Trislander retirement

[evansb]

[Herod]

The Trislander came in two forms, short and long-nose. If a fading memory serves me, it was decided to replace the single cabin heater in the short version with two of a different make in the long. They regularly tripped off, with two little red lights on the panel. The problem was, they could only be reset on the ground, for which purpose we were issued with a screwdriver to remove the panel and access the reset switch. We were running flights to and from the Shetlands in winter, and to have the heaters trip not long after take-off, with a 90 minute or so flight in sub-zero before any chance of getting any heat back could spoil your whole morning.

[603DX]

Confirmed in the Guernsey Press today that Blue Islands are selling their 2 Trislanders - yet a week ago they were quoted in the Alderney Press that they were not.

The 'thisisguernsey' website quotes BI's MD as saying they plan selling the Trislanders and replacing them with Islanders on the Alderney route. This is said to be due to the EASA rules coming into force in 2012, which are likely to need significant investment. But one Trislander would be kept if BI buys Aurigny, apparently.

[Aero Mad]

To late 603, they're under offer from the Carribean (according to Aradian Aviation, not just speculation) and the first one left the fleet a week ago (ish).

[Aero Mad]

Ah ha, BI turned down as buying Aurigny. May the Trislanders continue, therefore.

[caribbeanqueen2010]

Trislanders

I know Trislanders can be a pain in the neck, but some of my early flying lessons were on Trislanders and Islanders when I was a teenager in the Mexican Caribbean. It was a wonderful experience and I really love those planes.

I am dying to be on a Trislander again. It has been 3 decades since I was on a Trislander!

I will certainly be on one of those beautiful and elegant old noise birds of Aurigny (I love their piston propeller noise!), in July when I go to the British Islands.

[caribbeanqueen2010]

Correction

Sorry, Channel Islands :-)

[Entaxei]

If all else fails ......

Memory Caveat!! ..... If the memory module is working correctly ..... During the annual Aldershot Army show in the 80's, they used to land a Hercules on the grass arena, loaded with a missile system and troops, landing strip distance was 100 yards. After unloading at the double, Herc then took off with no problems - so the islands would be a doddle - maybe a bit noisy?

[xchox]

Off topic here a little... But do Trilanders have Mixture controls? If so, Where? If not... How is the fuel controlled?

Also:

What are the three green balls center panel? Are they Fire Control? And if so... shouldnt they be red?


(Side Note) I'm going to slap myself if those are the mixture controls... And if they are... Why are they positioned way up there as opposed to between the throttle and pitch controls like every other piston plane I have ever been on?
See below:

[Genghis the Engineer]

I have little detailed knowledge of the BN-3; however, I did my first degree in aeronautical engineering at Southampton University circa 1989-1992. I used to sit in long dull propulsion lectures whilst simultaneously it was explained that propellers were old obsolete technology that we didn't need to learn about, whilst I watched trislanders fly past the window every 20 minutes.

I did eventually learn all about propellers, but not there ! I've certainly clarified in my mind that it wasn't me who was missing something.

G

[Kerling-Approsh KG]

Xchox,

You do need to give yourself a slap, I'm afraid. The colour was not always green; there were red knobs on some. Put there because there wasn't room anywhere else... (Have you flown an Islander or Trislander? Space is, being polite to Mr Dore, at a premium).

However, you are right that some engines have been developed with automatic mixture control. The most MODERN aircraft I have flown with automatic mixture control was... The de Havilland Dove. It worked faultlessly in my experience and greatly reduced workload whilst maintaining economy.

[Genghis the Engineer]

A while since I've flown one, but doesn't the T67M260 have automatic mixture control? That's a little more modern than the Dove.

G

[Kerling-Approsh KG]

Some did, but not the USAF ones.

[Aeroplane2]

Trislander mixture controls

The three green knobs at the top of the panel are indeed the mixture controls - simple push/pull action. They also serve the 'idle cut-off' function on engine shut down.

Btw, there were no 'fire switches' as standard on the Trislander, though I believe engine bay fire bottles were a customer option.

Someone referred to auto mixture controls on the Dove, I can verify this as I worked for some years on the DH114 Heron which had the unsupercharged Gipsy Queens. Britain was light years ahead of the Yanks when it came to engine controls. Since WW2 most British piston engines had either semi or fully automated and inter-linked throttle, prop and mixture controls.

The Heron for example was true 'single lever' control - the 'throttle' controlled every aspect of engine speed and prop pitch setting through a complex linkage and cam arrangement , mixture being automatically controlled by a barometric capsule in each carburettor. Engine shut down was achieved by pulling on four awkwardly positioned controls behind the co-pilot seat !