This is the second flight test campaign of the aircraft, following the first in July 2015 which was devoted to testing a large innovative composite fuselage panel. This time, the aim of the flight trials was to test an all electrical energy management system, optimising the electrical power generation and distribution, and to flight test a new all electrical air conditioning system.
This Flying Demonstrator has been conceived by Finmeccanica in cooperation with ATR, implementing technologies from Clean Sky members including Liebherr and Thales, and Clean Sky partners through calls for proposals.
Giuseppe Pagnano, Clean Sky CTO, emphasised: “More electrical architectures are pursued for various types of aircraft. With this test campaign, the viability of these technologies is demonstrated for the Regional aircraft. It provides building bricks to further reduce environmental impact and maintenance costs. I am pleased to see another Clean Sky demonstrator has been successfully flight tested.”
Alessandro Amendola, ATR’s Senior Vice-President of Engineering, said: “The ATR aircraft already have a reputation worldwide for their low fuel burn and their environmental friendliness. Contributing to developing and deploying new technologies for the greener aviation of tomorrow is a key part of ATR’s identity.”