IPTN delays maiden flight of 2nd N-250 plane
JAKARTA (JP): The maiden flight of the second N-250 airplane, designed by PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN), will be delayed for non-technical reasons, a company executive said yesterday.
IPTN's senior executive vice-president and general manager Hari Laksono told The Jakarta Post here that the second prototype of the N-250, a 64-seat turboprop commercial passenger aircraft, will have its maiden flight on Dec. 12.
"The rescheduling was caused by an additional requirement of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the United States on the approval of the documentation of spare parts," he said. "We are now waiting for approval from the FAA."
He said during a break of a hearing between State Minister of Research and Technology J.B. Habibie and the House Commission X for technology here that there was no technical problem with the second prototype of the N-250.
The N-250, equipped with fly-by-wire electronics, is a turboprop commuter airplane with a top speed of 300 nautical miles per hour.
IPTN plans to make four prototypes, the Gatotkoco, Koconegoro, Krincingwesi and Pututguritno. The names are taken from the ancient Mahabarata epic.
President Soeharto inaugurated the first prototype of the subsonic N-250 plane in November 1994 and witnessed the maiden flight in August last year.
Engineers at IPTN complained that there was pressure to make sure the Gatotkoco flew on schedule. This centerpiece of the country's ambitious aerospace program is scheduled for commercial production by late 1997.
Hari said yesterday that the development and maiden flights of the third and fourth N-250 prototypes were likely to be on schedule.
Auto
Habibie, president of IPTN and chairman of the Management Board of Strategic Industries (BPIS), also said yesterday that he would boost the development of the so-called public car, the Maleo.
He said that the Maleo vehicle project had entered the second stage.
"We have finished the first phase of the design development by BPIS in cooperation with Millard Design Australia, an automotive engineering design company," he said.
"The activities in phase two (the detailed engineering design and testing) will be finished at the end of 1997. Some 60 units will be ready next year," Habibie said.
"A large part of these activities will involve technical experts from Indonesia's strategic industries," he added.
Maleo, designed as a passenger vehicle with an engine capacity of 1,200 cc, is set for production in 1998, with a target output of more than 100,000 units a year. The cars are likely to be sold at Rp 25 million (US$10,697) each.
"We will set up a company to manufacture the Maleo. The company will then offer part of its shares to local component manufacturers."
Habibie said that Maleo, which is expected to have 60 percent local content, will someday run on hydrogen, instead of gasoline or diesel.
The government in February licensed PT Putra Timor Nasional to make 'national' cars in partnership with South Korea's Kia Motors. Putra Timor, owned by President Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, plans to sell the 1,600 cc Timor cars starting next month at Rp 35 million ($14,976).
Meanwhile, a subsidiary of PT Bimantara Citra, a firm controlled by another of Soeharto's sons, Bambang Trihatmodjo, unveiled two new cars in cooperation with Hyundai Motors of South Korea.
Bimantara Citra's cars, the Cakra with a 1,500cc engine, and the Nenggala with a 1,600cc engine, are to be sold for Rp 39.9 million ($17,073) and Rp 59.5 million ($25,459) respectively. (icn)