Compared to the basic 64- to 68-seat N250, the N270 is stretched by 3m, to provide 70 seats four-abreast at 775mm pitch, with a cargo area in the forward cabin. Maximum take-off weight is increased, from 24,800kg to 28,300kg, to provide a 1,400kg residual-cargo payload with a full load of 70 passengers and baggage. The Allison AE2100C turboprops are uprated, from 2,440kW (3,270hp) to 3,000kW, and cruise speed increased, from 330kt (610km/h) to 344kt.
The N250 has already been stretched, from its original 50 seats, but AMRAI president Lou Harrington admits that IPTN did not stretch the aircraft enough for the US market. He also acknowledges that plans to establish AMRAI in Mobile, Alabama, as an assembly and support site for N250s and N270s sold in North and South America now depend on the success of the stretched aircraft.
The N270 has been sized and priced (at around $17 million) to compete with the Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8-400 now under development. The N250 is now seen as an aircraft primarily for the Indonesian market, but US certification is still planned for the January 1998. AMRAI chairman Brian Rowe hopes that the required US-Indonesian certification bilateral will be in place by July 1997.
Source: Flight International
