Indonesian engineers in Germany living it up

Indonesian engineers living in Germany receive good income which allows them to enjoy a decent lifestyle.
Priyatna Surawijaya, a post-doctorate student who works in a research institute and teaches at a university, earns around DM 3,500 a month. ""It's more than enough,"" he said. This is reasonable as he lives by himself and as a student, he gets a variety of discounts beginning from transportation to movie tickets. In Germany one goes to school without paying any fees. The total expenses for a student dormitory plus meals is only DM 1,000.
Priyatna, who has lived in Germany for more than 12 years, has sufficient income. Not because he worked harder, but because his wife and four children were here.
Wages and payments in Germany are given in accordance with the employee's marital status. If one is married, he gets what is called spouse allowance. This allowance is increased if he has a child, and he will get more if he has additional children. On the question of children, it turns out that they are paid not only by the company he works for, but also by the government. Child welfare allowance of DM 250 is received every year until the children are 18 years old. This wage and payment system is valid for everyone, including foreigners.
Priyatna's monthly income was DM 6.500 when his wife and four children still lived there. This allowed him to send money to his mother, who was a retired school teacher, and he could also afford to buy himself a car and a plot of land in Depok. He could also afford to invite on occasion his parents and parents in law to Germany.
Sunarkito is one of five Indonesian experts from Indonesian Aerospace (which used to be called IPTN) working at Dornier airplane manufacturer.
""My expertise as a senior engineer is highly appreciated,"" he said without revealing his income.
According to a source, an engineer in that position would at least earn between DM 6,000 to DM 8,000.
""Given time I don't think it is difficult for anyone to adapt to a new lifestyle and it is not that important to master the local language,"" said Sunarkito, who claimed unable to speak German.
In fact, the standard of living of the Indonesian engineers who work abroad in professional jobs is quite high. Yes, they are prosperous. Like what Sunarkito's colleague, Vembra Trigerya Vidjaja alias Gerry, said: ""I am grateful because our living is much better than that when we worked in Indonesia.""
Living abroad, though, has its ups and downs. Expressing one's opinion, for instance, can be a serious matter. Indonesians are known to be passive. They are reluctant to speak in public. Perhaps its because they have been ""muted"" for 32 years under Soeharto's regime.
Priyatna also felt that there is a degree of discrimination against foreign students, although it is not that strong. For example, supposedly he wrote a paper for the international journal, his supervisor would check it more carefully than if it was written by a German student. ""So, as a foreigner, I had to work extra accurately, which psychologically is tiring, too.""
Relationships in the office are limited to business only. Nothing more. So do not expect to know your colleagues' families the way many of us do when in Indonesia. The gap between supervisors and subordinates is so wide that Priyatna's advisor was once very suspicious when Priyatna gave him a present after he passed the degree examination. In actual fact the present was a token of his gratitude for helping him to achieve the title of Dipl-Ing (Engineer). ""Just for your information, the prize was only a glass,"" said Priyatna laughingly.
There has been an increasing demand for technical engineers in Germany over the past few years. The President of the Federal Labor Office, Bernhard Jagoda, said that Germany requires as many as 1.5 million skilled workers.
Germany, which has so far firmly proclaimed itself as ""not an immigrant country"", is seemingly unable to support this claim. Chancellor Gerard Schroeder was the first to launch the concept in the ""Cebit 2000"" computer exhibition held in Hannover last February. As German has an ambition to be a pioneer in high-tech modernization in Europe, it should strengthen its human resources. If there are not enough experts available in Germany, then why not open an opportunity for foreign experts, Schroeder suggested. The response was as expected. Industrialists urged the government to implement this statement and make good their promises.
As a result, this year Germany put a Green Card employment system into effect. As of today Germany has provided 20,000 Green Cards for qualified workers to enter the workforce.
Going home
One question is, do those Indonesian intellectuals still intend to go home after years of enjoying the comfort of living overseas?
""Of course,"" Priyatna said. As soon as he has achieved his Doctor of Philosophy degree, which is about three more years, he will return to Indonesia. His plan when he returns to Indonesia is to set up a kind of technical consulting bureau. ""I wish to make use of Indonesia-Germany ties,"" he said.
That is his plan. Priyatna is not sure whether IPTN will approve the plan as all scholarship receivers must sign a contract to work with the government.
Haider, for instance, has a contract of 13 years, while Gerry 12 years. Gerry said that if he wants to terminate his employment with IPTN, he must pay compensation amounting to DM 50,000.
Gerry remains optimistic that Indonesia will come out of its long economic demise. Therefore, he said, there is no problem if IPTN request him to return to Indonesia, although he would only receive a small salary.
""I will have to be patient. But being too patient will make me annoyed, too,"" said he laughingly. Yet, he is sure he would be able to contribute more to IPTN because of his experience in Germany.
However, Gerry and the other Indonesian expats share the same idea: they would not return home if Indonesia has not recovered from its economic and political turmoil.
Everyone must be entitled to plan their own future. If at the moment Indonesia cannot guarantee a safe and comfortable life for its people, why do they not try to do so in another place?
Head of the information section of the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin, Herawati Nuwargamiharja, commented: ""we must be objective, because, if the question is the other way round, will the state be able to offer them appropriate jobs? Clearly, it will be impossible.""
There are at present 5,000 Indonesian families living in Germany, and more than 70 percents of them are university graduates. So, while the opportunity continues, keep studying abroad and take advantage of what is available there. It is an investment in your future.

By: Sri Pudyastuti Baumeister

Source: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Sun, 12/31/2000

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Germany, new hope for Indonesian university graduates

On a murky fall morning a professor strode into his colleague's study. ""Is there a vacancy in your place. A graduate from Indonesia, formerly under my tutelage, has asked me to find him a job,"" he said, producing a piece of paper.
The colleague glanced at an e-mail letter with the words top urgent on the top right hand corner: Department of Aeronautics Technical University Braunschweig (TUBS), Germany. The letter outlined a number of outstanding qualifications received from the alma mater. The owner of the degree was unemployed as Sempati Airlines, where he had been employed several years earlier, had gone bankrupt. ""I really need your help,"" wrote the degree holder, a father of four from Surabaya.
This is a familiar occurrence for Indonesian graduates of German universities. Since the economic crisis in Indonesia four years ago, the demand for employment in Germany, which is renowned for its high technology, has shown an upward trend. This demand has come especially from the German alumni -- from various state enterprises, who received scholarships to study in Germany from the state in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, fresh graduates are reluctant to come back to Indonesia or at least many postpone their return to their home country.
""This tendency is very clear every time I enquire what they will do upon completing their studies here,"" said head of the information section of the Indonesian embassy in Berlin, Herawati Nuwargamiharja. There are several ways you can postpone your return to Indonesia. You can look for a scholarship to pursue higher studies or ask for an apprenticeship at your alma mater. Many are lucky enough to be employed in German industries.
""My graduation ceremony took place in 1998 coinciding with Soeharto's fall. Then I was struck by the thought, what would I be doing back home with only a diploma and no experience at all, while the situation in Indonesia was chaotic. I decided not to return to Indonesia,"" said Aeronautical Engineer Priyatna Surawijaya, 32.
Aeronautical Engineer Vembra Trigerya Vidjaja, 36, gave more or less the same reason. In 1998, IPTN, now called Indonesian Aerospace, sent Gerry, as he is known to friends, to conduct research on wing-engine integration at DLR, a German Aeronautics and Astronautics research center, for nine months, funded by Germany's State Ministry in charge of educational and research affairs (BMBF). Unfortunately three months after he started working on the project, he had to stop his studies as the N 2130 project was suspended. It was actually for the manufacturing of this aircraft that the government had sent him to Braunschweig, a university city some 45 minutes' drive from Hanover.
Gerry, who by then had already taken all his family to Germany, thought IPTN would forget the N-2130 project for good. ""It no longer cares about the project, let alone people like me,"" he argued. He decided that returning to Indonesia was not the best policy and prepared himself to run an export-import business he had pioneered in Germany with Zumbala trading group of Malaysia.
This plan, however, had to be abandoned as he received an offer from DLR. DLR had been appointed sub-contractor for the manufacture of Dornier DO 728 commuter airplane, the construction of which resembles that of a N-2130. They needed him not only because of his expertise as an aerodynamics engineer, but, more importantly, because of his involvement in IPTN's N 2130 project. They believed he had thorough knowledge about an airplane of this type.
The renewable three-year contract he signed with DLR entitles him to full working hours, known as Vollzeitstelle in Germany, i.e. eight hours a day. ""My superior believed I would not earn enough to support a family with four children if I worked only four hours a day, a hiring system known as Doktoranden Stelle in Germany,"" said Gerry, who now occupies a two-story house, formerly a small Islamic prayer house owned by a Turk.
Gerry's road to working in Germany was plain sailing after he got the green light from IPTN, which granted his application for unpaid leave. IPTN did not even mention a time limit. When applying for this leave, Gerry wrote he wished to study for his doctorate. Perhaps it was good news to IPTN: good news that he was not returning home and also good news because he would pursue his studies at a higher level.
As a matter of fact, the lure to work in Germany has attracted not only Indonesian graduates still residing there but also alumni who have already returned to Indonesia. Mechanical Engineer Haider Alatas, 30, is one of the latter. He has been in contact with DAAD, a German scholarship institute following a difficult life financially in Indonesia during the ongoing economic crisis. In 1996 he joined the National Atomic Energy Agency in Serpong Tangerang and remained there for two years with a salary of Rp 700,000 a month.
""I almost applied to be a teacher at Deutsche Schule,"" said Haider, referring to the German School located also in Serpong. He said he was dissatisfied with his work as it was not in the realm of his expertise.
During those gloomy days, he got an unexpected offer from his former professor, who had asked him to pursue his studies for a doctorate degree. It was really a pleasant surprise for him. ""I had always dreamed of getting this offer,"" said Haider, now studying for a doctorate degree at the Institute for Applied Computer Science, Karsruhe University, some 80 km away from Frankfurt. Thanks to the offer he could return to his campus free of charge.
Like Priyatna, as a doctorate candidate Haider can also work at his campus. He plans to improve his living standards from this income.
From Bandung, a former fly-by-wire manager of IPTN, L.K. Sunarkito, 44, paints almost the same picture. After working for several years at IPTN, he resigned because he could no longer bear hour after hour of doing nothing.
""I have to continue using my brain otherwise it will get rusty,"" said Sunarkito, a graduate of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
This awareness prompted him to send an application letter to Dornier, a German-US commuter airplane manufacturing company located in Munich.
What is really in a position?
Sunarkito may have been in fortune's favor as he got a response to his application letter in less than a month. Then he was briefly interviewed over the phone, to be followed by another interview in Munich. After the second interview, Sunarkito, with 20 years of experience at IPTN in CN 235, N 250 and N 2130 projects, got a permanent job at Dornier last year and quit IPTN. Today he is the Landing Gear System coordinator for DO 328, a 23-seat jet airplane. In terms of position, he had a higher position at IPTN. However, ""What's really in a position?"" he asked rhetorically. In his present job, he supervises his colleagues from France, Germany and Britain, and can keep his commitment to use his brain.
""I am now involved in aircraft manufacturing under a sophisticated technological system acceptable worldwide,"" he said with a tinge of pride.
Good fortune may play a role in this respect. Although there is a very remote likelihood of a decent life in your own country, to live in a foreign country without any certainty about employment may prove disastrous. Priyatna said he had to think hard many times before eventually deciding to work in Germany. Returning home, not returning home? When he was still in doubt, his family had returned home. It was at this critical time that his professor at TUBS offered him a chance to continue his studies for a doctorate degree. He ought to be proud because he was the only one offered this chance, out of a group of seven IPTN scholarship recipients.
Now, with a visible feeling of joy, he said that as a doctorate candidate, he does not have to conduct research all the time. Apart from working in a research institute, he tutors undergraduate students and also give lectures if the lecturers concerned happen to be absent. It is his job as a doctorate candidate that allows him to earn an income of a BAT IIa category Bundesangestelltentarif or a university staffer in a Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter or assistant researcher position. Getting this position is like killing two birds with one stone: he can use laboratory facilities and infrastructure for his research and earn an income from his contribution as a researcher. This income enables him to support his life in Germany and his family in Jakarta.

