Britten Norman Islander Turns Fifty
The good old BN-2 celebrated its fifty anniversary of its first flight in June.
Aeroplane Monthly has a great write up on the beast. Must be a few photos and stories out in pprune land to help celebrate this milestone. |
Aye!!!!, What?!!!!, I cant hear you, speak up!!!!
They had a couple of 300HP (or 260HP) Noise Converters. They somehow magically converted noise to thrust. And guess where the Pilot sat? And don't get me started on the BN3 Tri Islander! ;) |
Yes it is a bit noisy, and in recent years SB190 has made them expensive to maintain, but nothing else comes close to doing the job that an Islander can.
The fact that they are still around (and still in demand) after 50 years says something. :ok: |
My second twin endorsement was the Islander..... oh, boy, I was like a dog with two tails. What a fun performer. Many years later, I got a job with a company flying Trislanders..... Well, thought I, half as big again, must be half more betterer..... NOPE, NUH....I'm with Acrosport... don't get me started on BN3. I believe even Tailwheel hated those monsters from hell.
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And don't get me started on the BN3 Tri Islander! Wonderful aircraft Aye Ess! Here is a really, really good Trislander. Wish they were all this good. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Trislander.jpg |
Did a heap of jumps out of Islanders at Wilton back in the eighties and did a far bit of work on them at Camden. ISI went in after the pilot turned back on take off after losing the left engine and another went off the end of the strip when the park brake was left on. Pretty good jump ship fun to fly and better than the Nomad to work on.
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Have all of three hours ICUS in a Trislander!:eek: And I have Luk V to thank for that.:=
To be perfectly honest, I wish that I had been able to finish the endorsement on them and gone on to flown them more. But then again I have been accused, on more than one occasion, of being a 'sick man.':E Lik Lik Rik was the last accuser.:D What you up to these days Mate?:confused: Taily; That Tri appears to be in Talair colours but it aint PNG reggo. Did DB operate them in the Solomons when he had an operation there? Wound up with around 800 hours in Islanders. And Mrs Pinky accuses me of having selective hearing!!:E |
BN2A MkIII Tri Islander
I flew the long nose version. We just couldn't take them seriously. Naturally by the time we got them, the prop Syncs had been removed. It took us all of the cruise (25-30 min sector) to sync them, then as soon as you reduced the throttles for descent,..... Whaaooo Whaaooo Whaaooo Whaaooo Whaaooo, well you get the idea. Happy Days. |
It took us all of the cruise (25-30 min sector) to sync them, And after about the third attempt I found it just as easy as he demonstrated.:= |
None of us had any experience on them when they arrived.
It was the blind leading the blind. |
Bongo van
Go the bongo van! Enjoyed my time in the Torres Straits plying the skies in the BN2. I am sure it will make the its 75 birthday! Just like the B52, bullet proof.
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Taily; That Tri appears to be in Talair colours but it aint PNG reggo. Did DB operate them in the Solomons when he had an operation there? |
I think that in the 4000 hours I sat in one, the props were only balanced for about 3 of them. At least ours was a turbine one. I had a ride in a piston version once and goodness me, I have now words to describe that racket even with a bone dome and ANR.
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Tailwheel....
Aye Ess is using the ICAO designation for the Tri...BN3....distinguishing it from the twin |
[IMG]http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/...PABN3PLM-1.jpg[/IMG]
This is a painting I did of the Trislander. My therapist said it would help me get over my hatred of them..... It didn't. |
Yes, it can be called a Britten Norman BN2A Mk III Trislander, or a BN3 or the Tri..... but it also goes by the name 'The Sled'.... anyway you say it, it is still awful.
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I think this article sums up our feelings quite nicely
https://www.facebook.com/paravionft/...13631895413897 :p |
http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/...PABN3PLM-1.jpg
Quote: This is a painting I did of the Trislander. My therapist said it would help me get over my hatred of them..... It didn't. Ha Ha. Nice painting of the long nose version. Have to say they were an interesting looking Aircraft. Especially the longer nosed version. I cant seem to get the Quote wraparound to work. I think that fixed your image. For some reason Photobucket automatically adds a URL to the IMG address? Tail Wheel |
Quote:
I think this article sums up our feelings quite nicely https://www.facebook.com/paravionft/...13631895413897 :p I haven't seen that before. Quite true though. And now I have conformation of the 'Noise Converters' theory. |
Here's another long forgotten Trislander operator:
http://www.adastron.com/squawkid/gallery/vhbsp.jpg |
At least the Tri Lander got the driver further forward away from the prop noise. And for the operation we were using them for a few years, across Cook Strait, they were very suitable, handled extreme turbulence going into Wellington without much trouble.
