APEC leaders to see rolling out of N-250 aircraft
APEC leaders to see rolling out of N-250 aircraft
BANDUNG (JP): Fifteen leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum will witness the rolling out of the
first N-250 aircraft, fully designed and engineered by the state-
owned Nusantara Aircraft Industry (IPTN), in Bandung on Nov. 17.
"IPTN will use the second informal summit of APEC to promote
the N-250 plane and we hope some of them will be interested in
buying the aircraft," said Hari Laksono, a senior executive vice
president of IPTN at a coffee morning meeting with journalists
yesterday.
Indonesia will host the second informal leaders meeting of the
17-member APEC forum in the middle of November. The ministerial
meeting will be held in Jakarta and the summit in Bogor, West
Java.
He added that 24 foreign and 133 domestic potential buyers had
expressed interest in the new aircraft and hopefully many of them
will eventually file orders.
According to him, IPTN has set up sales teams which will
promote the plane in such countries such as Australia, New
Zealand, Pakistan and Japan.
"There will be a meeting with a team of an American aircraft
manufacturer who will visit Indonesia in August," Hari explained.
Meanwhile the vice president of N-250 program, Djoko Sartono,
said that the N-250, which will use two turbo propellers and fly-
by-wire technology, will be sold for US$13.5 million each.
Break even
"We hope to sell 700 N-250s within the next 20 years," Sartono
said, adding that to break even 259 planes will have to be sold.
"We are optimistic about our sales projections. The world
potential market for this type of aircraft is predicted to reach
4,500, consisting 2,200 as replacement of new aircraft and 2,300
to fill in the jet type which does not fulfill the decibel
standard requirement," Sartono added.
He sees the SAAB-2000 made by Sweden and the ATR 720, a joint
product of Italy and France, as the main competitors for the N-
250.
"But the N-250 has an advantage in that its carrying capacity
can be extended to 60-70 passengers, compared to the maximum 50
that can be carried by the other two types of aircraft," Sartono
said.
After the rolling out, the aircraft will undergo several tests
and will make its maiden flight on Indonesian Independence Day
(Aug.17).
He considers IPTN's plan to set up an assembling plant for N-
250 in the United States as a boon to its sales promotion since
60 percent of the planes components will be made in that country.
He estimated that the U.S. will need 1,200 aircraft of the N-
250 type.(pet/yns)