Source: The Jakarta Post, Sun, 04/29/2001

An ideal airport for airplane lovers

The glass wall in the departure lounge at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport faces the apron, giving aviation enthusiasts ample opportunity to watch planes take off and land. (JP/Novan Iman Santosa)

It was early morning in September when my airplane made its final approach to Paris -- it was still dark outside so the city lights were clearly visible.
I was aboard an Air France Boeing 777-300ER, which had flown out of Singapore and was about to touch down at the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport in Roissy, on the outskirts of Paris. I noticed another airplane was about to take off on the port side, but unfortunately I had sat on an aisle seat so I couldn't take a closer look to examine what aircraft and airline it was.
This is a fun thing for me, to land at an airport with parallel runways so you can see other airplanes taking off or landing.
This might be a good omen of what is to come.
Shopaholics may praise Changi or Dubai as a shopping paradise but CDG -- the airport code according to the International Air Transport Association -- provides a feast for the eyes.
Aviation enthusiasts love to visit airports to watch planes taxiing, taking off and landing, both at home and abroad.
Airplane lovers surely wouldn't miss the chance to visit CDG as it provides plenty of spots to take pictures of their favorite airlines and airplanes -- both inside and outside.
A major outdoor landmark surely not to be missed is none other than the Air France Concorde just outside the Hilton Hotel CDG in Roissypole.
The hotel is a strategic place to stay in the airport compound as it is also next to Terminal 3 (T3) which is dedicated to budget airlines.
Another plus is that is faces the taxiway linking northern runways with the southern.
Early September is a good time to visit as the sun shines for quite a long time, not setting until as late as 9:30 p.m., and the weather is fine.
Even if you don't stay at the pricey Hilton Hotel, the spot is still easy to get to if you go via the Regional Express Network (RER) urban rail network. Take the RER B line and exit at the Charles de Gaulle 1 station. From there it's within walking distance.
While an urban rail network is somewhat a requirement for major airports this days, it's not necessarily needed for fast intercity trains.
If you prefer to travel by land to other French cities such as Avignon or Toulouse (ah ... Toulouse, another must-visit with its Airbus assembly plant), then go the Charles de Gaulle 2 station and simply walk to the TGV bullet station.

While waiting to board their flight, children (and adults) can play a quick game on the PlayStation consoles in the departure lounge. (JP/Novan Iman Santosa)

Inside the terminals, Satellite 3 or S3 offers perhaps the best view of the airport's southern parallel runways and adjacent taxiways.
While most boarding lounges and waiting rooms only face the apron or faraway runways, S3 gives an unobstructed view of the runways and taxiways thanks to its glass-wall enclosure.
Inaugurated on June 26, 2007, Air France is starting to use S3 as its main hub together with airline members of the Sky Team.
Built by Aeroports de Paris at about 650 million euros, the complex is the first phase in a series of innovations that will significantly improve hub operations for Air France.
The airline itself has spent about 32 million euros constructing a lounge in S3.
The name could be somehow confusing, though. Officially it is called the Satellite 3 Boarding Lounge at Terminal 2E of Charles de Gaulle Airport.
There is not however, a S1 or S2 in the airport although S4 is under construction. It is expected that S4 will be operational by 2012.
The airport itself has three terminals. Terminal 1 (T1) is the oldest, Terminal 2 (T2) is the newest part of the airport and T3 is dedicated for low-cost airlines.
T2 itself is not a huge, singular terminal but is comprised of six halls, named 2A to 2F with S3 on the eastern side of both 2E and 2F halls. S4 is being constructed further east from S3 and is separated with an apron.
Air France calls the new boarding lounge the backbone of its hub promising a waiting time of less than two hours for about 20,000 connecting flights every week.
As most major airports all over the world prepare for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, the S3 boasts its two-level aerobridges, the first of its kind.
Other airports use single-level aerobridges to reach both the upper and lower decks of this gargantuan flying machine.
Each of S3's boarding gates will have three aerobridges -- two for the lower deck and one for the upper deck.
There will be six of these gates in S3 while the future S4 will have four.
Air France is slated to receive its Airbus A380 super jumbo jetliners in 2009 with flights linking Paris with Tokyo and Singapore.
The waiting time may be just under two hours for those with connecting flights but that does not prevent Air France from providing all the amenities to its travelers.
In addition to watching airplanes taxiing, taking off and landing, passengers -- especially the young ones or young at hearts -- can kill time with PlayStation consoles or get the latest info on their destination through PCs connected to the Internet.

Snacks and beverages on offer as well as free internet connectivity are just some of the conveniences long-haul travellers enjoy in the comfy business lounge. (JP/Novan Iman Santosa)

Other than staring at airplanes or PlayStation monitors, passengers do have the chance to shop. They can, for example, roam La Galerie Parisienne, a mall built by Aeroports de Paris with 3,200 square meters of shops and 1,400 square meters of bars and restaurants with a view of the ... runways!
For business class passengers, there is a 2,600-square-meter lounge with a seating capacity for 700.
As S3 was fully operational on March 30, it provides an additional number of gate-parked long-haul flights at T2 from 52 percent to 80 percent.
Gate-parked means an aircraft is parked directly at the gate allowing for a faster boarding process through the aerobridge compared to remote parking stands requiring passengers to be transported by ground vehicle before boarding an airplane.

The increase in gate-parked aircraft is due to a flexible arrangement of gate configurations from 11 long-haul and eight medium-haul flights to four long-haul and 22 medium-haul flights.
This configuration of between 19 to 26 gate parking stands depends on the type of flight handled, long- or medium-haul.
Other than Air France, the S3 boarding lounge is also used by members of the Sky Team: Aeroflot, AeroMexico, China Southern, Delta, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines.
As the airport is still undergoing expansion, hard core planespotters should consider CDG Airport a main destination before all open spaces are filled in.
Oh -- and one more thing. Dedicated airplane buffs should also visit the nearby historical Le Bourget Airport where the Le Bourget Salon is held every other year on the odd years. The smaller airport also houses the French Museum of Air and Space.
Alas, my schedule was so tight I didn't have the chance to visit although I did make a stop at the Le Bourget RER station.
Who knows -- maybe one day I can return and make a pilgrimage to Le Bourget and Toulouse.
The writer was invited by Air France to visit Charles de Gaulle Airport's S3 for a familiarization trip .

Source: The Jakarta Post Sun, 09/14/2008

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IPTN's N250

IPTN's N250 will be a winner, if performance figures match the aircraft's characteristics