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Britten Norman Islander Turns Fifty AIA RUT EER EQK BSH |
At least the Tri Lander got the driver further forward away from the prop noise. And for the operation we were using them for a few years, across Cook Strait, they were very suitable, handled extreme turbulence going into Wellington without much trouble. Very true. It was quieter than the Islander, At least for the pilot. Thunderbird Control, This is T-Bird 1. |
I flew in a Trislander as a passenger years ago from Townsville to Dunk, pre learning to fly. I don't recall the aeroplane being quite so fugly. :}
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Did a fair few flights in the Bongo. Loved it! Little bit deaf but eh it happens. Quite a tough, capable machine. I'd go pole one around again in a heartbeat!
Keen to have a go at an Trislander one day just for ****s and giggles. Yes I am a little bit crazy. |
http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/...ars/2xBN32.jpg
Hey, Capt Claret.... here is the line up of likely suspects of your Dunk trip. |
http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/...ars/VH-AIA.jpg
Here is the very first Islander to operate in Australia. Of course by the time I flew it for Tangalooma, it had been owned by a bazillion other companies (*please note 'bazillion' is a generic term for 'stacks of'*) http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/...rs/VH-SQS2.jpg Tangalooma traded old VH-AIA on a brand spanking new VH-SQS, so on that one day in October 1978, I flew Australia's oldest and newest Islanders. |
The BN2A was my first twin and I got around 1900 hours on them. An interesting part of my career when I was single with no responsibilities. Fond memories but I don't think I would like to go back on them.:E
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I have 6-7 of the BN-2A in my book, from years ago. Oldest was ZK-FWZ from memory. Fantastic 'ol girl to fly ;-) Unfortunately, I never did record her serial number, but if memory serves, was sub-200. Reputed at one time to be the operational Islander with the highest recorded number of cycles on her.
There's bound to be someone who will stumble on this page that could trundle down the tarmac (NZNV) and have a look at that serial ;-) |
Reputed at one time to be the operational Islander with the highest recorded number of cycles on her. At the time it had in excess of 16,000 hrs and well over 30,000 cycles on the airframe.:} Exact figures unknown to me. And I was flying it back from Kamulai when the R/H engine shat itself!:ugh: Bikpela taim!:eek: |
Likewise, details long forgotten... fun days in the Islanders though Pinky. I miss that now. For all their faults, I'd still strap another one to my arse tomorrow, given the chance!
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Pinky, I'm sure P2-SAB was a Cessna 402B ex Sepik Air Charter acquired by Talair when it took over that charter company. Last seen P2-SAB disappeared into the Ramu River (I forget the strip it ran off the end of whilst overweight) maybe in the mid 1970s, never to be found. Nine POB from memory, all got wet except the pilot........... :E
I thought Biscuit Ears (Douglas) had the oldest Bongo Van in this part of the world? I think it may have been VH-AIA (or similar rego??) that won it's class in the 1968 London to Sydney Air Race? |
P2-SAB was a 402 and later an islander.
'Highest time islander' stories are a dime a dozen, at one point I heard it was P2-DWA when it was at NCA but the simple fact is that all the islanders in PNG got the ar$e$ thrashed out of them There were 3 on the fiji register with MSN<100 including number 9 |
Fond memories of EQT and FCP around Tassie and Bass Strait islands in the early 80's.
Sh1t that seems a long time ago. oh...... it was. Sound familiar Metro Man? FLI, LDB, CBN, SWI, THM, Chappell (snakes!!!), WTH, KCK. LandRover with wings. The amount of crap we used to carry in them. Remember moving the lighthouse keeper out of SWI with a goat in the back. P.S. EQT was Build No. 124. No idea how many hours. But she was an old girl even when I flew her in the early 80's. |
Sorry about the quality. Was taken in 1990.
I know who it was but I 'aint sayin'!:E And also a good indication of just how close that port engine and prop was!:eek: [IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...t/5f7ff2ce.jpg[/IMG] |
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...t/5f7ff2ce.jpg
I know who it was but I 'aint sayin'! Same, same?? :E |
Same, same?? |
Not me Pinky! :E
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Whatever happened to VH-EQT?
Some of LT controllers and FSO's used to fly the Islander part-time for Munro Aviation, and one used to tell the story of the quick turnaround(engines running)on one of the Bass Strait Islands, the pax was told to get out of the rear door, shut it and walk away and give the aileron a wiggle to let him know he was clear of the aircraft. The passenger instead shuffled between the spinning prop and tapped on the cockpit window! |
Not me Pinky |
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