Aurigny Trislanders

Thanks, Geo, The website specifies which type is supposedly oerated on any given flight, but I’m not sure how reliable that is.

Mr Creosote

Blue Islands are currently using a mixture of Trislander, Jetstream and ATR 42 between Guernsey and Jersey with the Islander also popping up on the odd occasion.

Doing some research for a UK friend who is planning a vacation trip to the US, I saw a few are used for flying into backcountry resorts in the Idaho wilderness area.
That surprised me.

Anyone know why BN didn’t just use more powerful engines for the stretched Islander III, ie what became the Trislander? Was it just that they wanted to stick with the proven Lycomings for commonality? BTW, re the original post, I see Blue Island are not only cheaper than Aurigny, but also operate Jetstreams between Jersey and Guernsey, so I might even bag myself 2 new types. 🙂

I think Aurigny should operate C-47s and if that won’t do the trick then how about putting Dragon Rapides back on the routes. They can operate from Jersey’s flat beaches or flat fields.

But seriously, surely turbine is the only way forward for them?

BN will still make you a Trislander if you have the cash.

What would you replace them with?

That’s a very good question. Not much in the same class. Maybe the Dornier 228NG, or the DHC-6 Twin Otter NG?

Thinking completely outside the box, how about the Antonov An-2, those will go anywhere anytime, but they look like they came straigt from the early days of flight (which of course they pretty much do). Doesn’t China still build them under license?

In my original post, I said it was fully loaded leaving Shoreham. What I failed to mention was the return flight only carried 1 pilot, 1 lad of about 13, me an my wife! While Blue Islands may have made a few bob going out, I really can’t see that they did on the return flight and that was in August, probably their busiest time of year. The Shoreham to Alderney route is now discontinued, probably on financial grounds.

There was a discussion I read on another Forum recently which was querying the same point.

The stumbling block seemed to be , according to concensus , the runway length at Alderney which rules out a lot of alternatives balanced against possible load factors.

With decent maint. I can see them plodding on for another ten years at least. The make a lovely sound as they plod out of Southampton over my parents garden.

Trislander

The Trislander is not in the “stol” cat like the Islander but has certainly done its bit for the Channel Islands routes.
The Otter is expensive to buy/operate and does not like short sectors due to the start/cycle engine situation that rather eats up engine life (on paper).
Mr Cessna of course came up with the near answer with the Caravan but no good for our PT ops over here.
IN the end it is down to what the public will pay to use the service and what the alternative is.
I think the Lydd based Tri’s have/are going abroad.
It is very difficult for a small operator to “go turbine” as a stand alone business, due to the “jump” in operating costs and potential engine replacement charges and thats before contending with two pilot/autopilot rules on what were single crew aircraft.

I flew in a Blue Island Trislander a few years back, from Brighton City Airport (Shoreham) to Alderney. That was an interesting flight. The Trislander was full, as was the hold, and must have been pretty much on its maximum take-off weight. We took off on the northerly runway at Shoreham, but due to the load, we had to follow the course of the River Adur for a few miles, before it gained enough height to climb over the hills and head south for Alderney. Most flights into Alderney seemed to be Trislanders and Islanders of Aurigny and Blue Islands.

The Trislander seems to be one of those wonderful aircraft of such seminal design that they are difficult, if not impossible, to replace; rather like the Twin Otter.

Thanks, Geo. Hope you’re right. Always had a bit of a soft spot for the Islander/Trislander, and as you say it’s hard to imagine what could take their place.

Aurigny currently have no plans to replace the Trislander, I think you’ll see them around for quite some time yet.

What would you replace them with?