IF THERE IS any lingering cynicism, over the destiny of IPTN's N250 programme, a visit to the company's design, manufacturing and flight-testing site at Bandung, Indonesia, would be likely to put it to rest. The site lacks no area of modern technology, and IPTN has accumulated and retained a strong core of talent in all related disciplines, as its achievements to date amply demonstrate.
Science and technology minister Dr Bacharuddin Habibie recalls with satisfaction that, when he announced the 50- to 70-seat-N250 programme in 1987, he set 10 August, 1995, for the first flight, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Indonesian independence: "At exactly eight minutes past ten on 10 August, 1995, attended by the president, members of cabinet, foreign dignitaries and the press, we made the first flight of the N250 on schedule. To meet a schedule set eight years beforehand is a task completed by few aerospace companies in the world. Normally, companies prefer to conduct the first flight in secret, to be sure that everything is working correctly, but we had announced the flight in advance and, if we are to establish ourselves in the global aerospace market, we need to prove ourselves on the world stage," Habibie says.
FIRST PROTOTYPE
In the subsequent six months, the first (development) prototype has been flown for 230 flight-test hours. The flight envelope has been opened up to the dive speed for flutter clearance in clean configuration. Still outstanding is the flutter clearance with flaps deployed, but IPTN expects no problems. Single-engine performance in all configurations was defined by the end of May. Stall characteristics, including dynamic stalls, have been explored; engine and auxiliary-power-unit (APU) air-start envelopes expanded and to date, there have been no major surprises.
Stall testing has identified the need for an artificial stall warning (stick shaker) and Danuwinata expects that the aircraft will probably also need a stick pusher for stall prevention. The first prototype's performance, stability and control trials will be finished before the Indonesian air show, followed by systems testing, putting the flight-test programme on schedule. Aircraft numbers two, three and four, all -100 70-passenger versions, will be the certification airframes. Number two, to be flown in September, is destined to develop flutter clearance for the full flight envelope, thence for certification of performance and stability/control throughout the low- to mid-speed and high-speed flight envelopes to certification limits. Systems-certification work will start on number three, and number four will follow for certification of the cockpit and interior, and functionality and reliability flying. Three and four will then be configured as series-production aircraft. The entire 4,500h certification programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of 1997.
FLY-BY-WIRE CONTROLS
The world's first regional turboprop airliner to be wholly controlled by a fly-by-wire (FBW) flight-control system, IPTN stresses that the N250 is not a CN235 derivative and has no structural or component commonality with that type.
Compared to the original 50-seat planned prototype, the 70-seat N250-100 incorporates a 1.5m fuselage length-extension plug, a lowered wing with reduced drag, and an extended constant-section fuselage with a circular cross-section in the aft fuselage. The first prototype has an elliptical cross-section, and the change will reduce structural weight and improve producibility. Production of the 50- and 70-passenger variants is likely to proceed concurrently, but IPTN's US production and marketing partner, American Regional Aircraft Industry is already pressing for a 72-seat version at increased seat pitch, which would call for a further 3m plug in addition to the current serial-production model. The N250's unusually large CG range, from 17% forward to 40% aft, is explained by the anticipation of these stretch derivatives.
The twin Allison AE2100C engines, de-rated to a normal take-off power of 2,400kW (3,270shp) equivalent, drive six-bladed Dowty Rotol R384/6-123-F/8 propellers and offer plenty of growth potential. Two dual-channel full-authority digital engine-controls (FADECs) manage engine and propeller operation in all starting, ground and flight modes. The FADEC provides engine and propeller digital-signal data transmission, status information, monitoring and fault indications to the data concentrator unit for pilot display and for maintenance monitoring. A gearbox-mounted accessory drive provides mounting and power for an AC generator and a hydraulic pump on both engines, and for gearbox-oil pump, propeller pitch-control unit (mounting only) and propeller oil-pump and overspeed governor. Engine build-up is identical for left and right installations. Pneumatic starters on each engine are connected to the pilot-activated pneumatic manifold, and the starting sequence is controlled from initialisation to stabilisation by the FADEC.
The engine-indicating system, consists of torquemeter pick-ups, thermo-couples for measured gas temperature, expressed as inter-turbine temperature, propeller speed and engine-monitoring system.
The fully feathering and reversing composite-construction propellers are 12.5ft (3,810mm) in diameter. The advanced aerodynamic blade design is optimised for the high cruising speeds for which the N250 is intended, and IPTN anticipates that the high wing configuration will provide ample protection from propeller and engine foreign-object damage. The blades are counterweighted, to deliver a safe coarse pitch and rotational speed in the event of loss of system oil pressure or electrical supply. Blades are spray-coated with polyurethane and have a nickel leading-edge guard against ice and erosion damage. An electrically driven feather pump and motor unit provides an emergency source for the primary and secondary feathering system, and a propeller over-speed governor begins to restrict oil flow to the propeller control unit if an over-speed condition (of about 105%) occurs.
The Sunstrand APS-1000 APU supplies pneumatic power for the environmental-control system and engine start. Between firewalls in the extreme aft fuselage, it is mounted on the aft pressure bulkhead. APU start is by an autonomous electric starter-motor powered by the aircraft's batteries.
CARBONFIBRE COMPOSITES
Carbonfibre composites are also used for the radome, nose-gear and main landing-gear doors and fairings, wingtip, elevator tip, vertical-stabiliser tip and wing/fuselage fairings; wing fixed-trailing-edge surface panels; dorsal fin; aft rudder; and tail cone.
The main entrance door will be a 1750 x 780mm type 1 plug at the forward left position, and will be provided with a folding airstair. The 1,397 x 610mm type 1 service doors opposite and at the rear, along with a left side type 3 915 x 610mm rear emergency door, will meet all evacuation requirements. Flight-attendant stations will be forward and aft, and the 8.8m3 main (pressurised) baggage compartment will be behind the passenger cabin, accessible through a 1,114 x 1,150mm external door on the left side. The aft baggage door is a structural, non-plug, type with C-latch locking, and is electrically operated from an external access.
Baggage-door sill height is 1,200mm. Cabin and toilet servicing are provided for on the right fuselage, with fuel truck aft of the right wing for single-point fuelling at up to 450litres/min aft of the right main-landing-gear fairing. There is also, provision for over-wing fuelling. Maximum useable fuel capacity is 4.2t, contained in inboard and outboard tanks in each wing.
All primary and secondary flight-control surfaces are controlled by the full-authority FBW system. Hydraulic actuation of the surfaces is electrically signalled by electrical control units (ECUs) from the pilot's dual-channel control column, control wheel and rudder pedals, which are of conventional layout (provided with artificial feel), and from the flap levers. ECUs are scheduled, with flight parameters for airframe-overstress protection from excessive control loads. For back up, ailerons and elevators have separate mechanical signal paths through a single cable to mechanically controlled hydraulic actuators.
The double-hinged rudder has two FBW-controlled hydraulic actuators, with the upper actuator normally active. Both actuators are powered by the centre hydraulic system, which is independent of the left or right engine-driven hydraulic pumps and, therefore, of engine failure. Failure of an FBW channel to any aileron or elevator surface prompts automatic switching to the manual channel for that surface, without discernible change to control feel. Capt Danuwinata says: "Once, in flight testing, we had a reversion of the aileron system from FBW to mechanical backup due to a power interrupt, and we didn't even notice it from the cockpit. 'Mission control' advised us we were in backup mode."
Although the test aircraft was fitted with a special shut-off valve to allow test-flight de-activation of the FBW system, there is no plan to make this available in production aircraft, as it can be adequately practised in a simulator. Several failure cases have already been evaluated in simulation, and predicted control forces are almost identical with the FBW case, the only difference being that speed scheduling and several other FBW system functions are de-activated.
Flaps and spoiler/ground spoilers are also FBW. The four spoiler panels, which can also be armed to act as landing-activated ground spoilers, operate when airborne in aileron-assist mode at large wheel deflections to tailor roll capability with speed. Nosewheel steering is also FBW-activated, without mechanical reversion. The tiller provides +/- 65° steering either side of neutral, and limited authority of +/- 7¡ from neutral is provided through the rudder pedals for take-off and landing.
COCKPIT LAYOUT
In terms of modern cockpit layout, there is nothing unusual about the N250, which closely follows modern convention. IPTN selected a horizontally aligned five-screen configuration for its Rockwell-Collins Proline electronic-flight-instrumentation (EFIS) system, with primary flight displays outboard, adjacent multi-function displays (MFDs) inboard, and engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) centrally mounted. Lighting controls are at the outboard extremities of the main panel, with clock and MFD mode switches inboard and adjacent to the MFDs. Standby attitude indicator, altimeter and airspeed indicators are to the right of the captain's MFD, symmetrically opposite landing-gear selector and trim indicators. The main panel slopes 25¡ up from the vertical. On the glare shield are the automatic flight-control system and EFIS control panels, with master warning and caution lights outboard above the MFDs.
A single power-lever module, within comfortable reach of both pilots, is centrally mounted on the centre console, which also contains all avionics controls, and the control panels for the EICAS, ground-spoiler/anti-skid system, internal lighting, flap and elevator trim and aileron/rudder trim, as well as the EFIS source panel, and power-management unit. There is ample space on the centre console for dual flight-management systems.
Considerable thought has been applied to limiting clutter on the compact overhead panel, with all items well forward to obviate reaching back. System design is managed to minimise the need to push buttons, and largely automated, so that lighted captions on the push button will indicate the abnormal condition, an unlit button indicating normality.
Control-column-mounted switches for aileron and elevator trim will be standard on production models, but were absent on the certification aircraft. The conventional trim switches at the aft extent of the centre console were difficult for a first-timer to locate.
The pneumatic system, routed entirely outside the pressure hull, controls and distributes bleed air to the environmental-control system; engine-starting system; aerofoil de-icing system; and cabin-pressurisation control system. IPTN believes that it is well covered against any tightened US Federal Aviation Administration requirement, with 15% boot coverage and a growth capability, if required, because of the aft location of the front spar.
Some autopilot testing has been carried out and, with Rockwell-Collins, IPTN has optimised the gain settings on the autopilot logic. Danuwinata says: "We came up with a satisfactory solution, but this has been done on a special test rack installed in the aeroplane, where we could change the gains according to the test results. Now, the new gains will be implemented directly in the flight-control computer software, and we expect to have the new computer in within a month."
Extended-range twin-engined operations, has not been a consideration in the design, because of the medium- and short-haul nature of the typical mission. The aerodynamic concept of the N250 is based on the concept that the aircraft should be powered by high thrust for high-speed flight, without surrendering short take-off and landing capability. The same requirements dictated the use of the double-hinged rudder for engine-out capability at high thrust and low speed. Span of the double-slotted flaps is 80%. A noticeable external feature is a visibly nose-down thrust line, which locates it close to the vertical centre of gravity, the outcome being relatively moderate elevator-trim changes, with thrust variations.
IPTN has unquestionably produced a "pilots'" aeroplane. The challenge during the certification programme will now to be to marry those excellent characteristics with performance figures, which deliver operating economics of equal quality.

Source: Flight International, 19/06/96

Sayonara N2130: Finally, the dream has ended

The Indonesian dream to build a twin jet aircraft, N2130, has ended. After years of designing and campaigningIPTN has to give up the project. On September 29, 1999, PT Dua Satu Tiga Puluh (DSTP), the company responsible for N2130's funding, was officially dismissed. Its preliminary design was to be handed over to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the US$ 70 million spent on the design process was to be considered as 'sunk-cost'.
With the changes in Indonesian Government President Abdurrahman Wahid replacing former president B.J.Habibie who was also former IPTN's director and the uncertainty on who will be appointed minister of industry and trade replacing Rahardi Ramelan the faith of IPTN's transonic aircraft looks more uncertain. Just a month before, following the liquidation of PT DSTP on September 15, Indonesian government (represented by Mr. Habibie) still showed an optimistic attitude toward the problem.
However, when Angkasa called the Ministry of Industry and Trade shortly after the election of President Abdurrahman Wahid ­known familiarly as Gus Dur one of the public relation officer said, "We are still in the dark, Mr. Ramelan rarely comes here due to his full agenda, while we don't have any idea who will replace him in the next cabinet." This implied the faith of N2130 is depending on the new government's attitude and interest.

Liquidation
PT DSTP's final shareholders meeting on September 29 came with three decisions. First, to hand over the intellectual rights (Hak Atas Kekayaan Intelektual) of N2130 to the Government of Indonesia; second, to legalize the final report made by the liquidation board; and third, to give all debt settlements and responsibilities to the liquidation board. Following the decision, PT DSTP handed the intellectual rights of the aircraft's preliminary design to the Government, i.e. the President of the Republic of Indonesia (at that time was B.J.Habibie) , which in practice appointed (former) Minister of Industry and Trade, Rahardi Ramelan.
Saadilah Mursjid (former cabinet's secretary) acting as DSTP's president director and Sudharmono (former Indonesia's vice president) as its commissioner/shareholder represented DSTP on the meeting, held in Granadi Building, Jakarta. The shareholders meeting concluded the decision to liquidate PT DSTP (September 15), and thus dismiss the board of director as well as the shareholders.
The press release signed by the "likuidator perseroan" (company board of liquidation) ­whose member wasn't specifiedmentioned that DSTP has settled all its obligations to shareholders in August through September 1999. Other obligations to Bank Pembangunan Daerah (BPD) has also been discussed. "Public accountant Delloitte Touche/HTM audited DSTP's closing financial report dated on August 31. Its report will be submitted to the board of liquidation shareholders meeting to gain legalization and responsibility dismissal to the board of liquidation (acquid et decharge)" stated the release.
All of DSTP's assets ­which is a set of papers comprising the preliminary design of the 80-130 seater aircraftwere handed to Ramelan, (former) minister of industry and trade, along with its debts. While the 70 million dollar cost spent for the design by PT IPTN N2130 division was considered 'sunk-cost'.

