to my knowledge the engine itself is 3000 hours TBO for hot section for a reconditioned engine and 5000 hours for a new one for a PT6.

They are not in the same league as say the garrets with their direct shaft for getting hot on start.

Starter generators might have a limit but as there was no requirement in techlogs to record engine starts it might not be the case.

Finist'air use the C208B's on 12 min over sea water runs year-round Brest/Ouessant

...for two daily flights if I am to believe their schedules....

It is probably more useful to look at an outfit like Cape Air and its high frequency flights to Natucket and Martha's Vineyard. No C208, no turboprop 19 seater. As it is probably known around here, they are getting their own aircraft built: http://www.tecnam.com/slider-home-en...012-traveller/

http://www.tecnam.com/wp-content/upl...01-810x456.jpg

Are you suggesting they drop the Gatwick connection? 5 times 75 does not come near the daily requirement, can you magic up the extra slots at Gatters which are not available? High frequency ATRs would be nice but the Gatwick end won't allow them consequently a larger plane like an E135/ B737 is needed..........back to the current number of types mix.

They used to keep the right engine running on the ground if it was only a short turnaround if I remember correctly.
Inter island flights to Jersey operated half hourly during the peak morning hours and evening till 7.30pm. other times were hourly, however many additional flights would be added when demand dictated, up to 30 a day each way GCIJER in peak season.
1 twin otter would operate 2 flights in 1 hour departing on the hour GCI-JER-GCI . The other one would operate GCI-ACI and ACI-SOU. All other flights would be operated by Trislander. All inter island flights had a block time of 15mins on their timetable with 15mins turnaround time if the same aircraft was used for the return.

I think it was early 80s to mid 80s they operated the DHC6. G-BIMW and G-BFGP. MW was painted in full Aurigny colours and GP was more of a hybrid paint scheme.[ probably came from another airline and modified by aurigny, never got the full paint scheme.]

Aurigny ran them single pilot up to a full complement of Pax with no flight attendant as far as i know. Aurigny didnt employ cabin crew untill they started operating the SH6. Wonder how they got around that one. Yes I remember brymon having a flight attendant on their twotters. Not sure if they did any cabin service though, think they were there for safety reasons only, never travelled on Brymon.

Looking at my log, it appears that I flew 48 Twin Otter flights with Aurigny over the years (amongst a total of over a thousand with them in total). From memory I never remember there having been any cabin crew, but, relying on the same memory, I cannot recall a single flight with less than two flight crew.

It's called ACMI - keep the books tight with the main types you operate and wet lease in the types that you will not operate more than 1 of.

Having studied the load factors by month for the last 12 months - you certainly don't need a single type on the GCI / LGW route you need a winter wet lease of 1 type and a summer wet lease of a second type - with an extra 40 seats per sector especially at weekends and holiday periods

Oh and they only run the e195 4 times a day not 5 - as the ATR does the second rotation weekdays - and there is nothing wrong with ATR doing the LGW run it has bugger all to do with slots - they have them and it is not conditional on a/c size

Happy to be corrected, Richard. I controlled them enough times, but never flew in them ! Had to wait until my first trip to the Seychelles to do that.

So is the model of PT6 on the C208B significantly different that there is not an issue for that aircraft? For the record, over here in YVR the Twotter flies regular 20 min sectors in ocean water for 40 years and no one thinks twice about getting on a 208 or radial Beaver over water for 20 min sectors.

Surely the first question to ask about the Dorniers is how reliable has G-OAUR been? The others are around the same age as the trislanders so why expect them to be reliable. If G-OAUR has been reliable then the second question is when is the second NG actually due? Single engined commercial flights will never work, especially over the sea. Pretty sure the twotters cannot deal with the crosswinds at Alderny. The only real option for them were new Dorniers or LETs.

Why can't a Twotter use Alderney's cross grass runways?

I'm not party to the technical details but it's what I read somewhere. It cannot be a good fit otherwise it would have operated the Alderney route at some point. It is odd that it manages to operate from a beach in Scotland though.

....and some pretty short/slopey runways at St Mary's (Isles of Scillly).

Until very recently Lands End/St Just was an all grass airport where Skybus have successfully operate Twotters for many a year?

Even when PLH had tarmac occasionally Brymon's Twotters would use the grass just for the fun of it, crosswinds in Morlaix and Brest "No problem, we're coming in to use the grass"!

GR290 was cancelled yesterday (22 July) supposedly due to a technical issues. Since the 3 operational Dorniers were all operational yesterday, it seems unlikely that they didn't have an a/c to operate the flight. Does anyone know the reason they cancelled the flight?

The Twotter was designed to operate in the Arctic, and is also the aircraft of choice in Antarctica. I struggle to believe Alderney offers any greater wind challenges or otherwise than these environments?

I think it is something like 48kts and the Twotter cannot even taxi, at PLH, and I kid you not, we even had one land in the hangar one windy night, but as for grass runways there's no problem, that's what it's designed for.