State-run aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) has handed over a new NC212i mlitary transport aircraft to the Indonesian Air Force. The newest aircraft was delivered through a ferry flight from the PTDI Hangar Delivery Center in Bandung to Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport in Malang, East Java. With tail number AX-2127, the troop transport aircraft will be assigned to Air Squadron Four, Air Wing Two. The company signed the contract with the Indonesian Ministry of Defence on 29 December 2017 for nine NC212is in different configurations. Of the nine aircraft, four will be available in the troop transport configuration, another four in aerial photography and artificial rainmaking configuration, and one in the navigation training configuration.
NC-212i is an improved version of CASA C-212 Aviocar series, using two Garrett AiResearch TPE331-10R-513C turboprop engines, each of which can generate up to 671 kW. The rotor is four-bladed Dowty Rotol R334/4-82-F/13 constant speed propeller with a 2.75 m (110-inch) in diameter. the NC212i is 16.5 m long, 6.6 m high, and has a wingspan of 20.28 m. It can carry 25 paratroopers and two crew members or 2.8 tonnes of cargo. The aircraft’s maximum cruise speed is 370 km/h at an altitude of up to 7,925 m. IPTN (now PTDI) assembled the type under license at Bandung, Indonesia, during the 1970s and 1980s. In mid-2011 Airbus agreed to collaborate with their successor PTDI, which holds a license to sell the C-212 in Asia.
The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by CASA (now Airbus) in Spain for civil and military use. The C-212 is used as a transport, for rain-making, surveillance or search and rescue, and in 2013, 290 C-212s were flying in 40 countries with the most in Indonesia with 70. The C-212 is also in the service of the United States Army Special Operations Command with the designation C-41A, which utilizes the aircraft for troop infiltration and ex-filtration, supply drops, and airborne operations. Due to the presence of a rear ramp, the C-212 has also gained popularity among skydivers and smokejumpers.
