IPTN moves to produce engine in grand aviation designs

IPTN moves to produce engine in grand aviation designs

PARIS (JP): If building airplanes is like doing a giant jigsaw
puzzle, then putting together the engine has got to be one of the
largest and most important pieces. PT IPTN, the Indonesian state
aircraft manufacturer, has disclosed its intention of filling in
that missing piece: moving into engine production soon.

What seems to outsiders like a mammoth and ambitious
undertaking, especially since IPTN's N-2130 jet project has
barely taken off, is simply a natural extension of operations for
company insiders.

The announcement was first made, somewhat casually, by IPTN
President B.J. Habibie during a seminar held on the sidelines of
the Paris Air Show this month. "This step proves that Indonesia
is consistent with its commitment to developing its aircraft
industry," Habibie said.

A new company will be established in January, with President
Soeharto as its patron, Habibie as chief commissioner and a
number of IPTN top officials serving as commissioners.

IPTN General Manager and Senior Vice President Hari Laksono,
who is expected to serve on the new board of commissioners, said
Indonesia already has the two chief factors to support an
aircraft engine industry: A strong domestic market and a large
pool of skilled workers.

The domestic market has always been cited as the prime factor
why Indonesia needed to develop its own aviation industry, hence
IPTN's raison d'etre, in the first place: There is always a need
for a strong fleet of aircraft to link the people spread out
across the wide archipelago.

Since IPTN has launched the N-250, the first wholly
Indonesian-designed plane, various other opportunities have
opened up, including the N-2130, and now, the engine plant.

"The N-250 charts the course for where our aviation industry
is heading," Hari told reporters at IPTN's chalet at Le Bourget
airport, where the Paris Air Show was held.

"We have the demands and we have the capability," he said.

"If we can sell enough N-235s, N-250s and N-2130s, then there
should be sufficient demand to support the development of an
engine industry," he reasoned.

The N-250 is powered by the twin Allison AE-2100C turboprop
engine. IPTN has not decided on an engine for the N-2130.

But if the engine-making project materializes, IPTN will no
longer need to shop around for engines, Hari said. IPTN also has
its eyes on the burgeoning Asian market, he added.

IPTN has already developed the "embryo" for its engine plant:
the eight-year old Universal Maintenance Center (UMC) has not
only run a highly profitable operation by servicing aircraft, it
has also been used as a pivotal training center to prepare young
Indonesians to meet the future challenge.

The UMC has been expected to become a separate corporate
entity as part of IPTN's restructuring plan, but news that it
would be upgraded into a propulsion and turbine-making company
was only disclosed publicly for the first time in Paris.

Hari, who spent a long time running the UMC, has full
confidence in its ability, pointing out the various recognitions,
either from international bodies or engine companies, that the
center has won for its standard of services and facilities. They
include the ISO 9002 from Det Norske Veritas of the Netherlands
in November 1996, and more recently, from the Civil Aviation
Authority of China.

The engines that UMC has handled include Rolls Royce's RR
Dart7 and Pratt & Whitney's JT8D and JT9D, as well as smaller
engines such as the Allison A-250, Garret TPE 331, General
Electric GE CT7 and PW PT6. This is in addition to industrial
engines.

The UMC has the capacity to overhaul up to 25 various engines
monthly. Its clients include Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara,
Sempati, Pelita Air Service and the Indonesian Armed Forces.

Just exactly what kind of engine IPTN hopes to develop has not
been determined, but the company is looking for partners to help
the project get off the ground.

A team led by Eddi Susilo has been visiting engine-makers in
Europe this month and will travel to the United States on a
similar mission next month. (emb)