Islander Handling Notes
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Islander Handling Notes
Is anyone able to point me in the right direction for a copy of BN2 notes. I have tried the usual sources, but hoping someone might have a copy on their computer! Please PM me!
Zulu Kilo,
Is it for a job or just for gen. interest? I am flying them currently and the only other thing I can add is bring ear plugs, and dont expect them to get anywhere fast, BUT you can put them down in almost nothing, no nasty high Vmca speeds and Vy and Vyse are the same number, 65kts, as mentioned earlier. The attitude after t/o aiming for Vyse + 10kts is quite high for a light twin.
They may only be my second twin (first being Twin Catastrophe), but they are capable, noisy, miserable, slow, vibrating old clunkers, and are a fantastic piece of machinery for what they are designed to do, and I would prefer to fly them than a C208, and yes I can fly them too! (Might have something to do with which column the hours go in the logbook) But seriously if you can get over the noise, you'll love em. The added bonus with the loud noise is after a few weeks you can ignore people you don't like and just claim you cant hear em cos you drive BN2's
Have a good one mate
Cheers
j3
Is it for a job or just for gen. interest? I am flying them currently and the only other thing I can add is bring ear plugs, and dont expect them to get anywhere fast, BUT you can put them down in almost nothing, no nasty high Vmca speeds and Vy and Vyse are the same number, 65kts, as mentioned earlier. The attitude after t/o aiming for Vyse + 10kts is quite high for a light twin.
They may only be my second twin (first being Twin Catastrophe), but they are capable, noisy, miserable, slow, vibrating old clunkers, and are a fantastic piece of machinery for what they are designed to do, and I would prefer to fly them than a C208, and yes I can fly them too! (Might have something to do with which column the hours go in the logbook) But seriously if you can get over the noise, you'll love em. The added bonus with the loud noise is after a few weeks you can ignore people you don't like and just claim you cant hear em cos you drive BN2's
Have a good one mate
Cheers
j3
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Originally Posted by Capt Claret
Haven't flown a BN2 since about 1991 but as I recall, everything except blue line speed (39 KIAS) is 65 KIAS. 
Enjoy them zulu kilo, they're a bloody marvellous wee machine! Hmmm... given your location is Speightsville and enquiry re BN-2, you're not heading for NZRC are ya?
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Like most have said, they are a striaght forward piece of gear. A very easy plane to fly. The magic number is 65 Kts and you should be right.
I loved my time in them and wouldnt mind being able to go for a play in one now and again. They are just like a big twin engined 172, their handling is pretty good and they are very easy to land.
They carry a pretty respectable load and will still get off a resonable strip.
Enjoy it!!!
I loved my time in them and wouldnt mind being able to go for a play in one now and again. They are just like a big twin engined 172, their handling is pretty good and they are very easy to land.
They carry a pretty respectable load and will still get off a resonable strip.
Enjoy it!!!
From a previous Pprune post.
This may be of some help
Undaunted by aerodynamic reality, the design team at Pilatus/Britten-Norman has announced plans for the BN2-XL (Extra Loud), promising more noise, reduced payload, a lower cruise speed, and increased pilot workload.
We spoke to Mr. Fred Gribble, former British Rail boilermaker and now Chief Project Engineer. Fred was responsible for developing many original and creative design flaws in the service of his former employer, and assures he will be incorporating these in the new BN2-XL technology under a licensing agreement.
Fred reassured BN-2 pilots however that all fundamental design flaws of the original model had been retained. Further good news is that the XL version is available as a retrofit.
Among the new measures is that of locking the ailerons in the central position, following airborne and simulator tests which showed that whilst pilots of average strength were able to achieve up to 30° of control wheel deflection, this produced no appreciable variation in the net flight path of the aircraft.
Thus the removal of costly and unnecessary linkages has been possible, and the rudder has been nominated as the primary directional control. In keeping with this new philosophy, but to retain commonality for crews transitioning to the XL, additional resistance to foot pressure has been built into the rudder pedals to prevent overcontrolling in gusty conditions (defined as those in which wind velocity exceeds 3 knots).
An outstanding feature of Islander technology has always been the adaptation of the 0-540 engine, which mounted in any other aircraft in the free world (except the Trislander) is known for its low vibration levels, so as to cause it to shake and batter the airframe, gradually crystallise the main spar, desynchronise the accompanying engine, and simulate the sound of fifty skeletons fornicating in an aluminium dustbin.
