Trislander retirement

[Aero Mad]

Hi all,

You might know that Channel Islands airline Aurigny Air Services (world's largest operator of the Britten-Norman Trislander and Britten-Norman Islander launch customer) might be sold by its owners, the Guernsey government, to Blue Islands, its 10 year old competitor (in different guises).

At the helm of BI is Derek Coates, who wants to phase out the Trislanders by 2011, but specifies no replacement. He complains that a new Twotter costs $4m.

Bearing in mind that the replacement would have to fit into an 880m runway at Alderney, what are your thoughts as to the most economical replacement? He also complains that avgas will be gone by 2017.

LET410, Dornier 228, Islander (smaller - fares would go up), Sukhoi SU80, GECI Skylander to name but a few of the replacements, but do the Trislanders really have to be retired? Yes, they are on average 35 years old and he says that they can only do 39000 cycles. Is this so?

Islander wings need minimum adaptation so these are no longer a problem. He says they could go on for a decade but wants them out ASAP.

Any thoughts (except for the sooner those three engined beasts are confined to Duxford and the like, the better ).

[Flyingvisitor]

Well, the latest rumour from the islands is that the deal is off... so hopefully this is now all academic.

[BoeingBoy]

Except for the sooner those three engined beasts are confined to Duxford and the like, the better

Well, you said it! The Trislander ranks as the worst thing with wings on that I have flown in the last 40 years. I was a TRE on them in the seventies when they were new and they were totally unsuited to UK IFR operations then. In fact the factory demonstration pilot who trained me stated that they were designed for hot VFR environments and not the North Sea in winter.

My abiding memory was to lose an engine on the way to Sumburgh at max weight and having turned back to Aberdeen loaded up with ice on the two remaining engines it was evident that we were merely sinking into an eventual meeting with the waves beneath. I had to re start the failed engine to make the ILS glideslope.

I will look forward to seeing one in a museum as soon as possible.

Now the 'Twotter' was a whole different machine....Tell the boss not to be so mean and buy one.

[dixi188]

Aurigny tried the Twin Otter in the early 80s, but found the maintenance costs to be too high due to the high number of cycles on the PT 6A engines.

If you do 20+ flights a day, the cyclic lives of the turbine discs is soon used up.

They reverted to the Trislander for the inter island services.

Any replacement will have to take this into consideration.

I can't think of a piston engined aircraft to do the job other than the Trislander.

[JW411]

Do they still refer to the dear old Trislander as the "Belgian DC-10"?

[Gulfstreamaviator]

Close enough

Irish TriStar..


glf

[Bubbaloui]

'Well, the latest rumour from the islands is that the deal is off... so hopefully this is now all academic.'

What do you know about the deal being off then...???

[Aero Mad]

You could start a whole new thread of Trislander nicknames - my personal favorite is the Clockwork Tristar. One pilot was asked by Belgium ATC what kind of helicopter it was that appeared BN3 on their screens. It shows

Hope the deal is off - the Channel Islands' lifelines cannot survive the brutal route cutting (14 since 2001) that Blue Islands so regularly undertakes. It would break the airline(s) and break the islands. A lack of transport to/from the islands means a lack of business and most States (island government) members recognise this and are looking to block the deal. Just because the Treasury and Resources dept. are trying to offload the ailing Aurigny ASAP.

[akerosid]

There was a report in today's JEP that the deal was off, but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to read it; if the Guernsey govt is anxious to sell it, then presumably this obstacle - whatever it is - can be overcome.

If the two airlines combine their GCI-JER flights, then wouldn't they need something a little larger - something around 30 seats.

Can the J31/32 not land at Alderney. Also, how long will the Islander, G-XAXA, continue in service?

I think we will see the Trislanders in service with Aurigny for a long time to come, whatever about Blue Islands.

JetPhotos.Net Photo » G-JOEY (CN: 1016) Aurigny Air Services Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk.III-2 Trislander by John Fitzpatrick
JetPhotos.Net Photo » G-LCOC (CN: 366) Blue Islands Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk.III Trislander by John Fitzpatrick

[Bearcat]

3 bladed props on wings and 2 bladed one on tail? has always looked like an ob@rtion of a yoke but certainly served a purpose.

I adore the channel islands and hope the service remains.

[OA32]

According to both parties involved the deal isn't off, it was a spurious rumour sensationalised by the local rag, most likely due to the lack of news.

[Backoffice]

Might I suggest reaching an agreement with the local farmer/planning office and adding 400m to Alderney's runway, will cost less than a Twin Otter and Alderney will benefit in the long term.

[Sir George Cayley]

Would a helicopter replacement be viable? S61s serve Scillonia, could an inter island service succeed?

I'm not a heretic! Put those bales wood down!

SGC

[TSR2]

The photograph of the Blue Island Trislander appears to have 2 bladed props on both the wing and tail engines whereas the Aurigny Trislander appears to have 3 bladed props on the wing engines.

[Planemike]

Also, how long will the Islander, G-XAXA, continue in service?

On which service does XAXA fly?

Planemike

[Rollingthunder]

If he doesn't want to pay 4 million for Twin Otters, he's not going to want to pay for S-61s.

[Aero Mad]

I too don't know how long XAXA will continue. But it has been the longest serving aircraft in the entire fleet, surviving from the Le Cocq's Airlink years to today. It might well continue - Trislanders LCOC and BEDP are both for sale. But no-one wants them as they're rubbish.

Aurigny have put extra blades on their Trislanders in an attempt to reduce noise. It didn't make much difference - just reduced the pitch making a lower sound. The rear engine was left out because it makes little difference to pax comfort anyway.

[Ballymoss]

Aurigny Trislanders..........

............don't you just love them. I remember GAYWI well (was it not a cut n' shut islander for demo) Mind, it had been cast off to AVZ by then and was a dog!

Rgds
The Moss

[Super VC-10]

I can't think of a piston engined aircraft to do the job other than the Trislander.

I can - the good old Douglas Dakota!

[Aero Mad]

Does it really have such good STOL performance? And the CAA want to put emergency slides on them and what not.