The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has
granted certification to the latest innovations, co-developed by ATR and Thales,
which further enhance the avionics of the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600.
The “Standard 3” version of the ATR -600’s
avionics will improve situational awareness and approach capabilities while
offering pilots a more user-friendly interface, along with tools to optimise
airlines’ operations.
Standard 3 is notably comprised of the RNP-AR
0.3/0.3 capability, a synthetic vision system, additional high and low speed
protections, and customisable checklists and databases. Standard 3 will be
installed in new ATR -600s starting from the end of 2017.
The Standard 3 will feature RNP-AR 0.3/0.3
(Required Navigation Performance with Authorisation Required) option. The
addition of an Inertial Reference System provided by Thales, will allow safe
operations in corridors with 0.3 NM half-width, thus enabling airlines to
operate in stringent conditions, notably in mountainous areas or congested
traffic environments. The previous Standard 2 offered similar 0.3 NM capacity
for approach, but only 1 NM for missed approach and departure. The development
of RNP-AR 0.3/0.3 has been jointly financed with Air New Zealand, who first
asked ATR to look into this upgraded functionality.
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ATR 72-600 |
For the first time ever in commercial air
transport, a Synthetic Vision System (SVS) will be available in the Standard 3
avionics suite. The SVS will enable pilots to have a greater situational
awareness.
The new avionics also include additional speed
protections: when the aircraft reaches high or low speed limits, the crew is
alerted and safe guidance is activated. In addition, customisable capabilities
will be available, such as company route databases or checklists, offering the
opportunity to adapt day-to-day operations to the airline expectations.
The Standard 3 can be retrofitted in ATR -600s
already in service, through a simple software upgrade of the avionics suite. As
of today, nearly 400 ATR -600 aircraft are operated worldwide.
Developed over the last two years, the new
avionics are the result of the close cooperation between ATR and Thales. ATR,
and Thales as a tier 1 system integrator, have designed a turn-key avionics
system tailored to ATR -600s.
Alessandro Amendola,
Senior Vice President Engineering of ATR, said, “The new Standard 3 avionics
will ease airline operations. It will contribute substantially to ensuring that
ATR aircraft remain both at the cutting-edge of technology and also the most
appealing regional aircraft in the market.”
Peter Hitchcock
Thales VP in charge of Commercial Avionics added, “This certification is the
result of the successful partnership with ATR. We are particularly proud of
contributing to the ATR-600 program and continuously improving the capabilities
of the avionics suite, providing ever greater functionality to the operators of
this aircraft.” |