Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander. Photo. Video. Characteristics. Reviews.

Britten Norman Islander (also known as BN2) is a light aircraft manufactured by the British aircraft manufacturer Britten Norman. The Islander is one of the best-selling aircraft in Western Europe. It is widely operated on local short-haul airlines in many countries.

Design

Design of the Islander began in 1963, the first BN2 model made its first flight on 13.06.1965/20.08.1966/24.04.1967, the second experimental prototype on XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX. Both of them were equipped with less powerful motors than the production cars. The serial Islander took off for the first time on XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX.

variations

An improved version BN2A Islander, rose into the air for the first time in 1969. Were improved aerodynamic properties of the car, slightly changed the luggage compartment, the equipment.

Defender, a military version of the Islander, first flew 20.05.1970.

MaritimeDefender, another military option Islander, designed to rescue search services, fisheries and coastal patrols.

Started producing in 1978 subsequent variation, BN2B IslanderII. Improvements also referred noise reduction and increase load capacity. Now you can produce aircraft with a greater length, luggage compartment, the presence of winglets, additional fuel tanks and engines Allison 250B17C. Version with such engines was named BN2T TurbineIslander.

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander Salon

The Islander was further developed in the BN2A MkIII Trislander, which has a much larger capacity. The fuselage was lengthened, the landing gear was modified and a third engine was added in the tail. The analogue was made from the second experimental sample BN2 and took off for the first time on 11.09.1970.

Islander was produced by different BrittenNorman factories. The aircraft in the late 1960s was manufactured on the Isle of Wight at the Bembridge plant. Romanian IRMA has been manufacturing the aircraft since 1969, SONACA (Belgium). - since 1973. Production was also carried out in the Philippines.

The main operators:

Ireland

AerArann;

Panama

AvionesdePanama SA; AeroTaxi; ANSA; PARSA; AVIATUR; TRANSPASA; AirPanama.

Mexico

AeroTaxisdeCV;

New Zealand

RealJourneys; ChathamsPacificAirlines;

Australia

LadyElliotIsland;

Fiji

AirPacific;

United Kingdom

Loganair;

Germany

LuftverkehrFriesland-Harle

USA

InterIsland Airways - Samoa;

AmericanSamoaGovernment (ASG) - Samoa;

Interesting Facts

BrittenNorman Islander uses ChathamsPacific Airlines on the shortest scheduled service between Tongatapu and Eua in the Kingdom of Tonga. The total flight time is from seven to eight minutes (40 kilometers in total).