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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The ATR 72 grew from the smaller ATR 42 into a longer regional transport. Its cabin sits below a straight high wing, with a turboprop on each side and a T-tail behind. Cargo and maritime-patrol versions also use the airframe. The 42 and 72 share a family identity but differ in size and capacity.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A light-twin pilot joins an acceptance flight
Von Croy joined ATR test pilot Eric Delesalle for a two-hour acceptance flight in an ATR 72-500. Coming from private flying with a multiengine rating, he was surprised by how manageable the much larger aircraft felt while taxiing. Its acceleration and climb made a stronger impression after takeoff, although the aircraft carried a light load.
Planet AeroSpace, Issue 1, 2007, page 10. Supervised acceptance-flight demonstration in the earlier ATR 72-500; test pilot managed systems, configuration and landing power.
Planet AeroSpace · Read more ↗The original MSFS 2020 release
Microsoft’s October 2024 announcement records a free v1.0.46 expansion for owners of Expert Series 01. This is the original MSFS 2020 product line, subsequently included in the MSFS 2024 Aviator edition.
ATR 42-600 / 72-600 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Pilot Blog · 46 min ·
Cockpit video total flight with ATC communication ATR72-600 Pilot Blog
A short Indonesian sector, with cockpit views and radio communications aboard an ATR 72-600.
Real aircraft · ATR 72-600
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet ATR 42-600 / 72-600
The ATR 72 grew from the smaller ATR 42 into a longer regional transport. Its cabin sits below a straight high wing, with a turboprop on each side and a T-tail behind. Cargo and maritime-patrol versions also use the airframe.
The 42 and 72 share a family identity but differ in size and capacity. The -600 variants have a later flight deck than early ATRs, with equipment described in their respective developer manuals.
ATR 42-600 / 72-600
ATR 42
Wikipedia contributors · ATR 72 ↗ATR 42-600
Wikipedia contributors · ATR 72 ↗Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 →Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020 →ATR 72
Wikipedia contributors · ATR 72 ↗ATR 72-600
Wikipedia contributors · ATR 72 ↗Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 →Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Development milestones
First flight: 27 October 1988
Developed from: ATR 42
Wikipedia contributors · ATR 72 ↗ATR 72 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1373470656
Pilot accounts
A light-twin pilot joins an acceptance flight
Von Croy joined ATR test pilot Eric Delesalle for a two-hour acceptance flight in an ATR 72-500. Coming from private flying with a multiengine rating, he was surprised by how manageable the much larger aircraft felt while taxiing. Its acceleration and climb made a stronger impression after takeoff, although the aircraft carried a light load. Along the Pyrenees, his early attempts at hand-flying involved excessive control and trim inputs before he became more accustomed to its response.
Delesalle handled the systems while von Croy concentrated on flying and simple navigation. Returning to Toulouse, the test pilot also managed configuration and power. Von Croy began the flare too high, then held the nose up until the main wheels touched; the nosewheel followed less gently than he intended. He stresses the difference between that supervised demonstration and mastering airline procedures and crew coordination. The experience concerns the earlier 72-500, before the 600-series flight deck.
Planet AeroSpace, Issue 1, 2007, page 10. Supervised acceptance-flight demonstration in the earlier ATR 72-500; test pilot managed systems, configuration and landing power.
Read the full account · Planet AeroSpace ↗A quiet cockpit and a difficult moment to speak up
Joy recalls flying the ATR as a first officer with about a year on the type. A newly upgraded captain initially made the trip pleasant, but became withdrawn and defensive after a poor crosswind landing. By their fourth day together, the atmosphere had made routine questions uncomfortable. Approaching St. Louis, a controller mistook their ATR for a smaller aircraft and offered a sidestep to a runway Joy believed their airline did not permit it to use.
The captain insisted they accept. Joy hesitated, caught between his own experience on the aircraft and the other pilot's rank and confidence. Before he resolved that conflict, the controller identified the ATR and restored their clearance to the longer runway. Joy's lasting memory is his disappointment at not asserting himself. The episode changed how seriously he regarded crew-resource-management training and, later, how he wanted colleagues to question him. It is a personal crew-coordination account; the article does not identify the ATR subvariant.
Plane + Pilot, 26 June 2018. First-officer recollection; ATR subvariant and event date are not specified.
Read the full account · Plane + Pilot ↗The ATR chapter of a career she later reclaimed
McWhirter's first airline job began in the training department at Continental Express. After fulfilling a commitment of more than two years, she moved to full-time line flying on the ATR 42. Based in Newark, she flew throughout the northeastern United States and remembers the valuable winter-operating experience those routes provided.
She expected to upgrade to ATR captain in November 2001. The changes following September 11 accelerated the airline's move toward jets, and she chose to transition to the Embraer 145 as a first officer. She later left airline flying to raise her children, continued to miss the cockpit, and began a return with her family's support.
Hera Aviation Group, 7 January 2022. Career recollection of pre-2001 ATR 42 operations; specific subvariant not identified, and this predates the 600 series.
Read the full account · Hera Aviation Group ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 202442-600 / 72-600
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
42-600 / 72-600
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020ATR 42-600 / 72-600
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
ATR 42-600 / 72-600
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
The original MSFS 2020 releaseATR 42-600 / 72-600 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Microsoft’s October 2024 announcement records a free v1.0.46 expansion for owners of Expert Series 01. This is the original MSFS 2020 product line, subsequently included in the MSFS 2024 Aviator edition.
2024-10-10 · release and package scope
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A light-twin pilot joins an acceptance flightPlanet AeroSpace, Issue 1, 2007, page 10. Supervised acceptance-flight demonstration in the earlier ATR 72-500; test pilot managed systems, configuration and landing power.
Von Croy joined ATR test pilot Eric Delesalle for a two-hour acceptance flight in an ATR 72-500. Coming from private flying with a multiengine rating, he was surprised by how manageable the much larger aircraft felt while taxiing. Its acceleration and climb made a stronger impression after takeoff, although the aircraft carried a light load. Along the Pyrenees, his early attempts at hand-flying involved excessive control and trim inputs before he became more accustomed to its response.
Alexis von Croy
Planet AeroSpace · Read the source ↗A quiet cockpit and a difficult moment to speak upPlane + Pilot, 26 June 2018. First-officer recollection; ATR subvariant and event date are not specified.
Joy recalls flying the ATR as a first officer with about a year on the type. A newly upgraded captain initially made the trip pleasant, but became withdrawn and defensive after a poor crosswind landing. By their fourth day together, the atmosphere had made routine questions uncomfortable. Approaching St. Louis, a controller mistook their ATR for a smaller aircraft and offered a sidestep to a runway Joy believed their airline did not permit it to use. The captain insisted they accept.
Dustin Joy
Plane + Pilot · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
ATR 72Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1373470656 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
Expert Series 01: ATR 42-600 / 72-600 ExpansionMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 2024-10-10 · release and package scopeType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 2 profile choices
ATR 72-600
Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
ATR 72-600: The selected yoke response is nominal.
ATR 42-600
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
ATR 42-600: The selected yoke response is nominal.
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