Britten-Norman Trislander

Trislander
BN-2A Mk III-2
Role Airliner
Manufacturer Britten-Norman
First flight 11 September 1970
Status Out of production, in service
Primary user Aurigny
Produced 1970–1980
Number built 72
Developed from Britten-Norman Islander

The Britten-Norman Trislander (more formally designated the BN-2A Mk III Trislander) is an 18-seat three-engined piston-powered civilian utility aircraft produced in the 1970s and early 1980s by Britten-Norman of Britain. These STOL capable aircraft were produced on the Isle of Wight. They were also produced in Romania, and delivered via Belgium to Britain for their certification.[1]

Design and development

Designed by John Britten and Desmond Norman, the Trislander is a further development of Britten-Norman's better-known Islander aircraft in order to give it a larger carrying capacity. In comparison with the Islander, the Trislander has a stretched fuselage, strengthened, fixed tricycle landing gear and a third engine on the fuselage centre line atop the fin. The Trislander has exceptional low speed handling characteristics, extended endurance, increased payload, low noise signature and economical operating costs. Capable of taking off from a 492 yards long landing strip, the Trislander can readily operate from unprepared surfaces.

Operational history

The prototype of the Trislander, which was constructed from the original second Islander prototype, first flew on 11 September 1970.[2] The type entered service with the Guernsey-based Aurigny in July 1971.[3] Initial production ceased in 1982 after 73 had been sold and delivered, with a further seven Trislanders unsold, when Pilatus Britten Norman sold a manufacturing license to the International Aviation Corporation (IAC) of Florida. It was planned for IAC to build 12 Trislanders (to be known as Tri-Commutairs) from parts kits supplied by Britten-Norman before undertaking full production,[4] but these plans came to nothing.[5] As of January 2008, Britten-Norman was preparing a second production run of the Trislander.[6]

Variants

BN-2A Mk III-1
First production version, with short nose.
BN-2A Mk III-2
Lengthened nose and higher operating weight.
BN-2A Mk III-3
Variant certified for operation in the United States.
BN-2A Mk III-4
III-2 fitted with 350 lb rocket-assisted takeoff equipment.
BN-2A Mk III-5
III-2 with sound-proofed cabin, modernised cockpit/interior and new engines (proposed, unbuilt as yet).
Trislander M 
Proposed military version, not built.

Note: Aurigny has fitted all Trislanders in its fleet with 3 blade propellers (Hartzell HC-C3YR-2UF/FC8468-8R) on the front two engines so as to increase maximum take-off weight.

Operators

A Trislander aircraft at Guernsey Airport, on the Isle of Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, operated by Aurigny.
G-RBCI operated By Aurigny parked at Guernsey Airport
A Trislander, operated by Blue Islands Airline, departing Shoreham Airport, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England.
A Trislander, along with a Britten-Norman Islander, at the Great Barrier Aerodrome, operated by Great Barrier Airlines, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.
 Antigua and Barbuda
 Australia
 Botswana
 Cayman Islands
 Guernsey
 Guyana
 Isle of Man
 Jamaica
 Jersey
 Liberia
 New Zealand
 Puerto Rico
 Sierra Leone
 United Kingdom
 United States
 Vanuatu
 Venezuela

Accidents and incidents

On 15 December 2008, a Trislander operated by LAP in Puerto Rico, the first crash since 2005. The aircraft crashed into the sea somewhere near the Turks and Caicos, shortly after the distress call. A spokesman for the Asociación Nacional de Pilotos reported that the pilot had his licence suspended in October 2006.[16]

On 5 July 2009 in New Zealand, a Trislander belonging to Great Barrier Airlines lost its starboard side prop six minutes into a flight from Great Barrier Island to Auckland city. The prop sheared off and impacted the fuselage, prompting a successful emergency landing. While there were injuries, no deaths were reported. The accident was caused by undetected corrosion of the propeller flange which led to its eventual failure.[17]

Specifications (BN-2A Mk III-2)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77[18]

General characteristics

Performance

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Historians, BN. "Home - BN Historians Website 2014".
  2. ↑ Taylor 1976, p. 176.
  3. 1 2 Cunliffe Air International October 2015, p. 123.
  4. ↑ Taylor 1982, pp. 268, 392.
  5. ↑ Trevett, John. "Commuter Aircraft Directory: International Aviation Corp (USA)". Flight International, 11 May 1985, p. 47.
  6. ↑ "Britten-Norman Trislander." britten-norman.com. Retrieved: 13 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "The Official Web site of Liat The Caribbean Airline - Liat Airline".
  8. ↑ "aurigny.com – channel islands".
  9. ↑ Cunliffe Air International October 2015, p. 125.
  10. ↑ "Roraima unveils Britten Norman Trislander". 26 April 2016.
  11. ↑ https://www.blueislands.com/flying-with-us/aircraft-fleet
  12. ↑ "Barrier Air. Fleet".
  13. ↑ "FAA REGISTRY Make / Model Inquiry Results". regsitry.faa.gov. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Our fleet".
  15. ↑ "Loganair :: Aircraft - Loganair".
  16. ↑ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, 16 December 2008. Retrieved: 28 February 2009.
  17. ↑ "Investigation 09-004 Report 09-004, Britten Norman BN2A-Mk III Trislander, ZK-LOU loss of engine propeller assembly, near Claris, Great Barrier Island, 5 July 2009." Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) via taic.org. Retrieved: 11 May 2011.
  18. ↑ Taylor 1976 pp. 176–177.
Bibliography
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
  • Cunliffe, Charles. "Trislander Sunset". Air International. October 2015, Vol. 89, No. 4. pp. 122–125. ISSN 0306-5634.
  • Stroud, John. "Post War Propliners: Islander and Trislander". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 22, No. 8. August 1994. pp. 44–49. ISSN 0143-7240.
  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3.
  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0748-2
  • Trislander Patents: Patent number: 3807665
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