I did about 500 hours on the Islander and I loved it to bits. Flying with the rear port door removed just about managed to raise the noise level to an acceptable maximum and it also improved the efficiency of the air-conditioning system (especially in winter) immensely. I can remember leaving Marseilles with a 45 knot Mistral blowing heading for Nantes. The only thing that saved the day was that I was able to use my gliding knowledge to use the wave system over the Massif to my advantage otherwise I would never have got there. Speedy, she was not, but she was as strong as a horse and great fun to fly.