ATP on Route Proving Trials

A new sleek shape is taking to the skies and is being seen increasingly at airports around the UK and Europe, as the British Aerospace Advanced Turboprop (ATP) undergoes route proving trials with its launch customer British Midland Airways. In December last year the third aircraft, G‐BMYK, undertook a four week intensive flying exercise leading up to the granting by the CAA of a type certificate of airworthiness early this year. Despite appalling weather conditions at the time, which closed several of the airports chosen to represent typical sectors on which the ATP will fly in British Midland line service, Aircraft Engineering was lucky enough to sample the ATP on two occasions during the final week of these trials.