Indonesia plans to launch its passenger jet in 2002

Indonesia plans to launch its passenger jet in 2002

JAKARTA (JP): The first Indonesia-designed passenger jet N- 2130 will be rolled out in March 2002 and will make its maiden flight some five months later, State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie said yesterday.

"We will launch the N-2130 in March 2002 and between three to five months later it will be followed by its maiden flight," he said after meeting President Soeharto.

He noted that the planned schedule for the design and construction of the N-2130, a 130-passenger jet with a maximum speed of 900 kilometers an hour, was on track.

"Its development is following our schedule," said Habibie, who heads a number of state-owned industrial companies, including shipbuilding company PT PAL in Surabaya, East Java, and aerospace company PT IPTN in Bandung, which is developing the jet.

Habibie also reported to the President on the development of the IPTN-built N-250 turboprop airplane, which made its maiden flight last August.

"N-250 has completed a flying test up to an altitude of some 25,000 feet (8,000 meters) at the speed of 600 kilometers an hour," he said, adding that in its class, it is the fastest and the latest in terms of technology.

He pointed out that with the progress, there would be no problem with the marketing of the aircraft.

"Negotiations for the marketing of the N-250 in the United States between IPTN, the American Regional Aircraft Industry and U.S. industrialists proceeded smoothly last week," he said.

IPTN plans to assemble the N-250 in the Alabama city of Mobile in the United States to facilitate its marketing in the region.

The N-250 is designed to carry between 50 and 76 passengers and has a maximum speed of 330 knots (612 kilometers) an hour.

The turboprop aircraft uses the latest fly-by-wire computerized technology and also incorporates modern digital avionics and engine controls. (13)