N2130's flight plan
PT Dua Satu Tiga Puluh (DSTP) as owner or holding company was founded in 1995, soon after IPTN N250's roll out. The aircraft itself, the twin jet 80-130 passenger aircraft N2130, was put into design since 1994, while the plan was already announced three years earlier. According to the timetable presented by IPTN during the Le Bourget Paris Airshow 1995, on March 1997 N2130 should be on 'Design Requirements and Objective' phase, by April 1997, it should have been in the preliminary design process which will be finalized in 2000.
On October this year until March 2003, the aircraft should go through detail design process while detail part manufacturing should take place from December 2001 to May 2003. The assembly phase, if ever took place, should begin at January 2003.
Still according to the 1995 time table, the all-Indonesian-made aircraft would have its maiden flight on March 2004, and the very next month go into certification process until it finally delivered to its first operator on the June 2006 Indonesia Air Show.
Dr.Ing.Ilham Habibie, head of IPTN's N2130 division who is also B.J.Habibie's oldest son, told Angkasa in an interview on August 1998 that the dismissal of PT DSTP as shareholders would not automatically stop the project. By December 15, PT DSTP was liquidated and dismissed. And so by the end of last year, the decision was made to freeze the program on its preliminary design phase.

Big question
Angkasa analyzed the decision to give N2130's intellectual rights to Rahardi Ramelan is proper at the time it was made. Besides being the person involved in the program since its announcement in 1995, Ramelan was ­when the decision was madethe minister in charge of such matters. Some believe, as mentioned in the German magazine der Spiegel, that Ramelan was the person who received the transferred money from German's Ferrostaal in 1991. Both Habibie and Ramelan denied the article. Still speculations was high, since PT DSTP's board of directors as well as its board of shareholders refused to comment.
Apart from the rumors, no one can predict the faith of N2130, whether an international investor will be interested to purchase the design, or would it stay on paper as 'the Indonesian impossible dream'.

Source: ANGKASA N0.2 NOVEMBER 1999 TAHUN X

Penerbangan Mengubah Peradaban

Oleh: Ninok Leksono

KETIKA Orville dan Wilbur Wright berhasil menerbangkan pesawat hasil rekayasanya sendiri pada tanggal 17 Desember 1903, maka terciptalah sebuah sejarah besar. Mungkin tanpa disadari keduanya, penemuan mereka kemudian melahirkan industri yang-lebih daripada yang lain-memberi bentuk abad ke-20. Atas prestasinya itu, keduanya tentu saja masuk dalam Balai Agung

Prestasi Sejarah.
SELAIN itu, fakta bahwa penerbangan-dari pesawat Flyer Wright Bersaudara sampai dengan zaman penerbangan ruang angkasa berawak-hanya terentang selama satu masa hidup, boleh jadi merupakan pencapaian manusia yang paling mengesankan.

Prestasi tersebut membuat kita sulit membayangkan, mengapa pionir-pionir sebelum Wright Bersaudara perlu menghabiskan waktu bertahun-tahun untuk menciptakan mesin terbang yang toh gagal terbang. Melanjutkan ungkapan penulis penerbangan Bill Gunston, sulit juga kita membayangkan mengapa ada orang-orang yang gagah berani melompat dari bangunan tinggi sambil mengepak-ngepakkan sayap yang dibuat di rumah.

Sekarang, apa yang dulu merupakan hal yang dianggap tidak mungkin itu telah menjadi hal biasa. Terbang sudah menjadi hal rutin dan caranya sudah bukan hal rumit lagi. Semenjak berakhirnya Perang Dunia II, pesawat terbang berevolusi menjadi bentuk terkemuka transportasi udara, membawa penumpang ke tempat-tempat yang sebelumnya mungkin terlampau jauh untuk didatangi, dan mempertemukan umat manusia yang berbeda-beda kebangsaannya. Bisnis, turisme, militer telah banyak mengalami perubahan fundamental karena dukungan penerbangan.

Sebagai satu dunia yang dinamis, penerbangan membukukan pencapaian demi pencapaian secara dramatik. Pesawat terbang mengalami perkembangan sangat cepat di berbagai seginya dibandingkan dengan alat transportasi lain. Dari hanya bisa terbang sejauh sekitar 280 meter selama 59 detik dan setinggi beberapa meter dalam penerbangan terakhir Wright Bersaudara 17 Desember 1903, pesawat terbang modern seperti Airbus A-340-500 bisa terbang nonstop selama 17 jam, menjadikannya pesawat penumpang komersial yang berjelajah paling jauh.

Dalam lingkup pesawat eksperimental, pesawat Voyager rancangan Burt Rutan menjadi pesawat satu-satunya yang bisa terbang mengelilingi dunia tanpa henti. Penerbangan yang dipiloti oleh Jeana Yeager dan Dick Rutan dimulai 14 Desember 1986 dan berakhir dengan Voyager mendarat di titik ia berangkat sembilan hari kemudian setelah menempuh jarak sejauh 42.685 kilometer.
Sementara itu, dalam lomba kecepatan, pesawat yang semula hanya berkecepatan sekitar 100 km/jam lalu menjadi ratusan, berikutnya bisa mencapai kecepatan bahkan ribuan kilometer per jam. Tonggak kecepatan ini dicapai tanggal 14 Oktober 1947 ketika Kapten AU AS Charles E "Chuck" Yeager dengan pesawat Bell X-1 berhasil menembus dinding suara dan lalu terbang dengan kecepatan melebihi kecepatan suara.

Pencapaian baru di bidang kecepatan ini lalu diaplikasikan pada pesawat tempur. Tanggal 26 April 1948 pilot penguji George Welch berhasil membawa pesawat Sabre yang waktu itu masih baru dengan kecepatan lebih dari Mach 1. Pesawat militer supersonik pertama yang diproduksi secara massal adalah MiG-19.

Kecepatan tertinggi dalam pesawat-pesawat eksperimental dicapai oleh pesawat X-15A2 buatan North American yang juga mendapat tenaga roket sehingga bisa dicapai ketinggian dan kecepatan fenomenal: pada tanggal 22 Agustus 1963 pilot Joe Walker berhasil mencapai ketinggian 354.200 kaki (lebih dari 107.000 meter) dan 3 Oktober 1967 Mayor Pete Knight mencapai kecepatan Mach 6,72 (sekitar 7.000 km/jam).

Dalam hal kecepatan, tentu saja orang tak bisa melupakan pesawat mata-mata Amerika SR-71 Blackbird. Rekor yang dibuat pesawat ini adalah Mach 3,32 pada ketinggian lebih dari 85.000 kaki (sekitar 27 km). Pesawat itu sendiri dirancang untuk bisa terbang Mach 4 pada ketinggian 120.000 kaki (hampir 40 km), namun sebagai pesawat mata-mata memang kemampuan sebenarnya banyak dirahasiakan. Hanya saja dalam salah satu wawancara penulis dengan awak pesawat ini di Pangkalan AU Amerika di Mildenhall, Inggris, disebutkan bahwa di ketinggian jelajahnya pilot pesawat ini bisa melihat lengkungan Bumi.

Jadi, pesawat terbang telah membawa manusia ke ketinggian-ketinggian yang sebelumnya tidak pernah dicapai. Bagi mereka yang pernah menikmati penerbangan jet supersonik Concorde, ketinggian 60.000 kaki (18 km) yang dicapai pesawat ini, yang diterbangi dengan kecepatan di atas Mach 2, telah memberikan sensasi istimewa: melihat langit di luar yang berwarna ungu-biru kegelapan, dengan awan putih tampak jauh di bawah sana, sementara pramugari menyajikan sampanye dan lobster.

Bila Concorde yang kini telah pensiun menawarkan kecepatan dan kemewahan terbang, generasi pesawat penumpang berikut bakal memuncaki kecenderungan lain yang telah berkembang sebelum ini, yakni badan lebar jumbo. Tidak berhenti pada pesawat yang bisa mengangkut 100 sampai 300 penumpang, pabrik Boeing dan Airbus terus berlomba membuat pesawat jumbo lebih modern.

Dua tahun dari sekarang superjumbo Airbus A-380 yang berkapasitas 550 penumpang akan muncul. Pesawat dua dek ini tidak saja banyak menuntut penyesuaian dalam terminal keberangkatan di bandara, tetapi juga-seperti tergambar dalam desain interiornya-akan menawarkan kenyamanan terbang baru. Namun, di luar kapasitas yang bertambah banyak, jelajah lebih jauh, penggunaan bahan bakar lebih efisien, A-380 masih akan terbang dalam kecepatan subsonik sekitar 900 km/jam dan desain dasar yang, menurut National Geographic (12/03), diterapkan Boeing pada jet 707 setengah abad silam.

Satu hal penting lain yang perlu dikemukakan menyangkut pesawat penumpang ini adalah industri angkutan udaranya. Memang di atas telah disinggung bahwa kehadiran pesawat terbang yang semakin banyak, berjelajah jauh, mampu mengangkut banyak penumpang, telah mengubah secara mendalam mobilitas dan aktivitas manusia, baik dalam lingkup nasional, regional, maupun global.

Namun, demikian dalam beberapa tahun belakangan juga diamati adanya penurunan perekonomian yang berdampak pada industri angkutan udara, seperti diperlihatkan oleh adanya PHK dan kebangkrutan. Kekhawatiran terhadap terorisme, khususnya semenjak terjadinya serangan 11 September 2001, yang setelah itu diikuti oleh rangkaian aksi terorisme lain, dan juga perang untuk melawannya di Afganistan, lalu perang lain di Irak, menambah buruk situasi. Dan semua itu masih ditambah buruk oleh merebaknya wabah seperti yang sudah diperlihatkan secara spektakuler oleh SARS.

Tetapi, semua gambaran pesimistis di atas belumlah seluruh sisi penerbangan komersial. Bagaimana pun sejak tahun 1980 angkutan penerbangan tumbuh dengan laju lima persen per tahun. Kini, setelah berbagai topan dan badai, tidak sedikit pengamat yang punya optimisme bahwa laju setingkat itu akan bisa dicapai kembali.

DALAM bidang militer, meski pesawat terbang telah mulai dipergunakan untuk peperangan dalam Perang Dunia I, mungkin masih dalam wujud dan peran sederhana dan lalu semakin meningkat dalam perang-perang selanjutnya, dua Perang Irak benar-benar merevolusi penggunaannya.

Dilatarbelakangi oleh kekhawatiran kehilangan prajurit manakala di awal perang harus dikerahkan ke medan tempur garis depan, AS memang lalu benar-benar mengandalkan kekuatan udara dalam perang-perang modern yang dilancarkannya, baik dalam Perang Teluk 1991, di Bosnia, di Afganistan, dan terakhir kembali di Irak bulan Maret 2003 lalu.

