ON A MISSION - ATR SPECIAL MISSION VARIANTS

摘要

Development of a new generation of turboprop-powered regional airliners was stimulated during the 1980s by the lasting effects of the oil crisis and by the relaxation of US regulations, which had limited 'commuter airliners' to fewer than 30 seats. The continuing success and popularity of aircraft such as the Fokker F27 and BAe (Hawker Siddeley/Avro) 748 made it clear that turboprop-powered replacements would find a ready market. Aircraft such as the DHC-7 and Short 360, with their emphasis on short take-off and landing (STOL) performance, were neither fast enough nor economic enough to fully meet the emerging requirement, and Italy's Alenia and France's Aerospatiale began developing new regional airliners (the AIT-320 and AS. 35, respectively) to exploit the new market opening. Aeritalia hoped to build on the success of its military G222 airlifter, while the companies which had merged to form Aerospatiale had included Nord, whose Model 262 had enjoyed some success as a regional airliner.