Britten-Norman will not disclose the technology they applied in enhancing this effect in the XL, but Mr. Gribble assures us it will be perpetuated in later models and sees it as a strong selling point; "After all, the Concorde makes a lot of noise," he said, "and look how fast it goes."
However, design documents clandestinely recovered from the Britten-Norman shredder have solved a question that has puzzled aerodynamicists and pilots for many years, disclosing that it is actually noise which causes the BN-2 to fly. The vibration set up by the engines and amplified by the airframe, in turn causes the air molecules above the wing to oscillate at atomic frequency, reducing their density and causing lift. This can be demonstrated by sudden closure of the throttles, which causes the aircraft to fall from the sky. As a result, lift is proportional to noise rather than speed, explaining amongst other things the aircraft's remarkable takeoff performance. In the driver's cab (as Gribble describes it), ergonomic measures will ensure that long-term PBN pilots' deafness does not cause inflight dozing. Orthopaedic surgeons have designed a cockpit layout and seat to maximise backache, enroute insomnia, chronic irritability, and terminal (post-flight) lethargy. Redesigned 'bullworker' elastic aileron cables, now disconnected from the control surfaces, increase pilot workload and fitness.
Special noise retention cabin lining is an innovation on the XL, and it is hoped in later models to develop cabin noise to a level which will enable pilots to relate ear pain directly to engine power, eliminating the need for engine instruments altogether.
We were offered an opportunity to fly the XL at Britten-Normans' developmental facility, adjacent to the Britrail tea rooms at Little Chortling. (The flight was originally to have been conducted at the Pilatus plant, but aircraft of Britten-Norman design are now prohibited from operating in Swiss airspace during the avalanche season).
For our mission profile, the XL was loaded with fossil fuel for a standard 100 nm with Britrail reserves, carrying one pilot and nine passengers to maximise discomfort.
Passenger loading is unchanged, the normal under-wing protrusions inflicting serious lacerations on 71% of boarding passengers, and there was the usual entertaining confusion in selecting a door appropriate to the allocated seat.
The facility for the clothing of embarking passengers to remove oil slicks from engine cowls during loading has also been thoughtfully retained.
Startup is standard, and taxying, as in the BN-2, is accomplished by brute force. Takeoff calculations called for a 250 decibel power setting, and the rotation force for the (neutral) C of G was calculated as 180ft/lbs of back pressure.
Initial warning of an engine failure during takeoff is provided by a reduction in flight instrument panel vibration. Complete seizure of one engine is indicated by the momentary illusion that the engines have suddenly and inexplicably become synchronised. Otherwise, identification of the failed engine is achieved by comparing the vibration levels of the windows on either side of the cabin. (Relative passenger pallor has been found to be an unreliable guide on many BN-2 routes because of ethnic considerations).
Shortly after takeoff the XL's chief test pilot, Capt. "Muscles" Mulligan, demonstrated the extent to which modem aeronautical design has left the BN-2 untouched; he simulated pilot incapacitation by slumping forward onto the control column, simultaneously applying full right rudder and bleeding from the ears. The XL, like its predecessor, demonstrated total control rigidity and continued undisturbed.
Power was then reduced to 249 decibels for cruise, and we carried out some comparisons of actual flight performance with graph predictions.
At 5000' and ISA, we achieved a vibration amplitude of 500 CPS and 240 decibels, for a fuel flow of 210 lb/hr, making the BN-2 XL the most efficient converter of fuel to noise since the Titan rocket.
Exploring the constant noise-variable speed and constant speed-variable noise concepts, we found that in a VNE dive, vibration reached its design maximum at 1000 CPS, at which point the limiting factor is the emulsification of human tissue. The catatonic condition of long term BN-2 pilots is attributed to this syndrome, which commences in the cerebral cortex and spreads outwards.
We asked Capt. Mulligan what he considered the outstanding features of the XL. He cupped his hand behind his car and shouted. "Whazzat?"
We returned to Britten-Norman field convinced that the XL model retains the marque's most memorable features, while showing some significant and worthwhile regressions.
Pilatus/Britten-Norman are however not resting on their laurels. Plans are already advanced for the three-engined Trislander XL, and noise tunnel testing has commenced. The basis of preliminary design and performance specifications is that lift increases as the square of noise, and as the principle of acoustic lift is further developed, a later five-engined vertical takeoff model is another possibility.
Undaunted by aerodynamic reality, the design team at Pilatus/Britten-Norman has announced plans for the BN2-XL (Extra Loud), promising more noise, reduced payload, a lower cruise speed, and increased pilot workload.
