I was involved with this type a little during the '90s. I thought they were great, we used to have a saying.... 'if you are making money with an Islander then you will be creaming it with a Trislander'
I was involved in both maintenance and operations with many of the companies here plus I had a looser involvement with many more....
Cook Strait Skyferry
Murchison Relines
World Geoscience
and Air Tungaru
in this part of the world and then several operators in Africa
Air Zanzibar, United at Harare
and the two in Botswana.
I also did some time in Guernsey with Aurigny.
I think that of the 77 produced I had a fair handle of where they all where in those days. I did visit the factory but they weren't really interested in supporting the type much further. I also corresponded with lance about the future of the ones on the east coast.
They were all BN2 MkIII but then came in 3 variants. The FAA certified version had auto-feather, scary.
The normal ones that most here would have been involved with just had a 'Rear engine Fail' light....
My instructor knew how to teach an awareness of exactly how useless that was on takeoff. I doubt many fresh pilots passed EFOTO straight off.
The wingspan was the same as the Islanders
53' with tip tanks. The Islander was 49' without. But the wing was a much beefed up and modified plank. Many more, and thicker laminations up on top.
I can't recall too many Trislanders having the castoring nose, certainly some Islanders did.... but that is not to say cables were not disconnected etc.
I would have thought the two up at Bonriki would have been victims of the SB190 inspection.
I remember being at the factory shortly after that Bulletin was written, - the wing that initiated the crisis was from a German islander and had severe corrosion up around the leading edge. I have never seen anything like that since in any other BN2....... but the SB is still with us..
And still causing many operators grief.
As an aside, the Skyferry aircraft were ferried across the Pacific. They left on a boat to get to the UK though.
1025 and 1039 would have been the first of type in NZ... actually almost the first two types.. but that is another story.