Bagi AS, penggunaan kekuatan udara secara besar-besaran tidak menjadi soal karena selain adidaya ini memiliki armada dalam jumlah sangat besar, sebagian besar pesawatnya merupakan produk mutakhir, mengungguli semua pesawat negara yang selama ini diperanginya. Dalam arsenalnya ada penyerang siluman (tidak kasat radar, stealth) F-117A Nighthawk, juga ada pengebom dengan teknologi sejenis, B-2 Spirit, yang bisa menjangkau titik mana pun di Bumi dalam tempo beberapa jam, serta masih banyak lagi deretan kekuatan udara yang bisa ia kerahkan melalui kemampuan pengerahan kekuatan (power projection) dengan kapal induk.

Apa yang dilakukan AS meskipun secara politik masih terus diperdebatkan hingga hari ini mengenai bermoral-tidaknya, secara doktrinal hal itu nyata-nyata telah paripurna mengikuti apa yang di awal abad ke-20 dikuliahkan oleh pemikir kekuatan udara (air power), seperti Giulio Douhet, William Mitchell, Alexander Seversky, dan Hugh Trenchard.

Sebagai adidaya paripurna-politik-ekonomi-teknologi-militer-AS dalam posisi untuk membangun angkatan udara yang tangguh, tidak saja kemarin, hari ini, tetapi juga masa depan. Sementara itu, hari ini F-15 Eagle masih diakui kehebatannya sebagai pesawat keunggulan udara (air superiority), AS sudah mempersiapkan F-22 Raptor yang disebut akan meredefinisi pesawat tempur dan perang udara.

Tidak banyak memang negara yang bisa seberuntung AS. Ambil contoh Indonesia sendiri. TNI AU sudah berusia 58 tahun, tetapi-justru di tengah kemajuan teknologi kekuatan udara yang sedemikian pesat-peralatannya masih dan tetap jauh dari memadai, jumlahnya sedikit daripada seharusnya, dan-setidaknya sampai datangnya jet Sukhoi Su-30MK-dari yang sedikit tersebut juga berasal dari teknologi hari kemarin dan sebagian tidak dapat terbang.

Memang satu hal yang bersifat ironi bahwa meski semakin diakui peranannya dalam perang modern, kekuatan udara sulit dibangun karena sejumlah faktor: harga perangkatnya supermahal, teknologinya rumit sehingga menuntut SDM canggih dan biaya operasional dan pemeliharaannya tinggi.

PENERBANGAN juga memberi kesempatan pada masyarakat luas untuk menikmati keluwesan penggunaannya. Dalam kategori general aviation, terentang berbagai pemanfaatan luas pesawat, baik untuk riset, pertolongan medik, bisnis, dan lainnya. Bagi mereka yang gemar advontur atau sport, banyak pula pabrik yang menyediakan pesawat untuk keperluan itu. Untuk sport pun, pembuat benar-benar memikirkan desain yang-ditopang oleh pilot pemberani dan jagoan-bisa mewujudkan impian menjadi juara aerobatik. Pesawat Su-26, 29, dan 31 adalah pengantar juara dunia untuk jenis ini.

Business jet, seperti yang dibuat oleh Gulstream atau Dassault, bisa disebut sebagai jenis pesawat lain yang ikut meramaikan udara dewasa ini.

Bersama dengan pesawat latih, baik untuk tempur maupun komersial, atau untuk menjadi astronaut, pesawat pemadam kebakaran hutan, pesawat patroli juga merupakan produk yang sering ditemui ketika orang memperingati 100 tahun penerbangan.

Namun, di tengah pencapaian yang amat banyak tersebut, umat manusia terus melakukan berbagai riset untuk membuat pesawat-pesawat baru yang memiliki kemampuan unik.
Bila Airbus sedang mempersiapkan pemunculan A-380, di meja desain kini sudah mulai dipikirkan pesawat yang tidak saja supersonik, tetapi hipersonik, yakni pesawat yang kecepatannya di atas Mach 5 (6.000 km/jam ke atas). Pesawat yang bisa mencapai titik mana pun di planet Bumi dalam tempo kurang dari empat jam ini dibayangkan bisa membawa seseorang yang baru sarapan di New York bersantap siang di Tokyo. (The Great Technology Race, James B Edwards, 1993)

Dengan impian ini, manusia seperti diwakili oleh perancang pesawat Burt Rutan dengan SpaceShipOne juga mempersiapkan bisa membuat pesawat yang bahkan bisa membawa mereka ke ruang angkasa.

Jadi, dilihat dari sudut pandang mana pun, penerbangan tatkala memasuki abad keduanya membuka kemungkinan yang tidak terbatas. Bisa dikatakan, batas yang ada barangkali adalah imajinasi para perancang visioner.…

UNTUK mengenang berbagai kemajuan penerbangan selama 100 tahun itulah, dalam Fokus Kompas kali ini dicoba direkam kembali garis besar pencapaian manusia di bidang yang diawali dengan penuh keberanian oleh para pelopornya.

Setelah tulisan pengantar di halaman ini, tulisan di halaman 46 menuturkan kembali berbagai upaya yang ditempuh oleh para perintis yang berpuncak pada penerbangan Wright Bersaudara.
Di halaman 47 dibahas perkembangan yang terjadi menyusul penerbangan Wright Bersaudara, khususnya yang mengarah pada terbentuknya industri angkutan udara dan juga yang mengarah pada pemanfaatan pesawat untuk tujuan militer. Halaman 48 berisi tulisan yang membicarakan helikopter dan pesawat dengan desain tidak biasa.

Isi tulisan di halaman 49 membahas pencapaian dalam industri pembuatan pesawat angkut penumpang dan pada halaman 50 menyoroti masalah pengembangan kekuatan udara. Sedang Tulisan di halaman 51 menyoroti berbagai ide yang kini muncul dalam dunia penerbangan, dan akhirnya pada halaman 52 Fokus menuliskan kronologi penerbangan.

Tentu saja kedelapan tulisan tersebut masih jauh dari mencukupi untuk membahas keseluruhan detail pencapaian penerbangan selama 100 tahun pertama.

Namun, diharapkan tulisan-tulisan tersebut dapat memberi gambaran umum tentang dunia yang telah banyak memberi warna pada perkembangan peradaban manusia ini.

Sumber: Kompas, Sabtu, 13 Desember 2003.

Sejarah Menggambar

When the man began drawing? The human needs to represent all that surrounds him, the most interesting means to carry out this desire. It’s a drawing.
When the Homo sapiens represented on the cave surfaces of the caves or on the skin of the coats, animals he hunted, it’s the first drawing goes bacj to the Superior Paleolithic, about 35.000 years ago. An example of this artistic manifestation can be found in the cave paintings of the caves of Altamira, in Cantabria (Spain). Later, the Egyptians knew how to take profit of this art to decorate the most imposing constructions in the history; the pyramids. It had passed thousands of years and the drawing had evolved substantially. From the single-coloured and static composition of the prehistory, a new stride had been made to the balance, thoroughness and coloring of the theological representations in temples and sanctuaries. There was a need to detail the figure of gods to thank them the splendor of the Egyptian empire
It was necessary to advance to the sixth century BC to find in the Greeks the maximum representatives of the balance in drawing. Worried to center in the human candid expression, they denude it from any ostentation or supernatural connotation, they are able to achieve their target and they obtain what was considered to be the harmonic balance.
The Romans, 500 years later, contributed to the diversity it was lacking . And army and an discipline was required to maintain an empire on such an extensive territory in order to subdue so many diverse cultures under the same authority. That facilitated, in certain part, the abandonment of the artistic and ornamental stuff to come closer to a more practical and more useful doctrine for that time; Solid constructions were necessary to maintain the authority from the continuous attacks of the invaders. They obtained in the drawing the means to reflect what the useful constructions needed to be . The first maps arose and with them the architecture was born. The technical drawing required a bigger technique and mathematical knowledge about what had been forged until that moment.

