N-250 plane is ready to enter turboprop market
BANDUNG, West Java (JP): The state-run aircraft manufacturer PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) is ready to compete in the turboprop commuter plane market with the subsonic N-250 aircraft equipped with fly-by-wire technology.
The firm's president, B.J. Habibie, told a press conference here yesterday that the aircraft, whose prototype will roll out on Nov. 10, will be a fully Indonesian-designed aircraft.
"We have decided to develop the latest technology of aerodynamics and avionic systems for the aircraft," he said, adding that the 70-seat N-250 will become the first turboprop commercial aircraft to fly at high sonic speed.
He said that because the N-250 will be the first aircraft to use fly-by-wire technology, the Federal Aviation Authority of the United States will likely have to learn the technology before certifying the aircraft, which will start flying next July.
He said that the fly-by-wire technology supports the aircraft's control system.
The use of the technology decreases the aircraft's weight.
"I am quite sure that every airplane in the future will employ the fly-by-wire system," he said, adding that the concept is safer and leads to higher performance.
Habibie, who is also State Minister for Research and Technology, said that the twin turboprop commuter plane is due to enter commercial service in 1996 and be produced commercially by 1997.
He said that next month, the first prototype of the N-250, named Gatot Kaca, will be introduced to the public, including some heads of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
The airplane will then undergo further eight-month ground testing before making its inaugural flight next year, to coincide with the country's 50th anniversary. Airbus Industrie, a European consortium, will assist IPTN in the ground testing.
Certification
Meanwhile, IPTN will seek international certification from the Federal Aviation Authority of the United States and Indonesia's Directorate General of Aviation Certification.
The aircraft will have a cruising speed of 300 knots with a maximum range of 800 nautical miles.
IPTN spent over US$528 million developing the plane and hopes to sell them at $13.5 million each.
Habibie said the plane, which will also feature a low-tech propeller system, will be ready to compete with its rivals such as Fokker-50, SAAB 2000, Dornier 328 and ATR-72, ATR-42 and Dash- 8.
Habibie added that IPTN has assigned INA, the company's subsidiary in Seattle of the U.S., to prepare the location of its planned assembly plant in America.
IPTN is considering sites in Alabama, Kansas and Arizona.
"Next month I will travel to the U.S. because two more states, New York and Georgia, are offering their areas to host IPTN's assembly plant," he beamed, adding that President Soeharto says every proposal should be taken seriously.
Soeharto will announce the site by the end of this year.
When IPTN receives international certification for the N-250, it will produce three planes a week, two in the U.S. and one in Bandung.
According to Habibie, the planned U.S. plant will be set up with an investment of $100 million. (icn)