Hi gents,
Excellent debate - much more civilsed than the A vs. B slaggeing matches that sometimes erupt
The ATR toilets can be used on ground w/ external DC power or in H-mode, either from factory (72-212 onwards) or as a retrofit (also avbl. for the 300/320 series.)
The FWD RH cargo compartment is only found on the -211, along with the LH airstair door. V. handy configuration - but the airstair contraption I've seen leaves much to be desired. It's not part of the door, but rather fixed to the fwd LH bulkhead (where the FWD F/A seat slides into locked position when not in use). The stairs are a bit heavy & cumbersome for the lightweight F/As, but can be extended/retracted in less than a minute once you get used to work with it
On a 20-min. turn-arounds with a full plane-load of pax, it's a nice thing to be able to disembark & embark through 2 doors i.s.o. 1.
Finnair have found the perfect use for the FWD LH door - have an adapter on the airbridge and a small gantry with handrails that extend from the bridge & onto the cabin floor
The Dash - have only flown it as pax, but cabin looks a bit more modern, though noise levels are a tad higher, especially in the -300's. The APU concept is nice from an ops point of view, though it obviously adds to maintenance costs. Re APU - well, if mass & balance was a factor - why is it then that you - with even pax distribution in cabin - get a desireable trim if you split the bags 1/2 and 1/2 after putting the 1st 250 kg. in the aft hold??? 250 kg. sounds like exactly what a decent APU for an ATR would weigh. But then again - you could probably not get away with that while in the 50-seater configuration, where volume in the FWD hold leaves much to be desired
Oh yeah - and on that note - why don't all ATR's come with a TRU as standard
Brgds from a (hopefully) ex-ATR dude
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