Source: www. disbojosparapintar.com

Sumber Daya Iptek dan Posisi Kita Sekarang

Oleh: Yuni Ikawati

Ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi atau iptek merupakan tulang punggung pembangunan ekonomi, menjadi kekuatan utama dalam persaingan global dan sarana mencapai kemakmuran bangsa.
Berbekal keyakinan ini, negara Barat dan Macan Asia, seperti Jepang, Korea Selatan, dan Taiwan, yang konsisten mengerahkan sejumlah besar dana dan para ilmuwannya, berlomba menguasai iptek. Dari sana muncul inovasi yang diterapkan industri untuk meningkatkan daya saing produk dan meraup devisa. Proses ini pada ujungnya akan mengangkat kualitas hidup dan kesejahteraan bangsa.
Pencapaian itu terlihat dalam Indeks Pencapaian Teknologi dan Indeks Pembangunan Manusia yang disusun United Nations Development Programs (UNDP), yang menempatkan negara industri maju dan baru itu pada peringkat papan atas.
Sedangkan laporan UNDP tentang Indonesia menunjukkan pencapaian teknologi kita ada pada urutan ke-60 dari 72 negara. Indonesia berada di urutan terbawah negara yang masuk kategori dynamic adopter, hanya terpaut satu tingkat di atas kelompok negara di Afrika yang termarjinalkan dalam pencapaian teknologi.
Pada Indeks Pembangunan Manusia, posisi Indonesia terus menurun, dari urutan 49 pada tahun 1996 menjadi 112 pada tahun 2002, di antara 173 negara. Lalu, Indeks Daya Saing Pertumbuhan Indonesia, menurut World Economic Forum, tahun 2004 juga di peringkat bawah, yaitu ke-69 dari 104 negara.
Sementara itu indikator iptek Indonesia tahun 2003 disebutkan, ekspor produksi industri manufaktur didominasi oleh produk berteknologi rendah, mencapai 60 persen. Produk teknologi tinggi hanya 21 persen. Ini menunjukkan rendahnya kontribusi iptek nasional, dan penggunaan teknologi maju di industri domestik, serta menjadi indikasi rendahnya daya saing dan nilai tambah produk ekspor Indonesia.
Penelitian yang dilakukan UNDP dan Kementerian Negara Riset dan Teknologi (Ristek) mengungkapkan, keterkaitan yang sangat lemah antara kegiatan riset iptek di lembaga riset dan sektor riil, yang menjadi salah satu sebab rendahnya indikator itu.
Hal ini terjadi karena kementerian ini belum sepenuhnya berperan selaku arsitek kebijakan riset iptek nasional. Perhatian pemerintah selama ini masih terfokus pada program riset yang dibiayainya, dan kurang memerhatikan instrumen insentif untuk membentuk iklim kondusif bagi para pelaku riset iptek di industri.
Padahal kementerian ini tidak bisa berjalan sendiri, dan perlu dukungan dari berbagai pihak, terutama Departemen Keuangan, yang memungkinkan program insentif dapat berjalan. Selama ini, departemen tersebut belum menyetujui usulan program insentif yang diajukan kementerian ini, demikian urai Andi Eka Sakya, mantan Asisten Deputi Bidang Program Riset Iptek Kementerian Negara Riset dan Teknologi, tentang hasil penelitian itu.
Pengembangan iptek
Tentang berbagai problema pengembangan iptek di Indonesia, Menteri Negara Ristek Kusmayanto Kadiman mengemukakan, "Perlu pembenahan yang serius di berbagai bidang untuk meningkatkan penguasaan teknologi dan daya saing bangsa Indonesia sebagai sasaran yang harus dituju. Faktor teknologi menjadi salah satu parameter yang harus diperhitungkan dalam penentuan indeks selain penilaian ekonomi makro serta institusi publik. Karena rendahnya penguasaan teknologi bangsa inilah yang menjadi penyebab rendahnya indeks pertumbuhan itu."
Penguasaan iptek suatu negara memang sangat bergantung pada ketersediaan dana yang mencukupi dalam kurun waktu panjang, dan kesinambungan kemauan politik pemerintah untuk terus memajukan iptek.
Hal ini pernah terjadi pada masa pemerintahan Soeharto selama 30 tahun lebih. Industri strategis yang ditopang hasil riset para peneliti Lembaga Penelitian Non Departemen (LPND)-Ristek dan perguruan tinggi negeri mengalami kemajuan berarti. Salah satunya, berhasilnya prototipe pesawat terbang N-250 produksi PT Dirgantara Indonesia, menjalani terbang perdana tahun 1995.
Pascakrisis ekonomi kebijakan yang dikeluarkan tidak lagi berpihak pada iptek, terlihat pada alokasi APBN. Anggaran riset iptek dari APBN yang semula hanya 0,2 persen dari produk domestik bruto (PDB) sebelum krisis ekonomi, kemudian merosot tajam menjadi 0,05 persen pada pascakrisis. Namun, pada periode pemerintahan saat ini mengalami sedikit kenaikan menjadi 0,079 persen PDB.
Perkembangan yang terjadi memang masih tergolong antiklimaks. Karena, pada masa Habibie, pemerintah akan bertekad menaikkan menjadi sekurang- kurangnya satu persen seperti yang dipersyaratkan UNDP untuk kegiatan penelitian dan pengembangan iptek agar bisa menjadi negara yang maju.
Meski terjadi kenyataan demikian, Menneg Ristek bertekad akan menjalankan kemitraan di bidang riset iptek dengan menteri terkait, yaitu dengan para pihak di sektor pendidikan yang mendapat 20 persen APBN, dan sektor pertahanan dan keamanan (hankam) yang mendapat dana beberapa triliunan rupiah untuk mengembangkan teknologi pertahanan, serta sektor-sektor penting lainnya, yaitu kesehatan dan infrastruktur, terutama sarana perhubungan. Bila ditambah dengan anggaran untuk membayar utang negeri, empat sektor itu menyerap lebih dari 80 persen APBN.
Upaya kemitraan ini merupakan langkah strategis dikaitkan dengan amanah Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah Nasional (RPJMN) untuk Iptek yang harus dilaksanakan hingga tahun 2009, yaitu ketahanan pangan, kecukupan obat-obatan, pemanfaatan energi baru dan terbarukan, pengembangan teknologi hankam secara mandiri, teknologi informasi dan komunikasi, dan teknologi transportasi untuk pengembangan multimoda.
Untuk lebih memerinci RPJMN itu, hingga akhir Mei mendatang Dewan Riset Nasional yang selama ini hanya bertugas memberi masukan bagi penetapan kebijakan Menristek, kini mendapat tugas untuk menyelesaikan Agenda Riset Nasional (ARN) untuk enam bidang tersebut, ditambah ilmu dasar serta ilmu sosial, dan kemanusiaan.
Berbeda dengan penyusunan draf kebijakan sebelumnya, ARN ini telah mengalami proses sosialisasi ke beberapa daerah dan pembahasan di departemen dan institusi terkait. Dengan mengakomodasi masukan dari berbagai pihak, ARN yang nantinya akan disahkan oleh Presiden diharapkan dapat dilaksanakan oleh semua stakeholder di Indonesia, tidak hanya terbatas di lingkup LPND-Ristek, tetapi juga departemen teknis, industri, dan perguruan tinggi.
Kerja sama di luar lingkup pemerintah, menurut Kusmayanto, harus dijalin dengan menggandeng industri dan perguruan tinggi yang disebut ABG (Academician Businessmen Government). Upaya menggandeng pihak industri untuk terlibat dalam kegiatan riset iptek memang memerlukan sistem insentif, antara lain, lewat keringanan pajak. Hal ini telah mendapat dukungan dan disepakati oleh Dirjen Pajak melalui undang-undang dan peraturan turunannya yang berlaku.
Visi iptek
Selain merancang RPJMN untuk kurun waktu lima tahun, sejak masa pemerintahan kabinet sebelumnya hingga kini dilakukan penyusunan Visi Iptek 2025.
Hal ini merupakan langkah untuk mengikuti perkembangan yang terjadi di dunia, dan agar tidak semakin tertinggal dengan bangsa lain.
Memasuki era globalisasi hingga satu abad ke depan, negara maju dan negara tengah berkembang telah melakukan tinjauan ulang terhadap berbagai kebijakan iptek, seperti Australia yang mengeluarkan kebijakan "Revamping Australia" yang menetapkan visi bagi perkembangan bangsa itu sampai tahun 2025.
Hal sama juga dilakukan China, India, Korea, dan Malaysia. Karena negara tersebut berkeyakinan jika pada tahun itu mereka tidak bisa mempersiapkan bangsanya mempunyai basis iptek yang kuat, negara atau bangsa ini akan ditelan oleh gegap gempita kemajuan negara lain.
Visi Iptek 2025 bagi Indonesia bertujuan mendorong dan mengikat semua pihak ke dalam kesatuan langkah pembangunan bidang iptek, membuat kebijakan dan memperjelas posisi penetrasi iptek ke dalam pembangunan, serta melakukan terobosan berbasis iptek dalam mewujudkan kesejahteraan dan daya saing bangsa.
Oleh karena itu, arah dan tahapan pencapaian pembangunan iptek yang ditetapkan dalam Visi Iptek 2025 menjadi acuan bagi penyusunan tahapan Kebijakan Strategis (Jakstra) Iptek setiap lima tahun.
Pada jangka pendek, yaitu dalam lima tahun pertama, akan dicapai kemandirian dan ketahanan pangan, perbaikan kualitas pelayanan kesehatan dan pendidikan, serta pengelolaan lingkungan (termasuk pengelolaan sumber daya genetik, sumber daya lahan dari air).
Selanjutnya, dalam jangka menengah—10 tahun pertama—ditargetkan tercapainya kemandirian dan daya saing di bidang transportasi dan logistik, energi, manufaktur, teknologi informasi dan komunikasi, bahan baru, serta bioteknologi. Sedangkan pada jangka panjang, dalam kurun 20 tahun ke depan, dilakukan percepatan kemandirian dan kesejahteraan berbasis dukungan iptek untuk mendorong tumbuh dan berkembangnya kehidupan sosial, ekonomi, dan budaya berbasis iptek.
Target pencapaian Visi Iptek 2025 diukur dari daya saing teknologi Indonesia harus masuk dalam lima kelompok negara termaju di ASEAN, dan 25 negara termaju di dunia dalam 20 tahun mendatang.

