea to the port of Barcelona. The truck and the fuselage finally make their way on the road through the Pyrenees to the FAL in Toulouse. The fuselages also include basic flight controls and landing gears.

The wings, which are composed of aluminum and composite material, are built in nearby Bordeaux and shipped to Toulouse too. They too are equipped upon delivery, with de-icing boots and engine pylons.

The FAL is split into three zones: Line A, Line B, and the Flight Line—Delivery Center. In line A, most of the aircraft are assembled, including the engine, the Pratt and Whitney 127M, and the 127XT.

Station 45 is also an interesting bay where the wing is attached to the fuselage. To note, the incoming parts from Naples, Bordeaux, and elsewhere are certified and quite ready to be attached to the airplane.

At Line B, the aircraft are given more detailed work, such as cabin furnishing, and by the end of it, the ATR is in its customer’s livery. A set of routine test flights takes place before the fresh turboprop airplane is handed over to its customers at the delivery center.

The ATR Evolution To EVO

Becoming more sustainable is key to ATR, and hence the EVO is in the works, which will become part of the next generation. Guillaume Daudin, Senior Vice President Programmes at ATR, shares a brief note on the EVO.

The purpose of the EVO is to build the next generation of the ATR family, and we’re still in the concept phase. What’s very important about the EVO is the time to market, with the goal of bringing the product to market around 2030. For the time being, we’re analyzing and working on what has to be improved on the aircraft, predominantly the propulsion system.

Guillaume Daudin

https://youtu.be/9DY_J_sO7-E

Video: ATR

We would go with a hybrid concept. Battery with electric motors that will be triggered in specific phases of the flight, most likely during takeoff, climb, arrival, and landing. The propeller will change, we may have eight blades if it makes sense. We also plan on changing the de-icing system. It would also feature a new Eco-designed cabin. The EVO will be 100% compliant with SAF bringing us to near zero emissions. It's based on a thermal engine and an electric motor. We are working on a more right-to-left approach, we have the 2030 target, so we need to get the airplane ready by then.