We spoke to Mr. Fred Gribble, former British Rail boilermaker and now Chief Project Engineer. Fred was responsible for developing many original and creative design flaws in the service of his former employer, and assures he will be incorporating these in the new BN2-XL technology under a licensing agreement.
Fred reassured BN-2 pilots however that all fundamental design flaws of the original model had been retained. Further good news is that the XL version is available as a retrofit.
Among the new measures is that of locking the ailerons in the central position, following airborne and simulator tests which showed that whilst pilots of average strength were able to achieve up to 30° of control wheel deflection, this produced no appreciable variation in the net flight path of the aircraft.
Thus the removal of costly and unnecessary linkages has been possible, and the rudder has been nominated as the primary directional control. In keeping with this new philosophy, but to retain commonality for crews transitioning to the XL, additional resistance to foot pressure has been built into the rudder pedals to prevent overcontrolling in gusty conditions (defined as those in which wind velocity exceeds 3 knots).
An outstanding feature of Islander technology has always been the adaptation of the 0-540 engine, which mounted in any other aircraft in the free world (except the Trislander) is known for its low vibration levels, so as to cause it to shake and batter the airframe, gradually crystallise the main spar, desynchronise the accompanying engine, and simulate the sound of fifty skeletons fornicating in an aluminium dustbin.
Britten-Norman will not disclose the technology they applied in enhancing this effect in the XL, but Mr. Gribble assures us it will be perpetuated in later models and sees it as a strong selling point; "After all, the Concorde makes a lot of noise," he said, "and look how fast it goes."
However, design documents clandestinely recovered from the Britten-Norman shredder have solved a question that has puzzled aerodynamicists and pilots for many years, disclosing that it is actually noise which causes the BN-2 to fly. The vibration set up by the engines and amplified by the airframe, in turn causes the air molecules above the wing to oscillate at atomic frequency, reducing their density and causing lift. This can be demonstrated by sudden closure of the throttles, which causes the aircraft to fall from the sky. As a result, lift is proportional to noise rather than speed, explaining amongst other things the aircraft's remarkable takeoff performance. In the driver's cab (as Gribble describes it), ergonomic measures will ensure that long-term PBN pilots' deafness does not cause inflight dozing. Orthopaedic surgeons have designed a cockpit layout and seat to maximise backache, enroute insomnia, chronic irritability, and terminal (post-flight) lethargy. Redesigned 'bullworker' elastic aileron cables, now disconnected from the control surfaces, increase pilot workload and fitness.
Special noise retention cabin lining is an innovation on the XL, and it is hoped in later models to develop cabin noise to a level which will enable pilots to relate ear pain directly to engine power, eliminating the need for engine instruments altogether.
We were offered an opportunity to fly the XL at Britten-Normans' developmental facility, adjacent to the Britrail tea rooms at Little Chortling. (The flight was originally to have been conducted at the Pilatus plant, but aircraft of Britten-Norman design are now prohibited from operating in Swiss airspace during the avalanche season).
For our mission profile, the XL was loaded with fossil fuel for a standard 100 nm with Britrail reserves, carrying one pilot and nine passengers to maximise discomfort.
Passenger loading is unchanged, the normal under-wing protrusions inflicting serious lacerations on 71% of boarding passengers, and there was the usual entertaining confusion in selecting a door appropriate to the allocated seat.
The facility for the clothing of embarking passengers to remove oil slicks from engine cowls during loading has also been thoughtfully retained.
Startup is standard, and taxying, as in the BN-2, is accomplished by brute force. Takeoff calculations called for a 250 decibel power setting, and the rotation force for the (neutral) C of G was calculated as 180ft/lbs of back pressure.
Initial warning of an engine failure during takeoff is provided by a reduction in flight instrument panel vibration. Complete seizure of one engine is indicated by the momentary illusion that the engines have suddenly and inexplicably become synchronised. Otherwise, identification of the failed engine is achieved by comparing the vibration levels of the windows on either side of the cabin. (Relative passenger pallor has been found to be an unreliable guide on many BN-2 routes because of ethnic considerations).
Shortly after takeoff the XL's chief test pilot, Capt. "Muscles" Mulligan, demonstrated the extent to which modem aeronautical design has left the BN-2 untouched; he simulated pilot incapacitation by slumping forward onto the control column, simultaneously applying full right rudder and bleeding from the ears. The XL, like its predecessor, demonstrated total control rigidity and continued undisturbed.