Sumber: Kompas, Rabu, 03 Mei 2006

PT DI di Bawah Bayang-bayang Duopoli Boeing-Airbus

PADA tahun 1987, di sela-sela menghadiri Pameran Kedirgantaraan Paris, penulis sempat berbincang dengan pejabat salah satu pabrik pesawat Perancis. Mengetahui bahwa di Indonesia juga ada pabrik pesawat IPTN, pejabat tadi menyatakan dukungannya pada ikhtiar Indonesia.
DISEBUTKAN setiap ada kontribusi dari satu negara terhadap penyediaan pesawat terbang di pasar maka itu baik bagi pasar karena pembeli bisa memilih dan memilih lebih banyak. Coba kalau di dunia hanya ada satu pembuat pesawat, pastilah terjadi monopoli dan pembeli akan didikte oleh satu-satunya penjual tadi mengenai harga dan persyaratan lainnya.
Menempatkannya dalam konteks persaingan Eropa dan Amerika dalam pesawat penumpang maka jelaslah maksudnya: dunia sebaiknya memang tidak bersandar pada Boeing dalam pasokan pesawat penumpang komersial. (Sekadar catatan, Eropa mulai memikirkan untuk menyaingi Boeing pada tahun 1965. Yang pertama dipikirkan waktu itu adalah membuat tandingan bagi pesawat Boeing yang berkapasitas 200 penumpang dalam kelas 707, atau kalau di luar Boeing DC-8, tetapi yang mengonsumsi bahan bakar separuh dari kedua jet tersebut, dan juga dengan tingkat kebisingan lebih kecil. Akhirnya, Airbus Industrie pun didirikan Desember 1970 dengan proyek pesawat jenis baru di atas yang dikenal dengan nama A-300B.)
Tahun 1987 itu Airbus yang belum genap berumur dua dasawarsa tentu merasa pihaknya mengemban misi untuk tidak membuat pasar pesawat dunia-khususnya untuk pesawat penumpang besar-jatuh ke monopoli Boeing.
Kini, di awal abad ke-21, cita-cita Airbus boleh jadi telah tercapai untuk menjadi pembuat pesawat yang sehebat Boeing, atau sekarang malah sudah mengungguli. Membaca Airbus Letter, semacam jurnal resmi yang dikeluarkan konsorsium Eropa ini, terpancar optimisme dan kepercayaan diri yang besar. Dikatakan dalam edisi Oktober 2003, meskipun menghadapi tantangan ekonomi yang berat, Airbus tetap saja mendominasi pasar global pesawat komersial, dengan pesanan pasti hingga bulan September sebanyak 241 dari 17 pembeli di berbagai penjuru dunia. Ditambahkan pula, sebagai penegasan terhadap daya tariknya yang tinggi, konsorsium ini mendapatkan tiga pembeli baru.
Sementara itu, kalau sebelumnya Boeing selalu berada di atas dalam pesanan pesawat berbadan lebar, hal itu kini juga berangsur-angsur dirongrong oleh Airbus. Pesawat terbaru A-380 yang dua setengah tahun lagi akan mulai dioperasikan total sudah terjual sebanyak 129, dengan pembeli terakhir adalah Korean Air dan Malaysia Airlines.
Pada awal dekade ketiga eksistensinya, Airbus total telah menyerahkan 3.326 pesawat hingga September 2003. Lalu untuk tahun 2003 sendiri, dari target menyerahkan 300 pesawat, sampai kuartal ketiga sudah dipenuhi 199. Kapasitas produksi yang hampir mendekati satu pesawat per hari itu disebut karena dukungan alur produksi paling modern, yang digabung dengan tenaga kerja yang sangat terampil, kebijakan industri yang bijak, serta pendekatan berfokus ke pelanggan. Pesawat yang diserahkan ke pembeli pun mencakup berbagai tipe, mulai dari A-318, 319, 320, 321, 300, 330, hingga 340. Yang terakhir ini, versi 340-500, awal Desember 2003 terbang nonstop dari Dubai ke Sydney selama 14 jam. Walaupun jet ini dirancang untuk bisa terbang nonstop selama 17 jam, hal ini menjadikannya pesawat penumpang berjelajah paling jauh.
Ke depan, dilambari keyakinan akan terus meningkatnya kebutuhan pesawat berkapasitas besar-keyakinan ini sendiri didasarkan pada membaiknya perekonomian dan khususnya pertumbuhan tinggi di wilayah seperti Asia Timur, Airbus tampaknya akan mempersiapkan diri untuk memproduksi pesawat berkapasitas sampai 1.000 penumpang.
BOEING yang lahir setelah William Boeing membeli Pacific Aero Products Co di Seattle tahun 1916 dan setahun kemudian mengganti namanya menjadi Boeing Airplane Co sebelum era Airbus memang dikenal sebagai rajanya pesawat jet penumpang, dengan lebih dari 11.500 pesawat yang telah diproduksinya. Seri 747 adalah yang paling terkenal di antara pesawatnya yang berkode tiga angka dengan awal dan akhir 7 ini. Seri 777 yang mulai diuji tahun 1994 memberi pembaruan dalam penerbangan. Boeing berkeyakinan mesin turbofan modern sudah sangat bisa diandalkan sehingga pesawat berpenumpang 500 orang masih bisa ditopang oleh dua mesin saja.
Di masa lalu pesaing Boeing adalah McDonnell Douglas yang kini sudah ditelannya dan membuat pesawat MD-95 berubah menjadi B-717. Tetapi, dengan berdirinya Airbus, lingkup persaingan pun menjadi trans-Atlantik.
Sebagai satu realita, sebagaimana disitir oleh Menteri Negara Riset dan Teknologi Hatta Rajasa dalam Seminar "Pengembangan Teknologi Pionir Kedirgantaraan" di Jakarta, 9 Desember, memang pembuat pesawat penumpang berkapasitas di atas 200 penumpang kini hanya Boeing dan Airbus. Sementara dari sekitar 10 pabrik yang memproduksi pesawat berkapasitas di bawah 200 penumpang, yang kini bertahan hanya tinggal dua, yakni ATR dan Embraer.
Dalam situasi seperti sekarang ini, sementara kebutuhan pesawat besar akan terus berkembang, apakah dunia rela hidup dalam duopoli Boeing dan Airbus, tanya Prof Rahardi Ramelan dalam seminar yang sama, Selasa (9/12) siang itu.
ATAS pertanyaan tersebut, tentunya bukan saja Indonesia yang harus menjawab, tetapi juga bangsa-bangsa lain di dunia. Rela terus hidup dalam duopoli Boeing-Airbus, artinya selamanya orang harus bersedia menerima harga dan persyaratan yang diajukan oleh keduanya.
Rahardi juga menyebutkan memang dari luar sering kali terdengar pertikaian sengit antara pabrik Amerika dan Eropa tersebut, tetapi pernahkah kita mendengar hal itu diselesaikan di Organisasi Perdagangan Dunia WTO? Baik AS maupun Eropa tentunya lebih suka menyelesaikan pertikaian yang ada di balik layar agar negara-negara lain tidak bisa melihat jelas siapa sebenarnya yang bersalah dan memetik keuntungan.
Mengangkat isu ini tentu saja mudah menimbulkan dugaan, ada kubu lain yang bisa menantang dominasi keduanya di industri manufakturing kedirgantaraan. Dalam lingkup satu negara, kalaupun ada keinginan semacam itu, sekarang ini bisa dikatakan hanya merupakan khayalan semata.
Industri kedirgantaraan mensyaratkan tingkat penguasaan sains dan teknologi tingkat tinggi, kapital yang astronomis, dan tentu saja tenaga kerja terampil, mampu bekerja efisien, serta didukung oleh manajemen istimewa, hal-hal yang juga berkaitan dengan kultur tinggi.
INDONESIA, negara yang bertata wajah geografis kepulauan, dengan rentang besar sejauh 5.000 km, seukuran Amerika Kontinental atau sejauh London-Moskwa, semestinyalah wajar memikirkan industri kedirgantaraan. Tidak kurang Bung Karno sendiri selaku Bapak Bangsa telah menguraikan pentingnya penguasaan kedirgantaraan ini di awal tahun 1950-an. Ide yang hidup pada Bung Karno tampaknya juga sudah hidup di benak pionir seperti Nurtanio Pringgoadisuryo dan Wiweko Supono.
Kedua tokoh kedirgantaraan Indonesia ini sudah menekuni rekayasa pesawat sejak muda, pada zaman penjajahan Belanda dan Jepang, dan mereka teruskan setelah era Kemerdekaan. Keduanya di bengkel sederhana di Magetan melahirkan pesawat layang Zogling NWG-1 dari kayu hutan yang mereka tebang sendiri.
Ketika Nurtanio tugas belajar di Filipina, Wiweko membuat pesawat WEL-RI-X (Wiweko Experimental Light-plane) tahun 1948. Sekembali di Indonesia tahun 1950, Nurtanio melanjutkan kegiatan memelopori industri kedirgantaraan Indonesia dengan mengembangkan antara lain pesawat Si Kumbang, Kunang-kunang, Belalang. Berikutnya Nurtanio juga membidani lahirnya Lembaga Persiapan Industri Penerbangan (Lapip), yang setelah Nurtanio gugur dalam uji coba pesawat tahun 1966 diubah namanya menjadi Lembaga Industri Penerbangan Nurtanio (Lipnur).
Era Nurtanio dilanjutkan oleh BJ Habibie, insinyur aeronautika alumnus Aachen, Jerman, yang setelah ditugasi Ibnu Sutowo mengembangkan Divisi Teknologi Maju di Pertamina lalu memimpin PT Nurtanio yang didirikan Agustus 1976.
Bila Nurtanio dulu menggandeng Polandia dengan pesawat mesin tunggal PZL-104 Wilga-32 untuk ia jadikan basis industri (setelah diproduksi Lapip tahun 1963 oleh Presiden Soekarno diberi nama Gelatik), Habibie menggandeng CASA Spanyol yang memberi lisensi bagi perakitan NC-212 Aviocar. Seiring dengan itu PT Nurtanio juga mendapatkan lisensi perakitan helikopter Jerman BO-105 dan heli Perancis Puma dan Super Puma.
Melalui Program Empat Tahapan Transformasi Teknologi/Industri, PT Nurtanio yang namanya lalu diubah menjadi IPTN tahun 1986 ini juga melanjutkan kerja sama dengan CASA membuat CN-235 sebagai perwujudan Tahap Kedua.
Tahap Ketiga menghadirkan N-250, pesawat penumpang bermesin dua berkapasitas 50 penumpang yang hanya bisa berhenti sampai tahap prototipe. Sempat disinggung program pembuatan jet N-2130 (bermesin dua untuk 130 penumpang), tetapi kemudian pecah krisis moneter tahun 1997 dan program yang sempat diiringi dengan penjualan saham itu lalu pupus disapu awan.
Seiring dengan itu, nasib IPTN pun ikut sengsara. Perusahaan yang sekali lagi mengubah namanya tahun 2000 menjadi PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) terus saja terlilit permasalahan. Rasionalisasi yang mahal bisa mengurangi beban perusahaan, yaitu dengan mengurangi jumlah karyawan dari sekitar 16.000 menjadi 9.000. Namun, jumlah ini pun tampaknya masih dirasakan berat bagi industri yang ketika sedang dalam zaman keemasannya pernah disebut "Everett dari Timur". (Everett adalah kota dekat Seattle, yang menjadi pusat perusahaan Boeing.)
Upaya untuk mengurangi jumlah karyawan menimbulkan kemelut yang sangat memprihatinkan. Meski sempat diberitakan dengan nada mineur, "dari membuat pesawat lalu membuat panci dan antena, produksinya ditukar beras ketan dan taksi", sesungguhnya PT Nurtanio/IPTN/PT DI tetap menyimpan misi besar bagi Indonesia. Sayang memang bahwa-sebagaimana dengan proyek besar lain di negeri ini-hasilnya merupakan miniatur praksis makro pemerintah Orde Baru: gagal karena inefisiensi dan keliru fokus.
Seandainya demo penguasaan teknologi dikurangi dan ikhtiar penyempurnaan difokuskan pada NC-212 dan CN-235 dan semua dijalankan dengan efisien dan ditambah dengan komunikasi politik yang lebih lancar dari manajemen besar kemungkinan industri ini bisa menyusuri nasib lebih baik.
Tetapi, nasi telah jadi bubur.
MESKI terpuruk, bangsa Indonesia tetap harus menghidupkan tekad untuk mempertahankan kelangsungan PT DI. Hanya saja, langkah ke depannya harus ditata ulang agar tidak mengulangi kekeliruan yang terjadi sebelumnya.
Hakikat industri kedirgantaraan bagi Indonesia adalah mengisi kemerdekaan dan mensyukuri eksistensi Indonesia, satu arkipelago dan benua maritim terbesar di dunia. Dalam skala dunia, betapa pun industri Indonesia masih bayi dan kecil, ia menjadi penyumbang bagi kemajuan peradaban dunia. Cara menyumbangnya tidaklah seperti Boeing atau Airbus, tetapi misalnya saja seperti Embraer atau sejauhnya CASA. Kalau ia sukses, pastilah maraknya industri angkutan udara Indonesia dewasa ini bisa mengurangi impor pesawat tua yang di negaranya sana sudah digolongkan ketinggalan zaman.

Sumber: Kompas, Sabtu, 13 Desember 2003

Pailit PT DI Dibatalkan, Mantan Karyawan Ajukan PK

Mantan karyawan PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) yang tergabung dalam Serikat Pekerja Forum Komunikasi Karyawan (SP-FKK) PT DI kecewa menyusul putusan Mahkamah Agung (MA) yang membatalkan putusan pailit BUMN itu, untuk itu mereka siap mengajukan Paninjauan Kembali (PK).

