Let me clarify right away that by "two ATRs of Amazon", I do not mean two ATR aircraft in Amazon's fleet. Of course, one ATR reference does refer to the turboprop regional aircraft manufactured by ATR, the Franco-Italian company. 

However, the reference to the other ATR in my Title is as follows:
ATR = Automated Tote Retriever

Today, I was in a large Supermarket in the Chicago suburbs, and was accosted in one of the store isles by one such robotic machine, much taller than I am, I might add, and it wouldn't care to make way for me...🙂... Apparently, it was an autonomous inventory robot, a self-propelled device equipped with cameras and sensors, moving around majestically among human customers, to perform tasks that help manage this store's massive inventory.

Amazon defines its "ATR" as, "One of the key technologies, developed, that is a mechatronic system that automates the retrieval and transport of bins and runs on the cloud – meaning Amazon can monitor it remotely from anywhere, allowing for intervention, if necessary. These technologies enable us to optimize the entire fulfilment process, helping us to truly deliver for our customers."...such as for yours truly...🙂... today. ATR is essentially a Robotic system, usually a shuttle with a gripper, used in warehouses to automatically replace full totes of products with empty ones, with minimal human intervention. So, I now know, what's going on inside those massive new Amazon (and other) warehouse buildings I see around parts of my neighborhood, that were once lush green woods...🙂...

So, it's quite likely that the Amazon Prime package that I received today (from California) not only flew in a Prime Air Freighter, passed through Amazon's regional (Chicagoland) sorting center (and air hub) at Rockford, IL, but also was handled by an ATR Robot...🙂...I invite you to watch this 3 min (interesting) video of a typical ATR operation in a typical warehouse; search for this YT video, "How a 3PL uses Brightpick robots to pick and ship 20,000 orders per day with 75% less staff". AI and Robots are beginning to rule such workplaces once manned by humans...🙂...

In my previous post, I'd mentioned that Amazon Air (branded as Prime Air) currently has in its fleet, the following freighters: A330-300P2F, the B767-300F, and the B737-800BCF ("BCF" refers to "Boeing Converted Freighter" equivalent of the Airbus term for "P2F" which is "Passenger-to-Freighter" conversion). Interestingly, Prime Air for a couple of years (between 2021 and 2023) operated several ATR 72s (also converted to freighters from their previous passenger variants; see shot #3 below for its cargo-deck) e.g., a 12-year-old ATR 72-500 of Aurigny (airline), the flag carrier of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, became an ATR 72-500F for Prime Air, operated by Silver Airways. 

However, Prime Air no longer operates any ATRs, suggesting that the company may be shifting to a regional freight fulfillment model better served by trucks. So, as much as I wish, my package today to have been shipped by air in an ATR from Chicago Rockford Airport (KRFD) to an airport (such as "1C5" Bolingbrook Clow International Airport) nearest to my front doors...🙂..., most likely the package was transported on the road by a truck.

Nonetheless, undaunted by the reality, I wished to fly, here, the short (75 miles) segment between my local airport "1C5" and Amazon's regional Hub at Rockford International Airport (KRFD), via an ATR 72-600F freighter. I looked in the Marketplace for a Prime Air ATR 72 but didn't find any. So, instead, I chose to fly the ATR 72-600F in the colors of Canadian North, an airline that's well-known to me, since my earliest days in the hobby, primarily because of their (fascinating) original livery with the unmistakable logo consisting of the combination of 3 elements of Northern Canada: the Polar Bear, the Midnight Sun, and the Northern Lights.

Canadian North and First Air merged in 2019 under the Canadian North name to create a new airline. The merged airline would operate under the Canadian North name but using First Air's livery (so, in the merger process, I lost one of my favorite RW airline liveries in the SIM, but who cares...🙂...). Anyway, what you see below, is the new Canadian North livery where the polar bear emblem was replaced by a (laconic) geometric (grey) image of a human (I will miss the Polar Bear). The bold-red color of this livery attracted my attention today. You may still spot the "First Air" name, in small letters, on the rear of the fuselage (see shot #2 below).

Hope, you enjoy this collection of images of the Canadian North ATR 72-600F, transporting my Amazon Prime package today...🙂...from Rockford to somewhere near my front doors, of course only in the figment of my imagination...🙂...Oh well...

