Story ID: DDindonesia11252014
Indonesian Regional Airliners Making Progress
By: David Donald
Caption: N219 under construction while R80 enters detailed design 
Word Count: 528
Two Indonesian companies are forging ahead with regional airliner projects intended to help satisfy the demands of the country’s growing air transport network and revitalize the Indonesian aviation industry. The 19-seat PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) N219 has just entered the construction phase, while the R80 from Regio-Aviasi Industri (RAI) has moved into the detailed design phase.

RAI’s aircraft represents a rebirth of the N250 regional airliner, of which IPTN flew two prototypes in the 1990s. IPTN shelved the project in 1997, a victim of the Asian financial crisis. Start-up company RAI has revived the N250 as the basis for a 70- to 92-seat airliner to compete with the Bombardier Q400 and ATR 72.

RAI has retained approximately 60 percent of the N250’s structure, but the longer R80 uses systems compliant with future ATC requirements. The aircraft features fly-by-wire flight controls and a full “glass” cockpit with touchscreen displays. The initial R80 design includes a conventional control yoke, as stipulated by early customers, but RAI plans to offer sidestick controllers in the future. Power will come from either the Rolls-Royce AE2100 or Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A.

The R80 seats up to 92 in a single-aisle, four-abreast configuration. RAI designed the cabin for the quick turnarounds required for high-intensity short-sector operations, with six doors, including two starboard-side service doors and two passenger entry doors. Cargo doors serve the two compartments at either end of the passenger cabin on the port side.

Detailed design work employing Dassault Systèmes 3-D software has just begun. Plans call for PTDI to build two flying prototypes and two ground-test airplanes in Bandung. RAI has scheduled first flight for 2017 and the company expects Indonesian certification in 2019. It has taken orders for 145 aircraft: 100 from Nam Air, 25 from KalStar and 20 from Trigana Air.

Meanwhile, PTDI’s own regional project, the N219, achieved a milestone in September as it cut first metal. The company has set a target of August 10 next year for roll-out, to coincide with the country’s national technology day. It expects to fly the airplane next December and gain Indonesian certification in 2016.

Based to some extent on the Airbus DS NC212 Aviocar that PTDI has built under license for many years, the N219 primarily would serve routes in Indonesia’s remote mountainous regions, where airfield facilities often consist of little more than a strip cut into the side of a hill. The design is therefore rugged, and well equipped with navigation aids. Two 850-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42 turboprops will give a takeoff run of less than 2,000 feet at mtow. Garmin is supplying the five-screen flight deck.

For passenger transport the N219 can seat up to 19 passengers in a two-by-one arrangement. However, PTDI also seeks military and other users, and has designed a two-ton cargo interior and various special-mission variants. Like the R80, the N219 would first gain certification in what the company considers its priority market, Indonesia. However, both programs aim to pursue EASA and FAA accreditation for subsequent export sales. Plans call for Airbus, PTDI’s strategic partner, to assist with the process.