I've spotted this Trislander flying over several times during the last few days. Haven't seen one around here for a long time so I popped into the airport to investigate. Seems we have a new regular service. Rockhopper is based at Bournemouth & operates to the Channel Islands & France. Maybe I'll book a trip to Guernsey & check it out. I could do with a nice break. I wish them luck as many have tried & failed over the years.






Soon after it left I spotted this chopper arriving.



Someone's in a hurry. This was a lucky shot as he took off & suddenly appeared out of nowhere as I pressed the button.



A nice little visitor from Germany for good measure.


Ah well. That's all the excitement over for now. Time for a spot of lunch methinks.

As usual, nice photos and story.

On #4 - what's the imposing edifice in the background/right of the photo?

Haha cool, thanks for pointing it out i hadnt noticed it before:) and thank you for the info of its use.

Very Nice Doug

The Islander (I think that is the twin engine model) and the Trislander are two of my favorites.
Wonder if anyone has put them on floats?
I believe the RAF had some Trislanders did they not?
Do you know if they are still being manufactured?

Thanks for posting those shots !

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Hi Doug. I know a little of the Britten-Norman history as the company has many local connections. The Islander was originally manufactured at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. Many of the original workforce were former employees of Beagle Aircraft at Shoreham. I believe it was inspired by the Auster which is basically what it is. A very simple no-frills aircraft with straight wings & fixed undercarriage - the main difference being that it has 2 engines. This would make it cheap to build & operate. It was very successful & the 3-engined Trislander was developed from it. This was not so successful & fewer were sold. It is popular on some routes as you can see. There is also a military version of the Islander named the Defender but I don't think it ever served with the RAF.

The company has been under different owners over the years. It was taken over by Pilatus in Switzerland at one time being known as Pilatus Britten-Norman or PBN. I'm not sure what went wrong but production was moved to Romania some years ago which is where I believe they are still built today. It is now known as the BN Group. Although the company still has a base at Bembridge this is mainly concerned with servicing BN aircraft & other types. Aircraft are no longer built there to my knowledge although they are still in production elsewhere. http://www.britten-norman.com/home.htm

As a matter of interest, my old company recently took over responsibility for spares distribution worldwide. I was aware of this & was even asked to become involved but I'm not sure of the details. http://www.britten-norman.com/spares/index.htm

Thanks Doug

Now I am a little confused...all along I thought the Britten Norman Islander was manufactured in Ireland.
Never really heard of the Pilatus Britten Norman Islander.
That is what I love about this forum...you learn something new every day...sometimes two or three things LOL
Thanks for the links Doug.

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Quote:

You're welcome Doug. There's a history of the company from my link with dates of specific events.* It has a chequered past. B-N Group is now owned by members of the Zawawi family from the Sultanate of Oman.

The only aircraft company I know of in Ireland (Belfast, Northern Ireland) is Short Brothers. Now part of the Bombardier Aerospace group this is one of the oldest surviving aircraft companies in the world. Short Brothers has no connection with Britten-Norman.

Quote:

Hi Paul.
There's also an Islander for FS2002/4 here.
http://www.simviation.com/fs2004props21.htm
The Channel Islands full package includes the Rockhopper livery. At 30 Mb it's too big for me to try.

*PS. In case you missed it. http://www.britten-norman.com/links/history.htm