One More Aircraft Made in Indonesia Purchased by Thailand

SinarHarapan.id - Another one, a plane made by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI), NC 212i airs in the Thai sky.

At precisely 17:00 in the afternoon, Monday, 11 November 2019 aircraft with registration number AX-2125 landed safely at Air Base Nakhon Sawan, welcomed by the Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, Ahmad Rusdi and the team from the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok and the PT DI team and the team from Thailand.

The following day (12/11) the plane weighing around seven tons was officially handed over by a representative from PT DI who is also the Head of the Program Planning and Management Sub-Directorate, Iwan Krisnanto.

In the final acceptance activity, Thailand was represented by the Director General at the Department of the Rain-Making and Agricultural Aviation, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) Thailand, DR. Dr. Surasri Kidtimonton.

The handover procession was carried out with a two-hour flight test to see the aircraft's performance when two engines were turned on, and then when one engine was turned off, and to test the aircraft's performance on landing.

The flight test activities were carried out jointly between the Indonesian Pilot Captain and the Thai Pilot Captain.

On that occasion, the Indonesian Ambassador expressed his pride because the aircraft produced by the children of the nation received good reception from the Thai side.

"The handover of PT DI aircraft to the Thai side feels special because it coincides with the momentum of the Heroes' Day commemoration," said Indonesian Ambassador Ahmad Rusdi.
The Indonesian Ambassador also added that in the future Thailand still plans to order more similar aircraft from PT DI.

He also stressed that Indonesia's opportunity to expand in the strategic industrial sector in Thailand is huge.

For this reason, the Indonesian Ambassador hopes that support from the Central Government for the efforts to expand companies or SOEs to Thailand will continue to be increased.

Previously, on October 24, 2019 aircraft made by PT DI NC 212i, with Registration Number AX-2124, also landed safely at Air Base Nakhon Sawan, Thailand.

Based on information from the PT DI Technician Team, before being handed over to the Thai side, the aircraft had been tested by flying time of not less than 20 hours.

On this occasion, the Indonesian Economic Function Coordinator in the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, Lingga Setiawan who also attended stressed that the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok always supported the efforts of the Indonesian Government to improve export performance through strengthening cooperation in the strategic industrial sector.

Indonesia and Thailand at official meetings reached an agreement to encourage increased cooperation in the strategic industrial sector.

For this reason, he continued, products produced by SOEs in Indonesia, such as PT DI, PT INKA, PT PAL, and PT PINDAD, need to continue to be supported by marketing abroad.

In a record of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, between 1978 and 2016, Thailand bought eight aircraft made by PT DI.

Consists of five NC212 units for agricultural purposes (Department of Royal Rainmaking), and two CN235-200 units and one CN235-200M (Royal Thai Police) unit for military transportation.

With the addition of two aircraft in 2019, even 10 aircraft made by PT DI were purchased by Thailand.

The NC212i aircraft is the latest generation multipurpose aircraft from NC212 with a capacity of 28 passengers, has a ramp door, a cabin that is spacious enough in its class, a more modern navigation and communication system.

PT DI has succeeded in producing as many as 115 units of NC212 aircraft for domestic and abroad, from a total of 586 units of NC212 series population in the world.

(Source: Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok)