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Letter: Propeller heads

Published 16 December 2014

From Terence Hollingworth

Owen Mooney writes that if the aviation industry had advanced as little as the nuclear industry, “we would still be flying propeller aircraft”. We are.

The ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft built in Toulouse have been experiencing a resurgence of interest in recent years. Over their operating range of about 1500 kilometres, the difference in flight time between these and fan jet aircraft is of little importance, but the much better fuel economy of propeller-driven aircraft gives them a clear advantage.

He might also note that in the UK, the Royal Air Force has started to take delivery of Airbus A400 military transport aircraft, these are also propeller driven.
Blagnac, France

Issue no. 3000 published 20 December 2014

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