Power was then reduced to 249 decibels for cruise, and we carried out some comparisons of actual flight performance with graph predictions.
At 5000' and ISA, we achieved a vibration amplitude of 500 CPS and 240 decibels, for a fuel flow of 210 lb/hr, making the BN-2 XL the most efficient converter of fuel to noise since the Titan rocket.
Exploring the constant noise-variable speed and constant speed-variable noise concepts, we found that in a VNE dive, vibration reached its design maximum at 1000 CPS, at which point the limiting factor is the emulsification of human tissue. The catatonic condition of long term BN-2 pilots is attributed to this syndrome, which commences in the cerebral cortex and spreads outwards.
We asked Capt. Mulligan what he considered the outstanding features of the XL. He cupped his hand behind his car and shouted. "Whazzat?"
We returned to Britten-Norman field convinced that the XL model retains the marque's most memorable features, while showing some significant and worthwhile regressions.
Pilatus/Britten-Norman are however not resting on their laurels. Plans are already advanced for the three-engined Trislander XL, and noise tunnel testing has commenced. The basis of preliminary design and performance specifications is that lift increases as the square of noise, and as the principle of acoustic lift is further developed, a later five-engined vertical takeoff model is another possibility.
Last edited by Capt Fathom; 28th Mar 2007 at 10:51.
I don't want to be the best pilot in the world - Just the oldest
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ZK,
I have a copy of a manual at home but won't be able to get my hands on it until after 14th April.
PM me if that is any good and I'll get a copy to you.
IJ
I have a copy of a manual at home but won't be able to get my hands on it until after 14th April.
PM me if that is any good and I'll get a copy to you.
IJ
Last edited by Islander Jock; 30th Mar 2007 at 09:54.
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I have a whole box of old Manuals of varied sorts and im fairly sure that there is a BN-2 one in there. Il have a look on the weekend to see if it is there. let me know if your interested.
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
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Some of you blokes actually have BN2 manuals??
Struth!! When I started with Douglas Airways in PNG back in 1990 the only BN2 manual I saw was the (usually) sadly tattered, torn and barely legible flight manual that lived somewhere in each a/c the company operated. 
Struth!! When I started with Douglas Airways in PNG back in 1990 the only BN2 manual I saw was the (usually) sadly tattered, torn and barely legible flight manual that lived somewhere in each a/c the company operated.
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Britten Norman used to put out a wee green-covered booklet with all the necessary information... probably still available. Try their website for a contact address. If they don't have it I'm sure they'll put you onto where it might be available. Failing that, if you are where I think you are... have a chat to PK. I know he's got a copy!
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Capt Fathom,
That is fantastic.
I’ve only had one go at the old bongo van but it certainly sticks in my mind. After take off on a 30 min sector my colleague offered me a chance to have a fly from the right seat (I’d gone along just for the ride). After 5 min I told him I’d had enough and he could take over again. The response…. “You touched it last, I ain’t taking it back”.
That is fantastic.
I’ve only had one go at the old bongo van but it certainly sticks in my mind. After take off on a 30 min sector my colleague offered me a chance to have a fly from the right seat (I’d gone along just for the ride). After 5 min I told him I’d had enough and he could take over again. The response…. “You touched it last, I ain’t taking it back”.
I don't want to be the best pilot in the world - Just the oldest
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Had the pleasure of a marathon upper arm workout flying one from Canberra to Perth back in 97. Surprised my ears are still ok after about 250 hrs in it.
Flew the same beast recently with my Bose X headset and I think they were struggling immensly to handle the noise load.
Anyone know who owns the one painted all white that was on display at Avalon? I didn't get the rego
Flew the same beast recently with my Bose X headset and I think they were struggling immensly to handle the noise load.
Anyone know who owns the one painted all white that was on display at Avalon? I didn't get the rego
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Not sure who owns it, but apparently it’s for sale. Any takers
It had a nice fresh paint job, a new “pointy” nose cone, new carpets and news seats. But ultimately, you can’t polish a poo
It had a nice fresh paint job, a new “pointy” nose cone, new carpets and news seats. But ultimately, you can’t polish a poo
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yeah they had it roped off so you couldn't get too close. Maybe that was so the punters wouldn't see the classic oil smears over the tailplane. But those who have flown them know what to look for
Silly Old Git
Would the poor dude who hadda mustache and used to sweat like crazy flying the Bongo for M@cair in '73 in Lae please PM me if youre readin this and tell me you made it bigtime somewhere.
You deserved it
You deserved it