LIPNUR Sikumbang

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LIPNUR Sikumbang
NU-200-Si-Kumbang (cropped).jpg
NU-200 prototype on display at the Dirgantara Mandala Museum in Yogyakarta
General information
Type Counter-insurgency aircraft
Manufacturer Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia, Depot Penjelidikan, Pertjobaan dan Pembuatan/LIPNUR
Designer
Nurtanio Pringgoadisuryo (id)
Primary user Indonesian Air Force
Number built2
History
First flight1 August 1954
Retired1967

The LIPNUR Sikumbang (Indonesian : Beetle) was a low-wing monoplane of mixed construction built in Indonesia in 1954 as a COIN and anti-guerrilla-warfare aircraft. Of conventional configuration, it had fixed tricycle undercarriage and seated the pilot under a bubble canopy. A single example was built under the designation NU-200 in 1954, and another as the NU-225 in 1957. The latter machine was grounded in 1967.

Contents

Design and development

NU-200

Due to various internal rebellions that happened across Indonesia in the early 1950s, Major Nurtanio Pringgoadisuryo, head of Indonesian Air Force’s Research, Development, and Production Depot, was inspired to design and build a light counter-insurgency aircraft to meet the demands of the Air Force. [1] Nurtanio, together with two technicians, Second Lieutenant Achmad and Second Lieutenant Tosin, built the aircraft in their spare time with limited funds from the Air Force and tooling, spare parts and materials available at the depot's facility in Andir airfield, Bandung. [2]

The aircraft was powered by a single 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Six air-cooled inverted inline piston engine with two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller. The fuselage was made from welded 4130 steel (chromoly) with metal skins, while the wings and tail surfaces were all-wood material. It has cantilevered low wing with NACA 23012 airfoil, with the wing consisted of one-piece two-spar wooden construction with plywood covering, fitted with electric split-type flaps and statically balanced ailerons. The tail surfaces were made of wood with plywood skins, with trim-tab fitted to the port elevator and rudder. The aircraft has a fixed tricycle landing gear with cantilever oleo shock struts and non-steerable nose wheel. [1]

The first prototype was dubbed NU-200 Sikumbang. The "NU" stands for Nurtanio, while "200" refers to the power of its Gipsy Six engine. [2] The NU-200 first flew on 1 August 1954 piloted by Captain Powers, an American flight instructor and test pilot hired by the Indonesian Air Force. [1] Originally, Nurtanio was supposed to flew the first flight, however Marshal Soerjadi Soerjadarma, the Air Force chief of staff, ordered him not to do so. The NU-200 flew for 15 minutes. Captain Powers praised the aircraft's flight control, although there's an issue with the engine cooling system, which forced him to reduce the power. [2]

The NU-200 was flown to Kemayoran Airport in February 1955 for an exhibition. [2] Nurtanio also planned to flew the aircraft over the 2,900 m (9,500 ft) summit of Mount Merapi in central Java. Marshal Soerjadarma, on recommendation from Nurtanio's friend Jacob Salatun, again disapproved the idea and ordered him to cancel the flight. [1] Instead, Nurtanio flew the aircraft over Bandung and as he landed it, the engine was having a trouble and "spluttering to a halt". [1]

Variants

Specifications (NU-200)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1955–56 [4]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Stroud 2017, pp. 112.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Penerbangan Perdana Sikumbang". aviahistoria.com (in Indonesian). 1 August 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 Stroud 2017, pp. 113.
  4. ↑ Bridgman 1955, p. 165.


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