N-250 finally flies<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 190 million people, with a per capita income of
\nUS$885, should feel extremely proud that their first wholly
\ndomestically made airplane, once rejected as a futile, wasteful
\nproject by detractors and pessimists, did fly after all.<\/p>\n
It is not exaggerating to consider yesterday's successful
\nmaiden flight of the 70-seat commuter aircraft, the turboprop N-
\n250, one of the crowning achievements of Indonesia's 50 years as
\na sovereign nation.<\/p>\n
Despite the controversy over the allocating of so many
\nresources for such a capital and technology intensive industry,
\nthe N-250 airplane proves Indonesia's capability to master
\naerospace technology, so far the monopoly of the industrialized
\ncountries with per capita incomes of more than $10,000.<\/p>\n
We fully share the view of State Minister for Research and
\nTechnology B.J. Habibie, that his brainchild -- the Industri
\nPesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) aerospace company -- should not
\nbe assessed only from its immediate economic benefits. It must
\nalso be seen in terms of the training and development of the
\n16,000 skilled persons working at the company. We fully agree
\nthat investments in human resources fuel a continuous generation
\nof value added (through a continuous rise in productivity), while
\nthe accumulation of physical assets increases productivity only
\nonce.<\/p>\n
However, the successful maiden flight is only the beginning of
\na series of formidable tasks to be faced in the process of
\nconvincing international airline companies of the technical and
\ncommercial viability of the airplane. The first challenge
\ninvolves the process of obtaining an airworthiness certificate
\nfrom the United States Federal Aviation Administration -- a
\nprerequisite for the access by the commercial aircraft to the
\ninternational market.<\/p>\n
The government's decision to establish a joint venture to
\nmanufacture the N-250 in Alabama, the United States, could pave
\nthe way toward acquiring international certification from the FAA
\nand could help solve the problem of establishing efficient
\nnetworks of distribution for spare parts. One of the biggest
\ncomplaints of the buyers of the CN-235 aircraft, which was
\ndeveloped jointly by IPTN and Casa of Spain, is the difficulty in
\ngetting spare parts.<\/p>\n
Certification by FAA is not, however, an automatic guarantee
\nof market success. N-250 has yet to compete with similar aircraft
\nfrom other countries which, in so far as high-technology and the
\nlevel of economic development are concerned, are much more
\nadvanced than Indonesia. They also are better known in the
\ninternational market. In light of that, we must admit that
\nIndonesia's image in the international market is still largely
\nthat of a supplier of light industrial goods made from imported
\ncomponents or materials.<\/p>\n
We also fully realize that technical reliability is only one
\nof the factors which influence the marketing of such big-ticket,
\nhigh-tech products as airplanes. In fact, given the keen market
\ncompetition, the support of credit financing with lenient terms
\ncounts greatly. That is especially crucial for marketing
\nturboprop airplanes because purchases are expected mostly from
\nbuyers in developing countries, where airline companies are not
\nas financially strong as their counterparts in the developed
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Therefore, besides rejoicing over the successful maiden flight
\nof N-250, we should now gear up for the next bout of formidable
\nchallenges to making the project a complete success. The N-250
\ncan be considered a full success when the volume of its sales
\nexceeds the break-even point of 260 units. In view of the great
\ncontroversy already caused by the project, a market failure like
\nthat suffered by the supersonic Concorde aircraft might make the
\nN-250 aircraft, or even the whole IPTN organization, an
\nembarrassment, or even lead to a resource wastage scandal.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/n-250-finally-flies-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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