Indonesian Air Force personnel standing near the BAe 146-200 presidential aircraft at Singkawang Airport in West Kalimantan, in this file photo from March 18, 2024. - Courtesy of the Indonesian Air Force
JAKARTA: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo made his first landing at the new airport in the future capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan on Tuesday (Sept 24), flying on a small presidential plane after a visit from Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
The Presidential Secretariat head of protocol bureau Yusuf Permana said Jokowi was scheduled to fly on the BAe 146 presidential plane to Nusantara after inaugurating a smelter grade alumina refinery (SGAR) owned by PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia in Mempawah regency, West Kalimantan.
The presidential plane, a BAe 146-200, which was further developed into an Avro RJ85, is a quad-engine short-haul aircraft made by British Aerospace.
The aircraft, which was first introduced in 1983, is known for its ability to take off and land on short runways, with a capacity of 85 to 100 passengers and a maximum range of 3,650km. The airport at Nusantara has a runway that is 2,200m long and 30m wide.
The runway also has a shoulder dimension of 7.5m and a taxiway of 153 by 23m. The runway length is more than enough for a Bae-146, which needs a take-off distance of 1,390m with a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) at 42,184 kilograms. The aircraft’s landing distance is 1,190m.
However, the airport is still unable to handle the main presidential aircraft, a Boeing Business Jet 2 (BBJ2), which is based on the Boeing 737-800 Next Generation.
The Boeing 737-800 has an MTOW of 79,000 kg, a take-off distance of 2,300 m and a landing distance of 2,000 m.
Before Jokowi's first landing at the new airport, Air Force chief of staff Air Chief Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, who is also an interim Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority head and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi carried out takeoff and landing trials for the past two weeks.
The Air Force tested the airport on three separate occasions using three different types of aircraft. A CASA 212 light transport aircraft with tail number A-2104 made the first test on Sept 14 followed by a CN-295 medium transport aircraft with tail number A-2905 on Sept 15.
The last test used a C-130 Hercules heavy transport aircraft with tail number A-1338 on Sept 20. The Air Force said that the runway’s asphalt quality met the necessary requirements as its team was able to stop their planes with a standard configuration.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Agrarian and Spatial Planning Deputy Minister Raja Juli Antoni and their entourage also tried the new airport using a Cessna Citation Longitude business jet on Sept 19. It was the first jet aircraft to land at the airport.
Budi added that the verification and calibration stages of the airport had been completed several days before the business jet made its first landing. The results met aviation security and safety standards, he said.
The first proving flight was held on Aug 25 using a Beechcraft King Air 200 GT twin turboprop aircraft. The calibration aircraft is operated by the Transportation Ministry’s Aviation Facilities Calibration Agency. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
