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Last I heard, the TNI-AU was not remotely interested in letting wither of the two actual 72-XXXX Cavaliers they have on display go anywhere. Marc K indicated that people had offered some pretty good $$$ in the past to recover them but had been turned down.
This is true ... I have raised the subject also and didn't get a verbal response , just a 'look' and raised eyebrows from the brass.
WRECK RECOVERIES
For those wanting to do wreck recoveries in Indonesia please don't ask me for contact names , phone numbers and emails of TNI-AU , I have them but I can't give them out. I didn't mean to sound unhelpful to one WIXer but they were given to me on a privelaged basis. If you contacted them they wouldn't answer anyway. I'd love to help but the risk to me personally and to my business is too great.
The best way to start to open doors is via the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, if you can convince them your project has merit and there is some benefit to INDONESIA they will make doors open for you.
You will also need to set up your own company in the name of an Indonesian (this is where it gets tricky) or you will have to use a local agent who is a partner company to TNI-AU as they wont even deal with foreign owned locally owned companies.
Be prepared to LIVE IN INDONESIA for 6 to 12 months or at least fly back EVERY MONTH to make sure things are progressing ... that's how long it takes ! I am bidding on some aircraft now and it has been an ongoing process of weekly follow up meetings since April 2008 (I will post what aircraft when the deal comes off).
Once you have all your paperwork if you think a recovery will take 2 or 3 months it will really take 6 to 12 months. Then you will have issues with local authorities who will try and make your life difficult.
In the old days of the 'New Order' under President Suharto if you had backing from Jakarta you could solve problems with a phone call. Now there is regional autonomy so there is a new level of local government to contend with , so even if you have permission from Jakarta it may not be a simple matter of pulling out your prize if the local governor or chief doesn't like what your doing, if it gets too hard the project will probably stall as people in Jakarta have a country and armed forces to rebuild after 10 yrs of arms embargoes rather than worrying about pulling aircraft out of swamps and airfields.
There are also security clearance issues for foreigners in some provinces ESPECIALLY for Westerners in Irian Jaya and the surrounding islands.
If you think this is all 'bull' go ahead and learn the hard way like I did the last 10 years (living here in Indonesia full time).
One tip : Do a basic course in Bahasa Indonesia before you come here, even basic Indonesian will go a long way to earning the respect of the locals.