Sturdy little aeroplane...
It is wonderful that this sturdy little aeroplane can draw so much attention after more than 45 years of manufacture. Obviously there will always be protagonists and antagonists for any product, the level of positive support impresses me for the Islander.
What antagonists are failing to understand is that the Islander was manufactured to fill a specific niche market. That is, multi-engine short duration legs over water or other inhospitable terrain, into and out of short, poorly prepared strips. The aeroplane design concept was very much in line with that other uniquely British product, the LandRover. Both are designed to be solid, like a brick outhouse, and to carry a tonne where others cannot go.
Over 1200 Islanders have been manufactured since 1965. In that time there have been many thousands of modifications. The aeroplanes have been largely custom built for individual owners, so that means there are effectively over 1200 different model Islanders. Most of the modifications relate to only one aircraft. The way the Type Certificate holder designs each mod means that most of the mods could go onto any aircraft, even as an after market addition. In choosing such a path, the design of the Islander has grown in an evolutionary manner, rather than revolutionary. Mods that pop the design up into another niche have been largely avoided because there are other aircraft already servicing those areas. Progress has meant that whilst every Islander is a little different, any Islander is recognisable and flyable by someone with Islander knowledge and experience. So far, no one has managed a design that better suits the Islanders niche than the original Britten Norman.
Specifically note that BN, as a small manufacturer has chosen the evolutionary design change through modification path because large mod or design changes are simply too expensive to be supported by the small volume of sales.
On different model designations, these are usually a change to the base line mod state. The latest model available is the BN2C-300. It comes with an additional row of passenger windows, 3 bladed scimitar props and some other improvements over the BN2B-20 mod state.
The 3 bladed Hartzell straight props have been available for a long time. These allow much smoother and quieter operations over the traditional 2 bladed props. The scimitar 3 bladed props allow a further reduction of noise levels by enabling the achievement of full power at 70 RPM less than the older models. With either mod now available, I am surprised any Islander has 2 bladed props.
The third row of passenger windows is a recent innovation whereby a properly incorporated and reinforced mod is added in a primary structure area of the fuselage. An older FAA STC third row window is not considered safe by the type certificate holder because the STC designer did not have factory backing or calculations when cutting the holes. IE in all probability, the older STC aircraft have written off fuselages...
The BN2T is a specific model option with an alternative engine. The idea being that not everybody can source avgas easily, and not everybody is happy with piston engine reliability. BN2T fuel flows are around 170 litres per hour versus say 120 litres per hour for a BN2B-20. With the same amount of fuel on board, clearly turbines will have slightly less range than the piston, but in most instances, people will not be using their Islanders outside the above mentioned niche. In that niche, turbine Islanders, due to the much lighter engines and the significantly higher maximum all up weight, can carry more into and out of the destination airfields.
In the surveillance or special mission role, turbine engines offer greater flexibility in terms of speed and altitude, and very long endurance/loiter times coupled with much smoother and quieter operations. IE the turbine engine is magnitudes quieter than the piston models.
On corrosion inspections, when operating at low level over water, or in inhospitable tropical climates, all aeroplanes will suffer from corrosion. BN introduced a service bulletin to ensure proper inspection, detection and treatment every other year for aeroplanes over 5 years old. Not performing the inspection ensures high levels of corrosion and associated expensive repairs. I suppose the point I am making is that the SB 190 was introduced because the aeroplanes live for so long in a corrosive environment. That doesn't mean the design is wrong or the metal is easily corroded, just that all aeroplanes will corrode and BN has an inspection to help minimise the problem and to reduce the cost of repairs. It is an ongoing project to have the SB absorbed into the normal maintenance manual.
I will not comment on ergonomics because custom built aircraft are designed to order, so you can hardly blame a designer for poor ergonomics if it is what the customer wanted.
In this modern day of product liability, whilst many people want to innovate and make suggestions for improvements, people must understand that the type certificate holder has to spend money on any re-design or modification. This can be prohibitively expensive for a small manufacturer. BN prides itself on satisfying the needs of customers, and most new modifications are therefore derived from new aircraft buyers. IE older aircraft owners may usually fit new mods after market, and they often don't have to pay much of the design costs associated. If these owners want something specific, the designers will do it, but they cannot do it for free. NB: the point I made earlier that most mods are specific to a single aircraft, so there is often no way of offsetting development costs by selling the mod on to other operators.
The Trislander is simply 2 Islander fuses joined together with a bigger wing and tail plane. It was considered innovative in its day, but I wonder why people would not add flexibility to their operations by using 2 Islanders. In the latter case, the purchase price would be less and the operating cost of having 3 more undercarriage legs and one more engine could be offset by carrying the 2 more passenger seats...just a thought?
I hope this adds to the conversation? I have enjoyed many an hour in many an Islander. While they are not a jet fighter, they are an aeroplane that serves a purpose. For people who operate Islanders there is usually no other choice. Not even a PAC750XL can go everywhere an Islander goes.
Last edited by DBTW; 17th May 2011 at 07:25.
Reason: name change?