The MSFS/Asobo ATR a/c was a good one to fly today, and it was a fun flight...smooth and trouble-free from takeoff to touchdown... (with the SimBrief FlightPlan used for automated FMS routing between 1C5 and KRFD...) ...

Thanks for viewing...!

Moderators:

If possible, please delete one of my two posts with same Subject Title, somehow double-posted.

Thanks, and regards.

Another nice set of shots, thanks for sharing !

cheers 😉

4 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Another nice set of shots, thanks for sharing !

cheers 😉

Many thanks, pmplayer, for the comment...🙂...

It was a short and sweet flight in this nice turboprop, overflying my neighborhood...🙂...

This ATR is a great SIM aircraft for us in the SIM...from MSFS/Asobo and the folks at S&H Simulations and, of course, Hans Hartmann. Both CRJ and ATR (from Hartmann), I think are under-appreciated in MSFS...really fun to fly. I've travelled (regionally) on both types but on foreign countries not in U.S...🙂...

Cheers...!

The "rise of the machines" is an interesting topic...

Nice set of photos...the Asobo ATR is a fun little aircraft...it has its quirks...but, also has several features which I wouldn't have expected at the price point. (I've done a few unpublished liveries for this one...unfortunately, it has some mirrored texture mapping that prevents creating realistic replicas of some actual airlines...not complaining though...it's still a fun aircraft to fly!)  🙂

You've included some great "low and slow" photos in your set!  🙂

Just curious...what's up with the registration number...(not a Canadian reg number...I had to look it up...a Shorts SC-7 with an unfortunate landing!).  🙂 

 

 

52 minutes ago, rmeier said:

The "rise of the machines" is an interesting topic...

Nice set of photos...the Asobo ATR is a fun little aircraft...it has its quirks...but, also has several features which I wouldn't have expected at the price point. (I've done a few unpublished liveries for this one...unfortunately, it has some mirrored texture mapping that prevents creating realistic replicas of some actual airlines...not complaining though...it's still a fun aircraft to fly!)  🙂

You've included some great "low and slow" photos in your set!  🙂

Just curious...what's up with the registration number...(not a Canadian reg number...I had to look it up...a Shorts SC-7 with an unfortunate landing!).  🙂 

 

 

Thanks, rmeier...!

Yes, the "OE-FDL" Reg right next to the Canadian Flag logo is a quick give-away of the anomaly...especially to knowledgeable repainters like yourself...🙂...

I've noticed the same anomaly in MSFS2024 Marketplace repaints (at least in Xbox) for many other airplanes (including some jetliners, not just for this propliner). The "OE-FDL" seems like a "generic" Reg. for some of the marketplace repaints for one or more reasons, and no one cares about it. In the olden times, I would drop an off-line email to the repainter (good-old "README" days...🙂...), but now, in the Marketplace, I do not know who actually repainted this Canadian North livery, but it could not be You, for sure...🙂...

 As you know, in Xbox, I am solely dependent on the Marketplace (add-on) repaint packs...for all my aircraft.

BTW, Ryan B. here...🙂... is a master of understanding those kinds of Registration anomalies in MSFS 2020/2024 aircraft repaints, maybe, he can educate us...what's going on there...

Cheers...!

Edited September 14, 2025Sep 14 by P_7878

15 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

BTW, Ryan B. here...🙂... is a master of understanding those kinds of Registration anomalies in MSSF 2020/2024 aircraft repaints, maybe, he can educate us...

Not trying to be difficult...  🙂 

I just googled changing the dynamic registration in the ATC option (both PC and Xbox)...that search indicates that some aircraft will allow a dynamic registration change on Xbox...of course, I can't be certain.

Didn't mean to sound condescending...just one of those little details a repainter notices...  🙂 

Thanks, rmeier. I will check configurations.

I typically leave such Xbox settings at their default values and do not recall such issue in Xbox before. Maybe, something has been changed recently with the updates...affecting MSFS2020 aircraft registrations in MSFS2024.

This ATR is still not verified for MSFS2024, so, it shows up in the library as an MSFS2020 Aircraft with label "Unverified". It flies fine otherwise in MSFS2024, but maybe the (official) MSFS2024 certification for it will fix such anomalies. Let's see.