SENIOR OFFICIALS from Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) and its US subsidiary, American Regional Aircraft Industry (AMRAI), plan to meet in mid-December to re-evaluate development of the proposed stretched N270 turboprop.
The Indonesian meeting is expected to conduct a complete review of the yet-to-be launched, programme in the light of recent developments. These include delays in the start of the N250-100's certification process and changes to the US regional-aircraft market.
Postponing the first flight of the second N250-100 prototype (PA2) until 12 December has led to a knock-on six-month delay to the N270. The US Federal Aviation Administration has asked that 210 bought-in items on the PA2 be properly documented before it is accepted as a certification vehicle (Flight International, 9-15 October).
The first 70-seat version, as a result, is now unlikely to enter US airline service before the first quarter of 2000, at the earliest. "The N250 being delayed has pushed the whole programme back," says an AMRAI official.
With Aero International (Regional) and Bombardier both planning to introduce new 70-seat jet-airliners to the market in 2000-2001, IPTN is being warned that any further delay to the N270 turboprop could prove damaging.
The move by some US regional operators away from turboprops to jet aircraft, underlined by Continental Express' recent order for up to 200 Embraer EMB-145s, is also causing IPTN concern.
In an effort to cut the aircraft's projected $17 million price and make it more competitive, IPTN and AMRAI are pressing N270 system suppliers to lower costs by up to 25%. Vendors are being offered "co-operative agreements".
December's meeting will also decide the future of AMRAI's US support site at Mobile, Alabama. It is undecided how much, if any, final assembly work will be undertaken in the USA, or whether to limit the function of the yet-to-be built site to after-sales support.
Source: Flight International
