The Indonesian Aerospace N-219 Nurtanio is a

utility aircraft A utility aircraft is a general-purpose light aircraft, light airplane or helicopter, usually used for transporting people, freight or other supplies, but is also used for other duties when more specialized aircraft are not required or available. ...

developed from the

CASA C-212 Aviocar The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 w ...

Indonesian Aerospace Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) ( id, PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero)), is an Indonesian aerospace company involved in aircraft design and the development and manufacture of civilian and military regional commuter aircraft. The company was formerly k ...

Development

In 2003, after the

IPTN N-250 The IPTN N-250 was a turboprop regional airliner designed by Indonesian firm IPTN (''Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara'') (now Indonesian Aerospace). This aircraft was IPTN's first major effort to win the market share of the regional turboprop ...

program halt, Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) planned to develop a 19-seat aircraft to offset the IPTN NC-212 end of production. In early 2004, IAe was in discussions with Malaysian aerospace companies and was estimating the N219 development at $60–80 million to fly a prototype in April 2006 and certify it in August 2007. In 2006, the $65m funding for the 19 seat N-219 development was proposed under the Qatar-Indonesia Joint Investment Fund, 70% funded by Qatar and 30% by Indonesia, for a prototype within two years. By June 2011, its price was forecast to be

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

4 million each and it was expected to fly in 2014. The Indonesian Industry Minister requested Rp59 billion to build the prototype. In January 2012, the predicted development budget was about $30 million for 15 aircraft. In August 2014, the forecast price rose to $5 million. The first metal was cut in September 2014, before a planned roll-out in August 2015 and certification in 2016, before

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

certification with support from

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

for export. First deliveries were scheduled for 2017. The roll-out was then scheduled in November 2015. In August 2016, Airbus was engaged to provide assistance with certification. The prototype entered testing after the November 2015 public introduction. The first prototype construction was planned to be completed in mid-2016 for a

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

at the end of 2016, but this first flight was delayed to March 2017 for certification in the same year and production start in 2018. In February, it was delayed again to April. After a series of high-speed

taxiing Taxiing (rarely spelled taxying) is the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or pushback where the aircraft is moved by a tug. The aircraft usually moves on wheels, but the term also includes aircra ...

runs on 11 August 2017 at

Husein Sastranegara International Airport Husein Sastranegara International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Husein Sastranegara, Sundanese: ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮁ ᮅᮓᮛ ᮄᮔ᮪ᮒᮨᮁᮔᮞᮤᮇᮔᮜ᮪ ᮠᮥᮞᮨᮄᮔ᮪ ᮞᮞ᮪ᮒᮢᮔᮨᮌᮛ) is an airport in Ba ...

in Bandung, the prototype took off on 16 August 2017 for a 26-minute flight. At that time it was estimated that at least Rp 200 billion was needed to complete 200 hours of flight tests for certification from the Indonesian Transport Ministry. Production was forecast in 2019 to start with six aircraft, increasing to 16 in 2020 and 36 per year in a new $90–100 million facility raised through

equity participation Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership *Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

, private-public partnerships, manufacturing

subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...

, and

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

s. The Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

on 18 December 2020.

Design

The N-219 is twin-engine, 19-seater transport aircraft designed for multi-purpose missions in remote areas. It is intended to operate in and out of remote, semi-prepared airstrips; suitable to conditions in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

's archipelago. It was developed from the

and, like that design, is also of all metal construction. It is claimed that it will have the largest cabin volume in its class (6.50 x 1.82 x 1.70m). A flexible door system to allow a multi-purpose missions for transporting passengers and cargo. The aircraft is designed to comply with

FAR 23 The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety ...

(commuter category aircraft). Priced at $5.8-6 million, slightly lower than the Viking

DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

, the cruise aircraft is intended for

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

and

passenger transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

troop transport A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

, military

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

, and

medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

operations, with a possible

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

version later. Sixty percent of the materials are domestically produced and local suppliers produce

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

parts,

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

components and tooling.

Orders

In August 2013,

Lion Air PT Lion Mentari Airlines, operating as Lion Air, is an Indonesian low-cost airline. Based in Jakarta, Lion Air is the country's largest privately run airline, the second largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia (after AirAsia) and the large ...

was to sign a memorandum of understanding for 100 $4.5-5 million N219s. The total market for the N-219 was forecast as 97 civil and 57 military aircraft. On 13 April 2015, three memoranda of understanding were signed: with Nusantara Buana Air for 20 aircraft and ten options, with

Aviastar Mandiri PT Aviastar Mandiri, operating as Aviastar is an Indonesian growing domestic passenger airline based in East Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. History The airline was established on 12 June 2000 by Capt. Sugeng Triyono and his 4 colleagues which ...

for 20 aircraft and ten options and with

Trigana Air Service Trigana Air (registered as Trigana Air Service) is an airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. History The company commenced operations in early 1991 with two Beechcraft King Air 200 fixed-wing aircraft, and by the end of that year had added two l ...

for ten aircraft and five options. Indonesia has signed deals with China and Mexico to export N-219 to those countries. In 2017 southeast Asian countries such as

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

expressed interest in the aircraft. By October 2018, domestic airline Avistar signed a memorandum of understanding for 20 more while the N219 had 120 orders and was due to be certified in April or May 2019. Other customers include

, Nusantara Buana Air,

Pelita Air PT Pelita Air Service, usually shortened to Pelita Air, or PAS, is a domestic airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Its main base is Pondok Cabe Airport. Pelita Air is listed in category 1 by Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority for airline safety q ...

, Air Born and the

government of Thailand The Government of Thailand, or formally the Royal Thai Government ( Abrv: RTG; th, รัฐบาลไทย, , ), is the unitary government of the Kingdom of Thailand. The country emerged as a modern nation state after the foundation of ...

. On 9 December 2019, the government of Aceh signed a cooperation agreement or memorandum of understanding for the procurement of N219 aircraft, crew training and the operation of Aceh's air transport swervice. On 8 December 2021, a memorandum of understanding was signed by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) and PT Infoglobal Teknologi Semesta/Infoglobal to integrate maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA) mission systems into the N219. It will be based on a previous system that also installed on the Navy's IPTN NC-212 Maritime Patrol aircraft. On 3 November 2022, Indonesian company PT Karya Logistik Indotama (PT KLI) ordered 11 N-219s configured for passenger transport, for US$80.5M. The first aircraft are scheduled for delivery 28 months after the contract is signed.

Specifications

References

External links