RI to enter jet aircraft industry, Soeharto says<\/p>\n
BANDUNG, West Java (JP): With experience in the aviation
\nindustry going back to 1976, Indonesia is now ready to undertake
\nmore sophisticated technology by manufacturing passenger jets,
\nPresident Soeharto said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The President told a press conference after witnessing the
\nmaiden flight of the first Indonesian-made N-250 turboprop
\nairplane that state-owned PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara
\n(IPTN) will soon develop the N-2130, a 130-seat passenger jet.<\/p>\n
\"If we start to develop the jet this year, we can have the
\nfirst N-2130 by 2003,\" said Soeharto, who was accompanied by
\nState Minister for Research and Technology B.J. Habibie at
\nyesterday's meeting.<\/p>\n
\"We have to start now if we don't want to loose the momentum
\nand market opportunities,\" Soeharto said.<\/p>\n
Starting with the development of the Casa 212, an aircraft
\ndesigned by Cassa of Spain, IPTN then developed the CN-235, a
\nplane jointly designed and engineered with Cassa. In 1987, the
\ncompany was assigned to develop its owned aircraft, the N-250,
\nwhich carried out its maiden flight yesterday.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said that the designing, engineering and construction
\nof the N-2130 prototype will take eight years and cost at least
\nUS$2 billion.<\/p>\n
Habibie, while displaying models of the N-2130 in front of
\nSoeharto, said three types will be made: one with 80 seats,
\nanother with 100 seats and the final with 130 seats. The aircraft
\nwill be able to fly at a speed of 232 kilometers (125 knots) per
\nhour with a maximum cruising altitude of 11,890 meters (39,000
\nfeet).<\/p>\n
Soeharto acknowledged that the government will face financial
\nconstraints in developing such jets.<\/p>\n
\"But we have to solve them. If this jet development can be
\naccepted as a national project, which will make us proud, let's
\nwork together to finance the project by buying two million shares
\nworth $1 million each that will be issued by IPTN,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Habibie said the N-2130 project is supervised by his eldest
\nson Ilham Akbar Habibie.<\/p>\n
Ilham, 32, who attended an apprenticeship program at Boeing
\nCo. in Seattle, the United States, will be chief of the N-2130
\nproject.<\/p>\n
According to Ilham, a team has been studying the technology
\nfor the N-2130.<\/p>\n
He said that a technical program for the jet's development has
\nbeen going on since last October and will last until December
\n1996, while designing will start in 1997.<\/p>\n
The preliminary drafting is scheduled for April 1997 to March
\n2000, the detailed designs for October 1999 to March 2003 and the
\npart manufacturing for December 2001 to May 2003, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The roll-out of the first prototype of N-2130 is scheduled
\nfor December 2003, while its first flight is expected in March
\n2004,\" Ilham said, adding that certification is expected between
\nApril 2004 and May 2006.<\/p>\n
He promised that the first delivery will be ready by June
\n2006.<\/p>\n
Minister Habibie said the world demand for aircraft with 80 to
\n130 seats between 1995 and 2015 is estimated at 2,757. N-2130's
\nrivals will include the Dutch-made Fokker F-70 and F-100,
\nBritain's BAe-146s and the American Boeing-737-300.<\/p>\n
The Bandung-based IPTN already assembles and produces parts
\nfor fixed-wing aircraft such as the C-212 and CN-235 as well as
\nhelicopters like the NBO-105, NAS-332, Bell 412 and Superpuma.<\/p>\n
IPTN spent $400 million to develop the N-250 out of the $650
\nmillion it was allocated. (pet\/icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-to-enter-jet-aircraft-industry-soeharto-says-1447893297",
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