"Putusan itu sangat politis, intervensi pemerintah tidak bisa lepas dari kasasi itu. Terus terang kami kecewa, dan bila kabar itu benar maka selanjutnya kami akan mengajukan peninjauan kembali (PK) atas putusan tersebut," kata Kepala Bidang Hubungan Antar Lembaga dan Organisasi SP-FKK PT DI, Sidharta ketika dihubungi ANTARA News, Rabu.

Menyusul keputusan MA itu, para mantan karyawan PT DI yang mengajukan pailit itu, langsung menggelar rapat di Sekretariat SP-FKK PT DI untuk menentukan langkah selanjutnya terkait perkembangan terakhir dari putusan MA tersebut.

Sidharta menyebutkan, ingin mengetahui secara pasti landasan hukum dari MA yang membatalkan putusan pailit Pengadilan Niaga pada Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Pusat, 14 September 2007, di mana waktu itu memenangkan gugatan pailit para mantan karyawan PT DI.

Ia mengakui, banyak cara yang masih bisa diambil oleh para mantan karyawan untuk mendapatkan haknya berupa sisa pesangon yang hingga saat ini belum dibayarkan kepada mereka.

"Terus terang kami mempertanyakan alasan pembatalan putusan MA terhadap keputusan PN Niaga yang sudah benar. Tapi yang jelas kami akan ikuti prosedur hukum, termasuk kemungkinan mengajukan Peninjauan Kembali (PK)," kata Sidhartha.

Terkait kemungkinan pengerahan massa SP FKK PT DI, Sidharta menyebutkan pihaknya akan melakukan koordinasi dengan para karyawan lainnya untuk melakukan langkah berikutnya.

"Kalau perlu kita akan melakukan aksi damai lagi, yang jelas upaya kami menuntut hak sisa pesangon tidak akan berhenti," ujarnya menegaskan.

Sidharta mengatakan, meski putusan MA sudah membatalkan pailit PT DI, namun PT DI tetap harus membayar utang-utangnya, termasuk sisa pesangon kepara para mantan karyawannya.

Sementara itu, pergantian direksi PT DI yang saat ini dipimpin Direktur Utama, Budi Santoso, (Mantan Dirut PT Pindad) sedikit mencairkan komunikasi antara Direksi PTDI dengan para mantan karyawan yang tergabung dalam SP-FKK PT DI.

Hal itu diakui oleh Sidharta yang menyebutkan, komunikasi dengan direksi PT DI sekarang ini sudah terjalin, bahkan direksi telah menawarkan perdamaian untuk menyelesaikan permasalahan perusahaan itu.

"Bagi kami perdamaian dalam penyelesaian masalah ini sangat terbuka. Komunikasi sudah terjalin ke arah perdamaian itu, namun rencananya belum dibahas lebih lanjut keburu ada putusan MA ini," kata Sidharta.

Sebaliknya, putusan MA yang membatalkan pailit PT DI membuat lega para karyawan PT DI. Namun demikian, mereka tidak mengekpresikannya secara berlebihan. Para karyawan lebih memilih tetap bekerja di tempat masing-masing.

"Kabar tentang pembatalan pailit PT DI oleh MA itu membuat kami lega dan senang, namun saya baru dengar kabar ini dari pers. Kami masih menunggu tembusan putusan itu," kata Sekretaris Perusahaan (Sekper) PT DI, Mochtar Syarif, ketika dihubungi wartawan di Bandung, Rabu.

Jajaran Direksi dan staf PT DI langsung menggelar rapat di Gedung Utama PT DI, namun tidak disebutkan materi pembahasan dalam rapat itu.

Menurut Mochtar, pihaknya belum bisa memberikan tanggapan lebih banyak terkait kabar pembatalan putusan MA itu. Bila hal itu benar adanya, kata Mochtar Syarif, maka salah satu permasalahan yang dihadapi perusahaan terselesaikan dan operasional perusahaan lebih optimal.

"Meski diputus pailit beberapa waktu lalu, PT DI tetap beroperasi. Aktivitas produksi dan maintenance pesawat terus berjalan, sama sekali tidak mengendur," katanya.

Ia menyebutkan, selama ini PT DI mengikuti semua putusan hukum termasuk beroperasi di bawah pengawasan kurator.

Sekretaris Perusahaan PT DI itu mengakui, akibat adanya putusan Pengadilan Niaga pada Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Pusat yang mempailitkan PTDI sedikit mempengaruhi kinerja termasuk dalam pengerjaan order, namun tidak mengakibatkan operasional PT DI terganggu.

"Semuanya tetap berjalan seperti biasa, pengaruhnya pasti ada, namun sifat pekerjaan PTDI bukan untuk sehari dua hari atau seminggu dua minggu. Order perusahaan ini jangka panjang, kebetulan tidak ada skedul penandatanganan order di massa putusan pailit itu," kata Syarif.

Sementara itu suasana di Kompleks PT Dirgantara Indonesia di pintu II Bandara Husein Sastranegara Kota Bandung pada Rabu petang berlangsung normal. Para karyawan tetap bekerja baik di kantor maupun di ruang produksi. Demikian juga proses pemeliharaan pesawat di seberang kompleks PT DI juga tetap berjalan.

"Saya sempat dengar kabar putusan MA yang membatalkan pailit PT DI ini. Syukurlah, sehingga kami bisa lebih konsentrasi bekerja. Sejak awal sudah yakin pailit itu bakal dibatalkan," ungkap salah seorang karyawan PT DI yang ditemui ketika bubaran kerja.

Mahkamah Agung (MA) dalam putusan kasasi yang dikeluarkan 22 Oktober 2007 membatalkan putusan pailit PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI).

Meski demikian, ketua majelis hakim agung yang memutus perkara tersebut, Mariana Sutadi, di Gedung MA, Jakarta, Rabu, mengatakan masih terbuka kemungkinan bagi mantan karyawan PT DI untuk menuntut hak pesangonnya melalui mekanisme gugatan lain.

"Masih terbuka lebar pintu untuk gugatan, bisa melalui perdata. Tetapi, yang paling baik adalah melalui mediasi," ujarnya.

Sumber: Antara, 24/10/07

Pengadilan Niaga Kabulkan Tuntutan Eks Karyawan

Salah satu simbol teknologi Indonesia kemarin rontok. Penerbangan panjang PT DI (Dirgantara Indonesia) yang dirintis B.J. Habibie sejak 31 tahun lalu terhenti di pengadilan niaga. Majelis hakim memvonis pailit atau bangkrut.

Putusan hakim itu mengabulkan gugatan pailit yang diajukan eks karyawan PT DI. "Menyatakan termohon (PT DI) pailit dengan segala akibat hukumnya," ujar Ketua Majelis Hakim Andriani Nurdin membacakan putusan.

Majelis hakim menerima permohonan pemohon seluruhnya. Tak hanya menyatakan pailit, majelis hakim lantas menunjuk Taufik Nugraha sebagai kurator untuk menghitung nilai aset PT DI. Hakim PN Jakarta Pusat Zulfahmi ditunjuk sebagai hakim pengawas. Sebagai pihak yang kalah, PT DI juga diharuskan membayar biaya perkara Rp 5 juta.

Putusan tersebut disambut pekikan takbir dan tangis bahagia ratusan eks karyawan PT DI, baik di ruang sidang maupun yang beraksi di luar gedung pengadilan. Pakaian mereka didominasi warna oranye -atribut pemohon. Teriakan spontan yang dilakukan sambil mengangkat tangan itu membuat ketua majelis hakim menghentikan sejenak pembacaan putusannya.

Dalam pertimbangannya, majelis hakim menilai para eks karyawan PT DI memiliki kapasitas untuk mengajukan gugatan pailit. Dalih termohon bahwa hanya menteri keuangan yang berhak mengajukan gugatan pailit atas PT DI yang berstatus BUMN sesuai penjelasan pasal 2 ayat 1 UU No 37 Tahun 2004 tentang Kepailitan dan Penundaan Kewajiban Pembayaran Utang (UU Kepailitan) ditolak majelis.

"Majelis hakim sependapat dengan pemohon bahwa PT DI bukan BUMN yang bekerja untuk kepentingan publik sesuai penjelasan pasal 2 ayat 1 UU Kepailitan (namun tunduk pada hukum Persero/PT, Red). Maka, pemohon punya kapasitas mengajukan permohonan pailit PT DI," ujar anggota majelis Heru Pranomo.

PT DI juga memenuhi persyaratan untuk pailit. Perusahaan tersebut punya utang pada lebih dari dua kreditor dan tidak membayar lunas utang yang telah jatuh tempo. Perusahaan yang berlokasi di Bandung itu diketahui berutang kepada Badan Penyehatan Perbankan Nasional (BPPN) Rp 1,7 triliun.

Utang itu tak bisa dibayar hingga berujung pada terbitnya debt to equity swapt alias diputihkan. Bukan hanya itu. PT DI pada 1996 berutang kembali pada dana reboisasi Rp 400 miliar, disusul utang ke menteri keuangan Rp 1,03 triliun, dan kepada BPPN sebagai dana talangan Rp 650 miliar.

PT DI juga utang kepada karyawan. Menurut Heru, hal itu dibuktikan adanya putusan Panitia Penyelesaian Perselisihan Perburuhan Pusat (P4P) 29 Januari 2004 yang telah berkekuatan hukum tetap (inkracht). Putusan tersebut mewajibkan PT DI memberikan pensiun dengan mendasarkan besarnya upah pekerja terakhir dan jaminan hari tua. "Ternyata amar putusan P4P belum dilaksanakan termohon pailit," ujar Heru yang juga hakim Pengadilan Hubungan Industrial (PHI) itu.

Teguran secara tertulis agar PT DI melaksanakan kewajibannya telah dilayangkan Menteri Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi Jacob Nuwa Wea pada 5 Oktober 2004. Karena belum dilaksanakan juga, pada 14 Juni 2005 giliran PN Pusat yang menegur termohon agar menaati putusan P4P.

Meski proses gugatan balik pemohon atas putusan P4P belum selesai, bukan berarti utang tersebut belum bisa ditagih. "Konsep hukum acara perdata mengatur adanya perlawanan tidak menunda eksekusi. Kewajiban termohon kepada pemohon telah jatuh waktu sehingga bisa ditagih," ujar Heru.

Dalih bahwa PT DI berprospek baik dan satu-satunya produsen pesawat terbang di Asia Tenggara juga dimentahkan majelis. "(Memang, Red) ada renstra, tapi ternyata hanya estimasi yang tidak didukung sarana dan prasarana berupa modal dan manajemen yang baik," beber Heru.

Dia lantas mengungkapkan, kinerja PT DI belum terbukti sehingga tidak cukup alasan untuk mempertahankannya. PT DI justru merugi Rp 5 miliar sesuai dokumen lima tahun terakhir yang dikeluarkan pada 2006.

Sumber: Pontianak Post, Rabu, 5 September 2007