ABOVE:
No wonder the
first Trislander
caused such a stir
when it turned up
unannounced in- DENIS J. C ALVERT
64 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE JULY 2018FARNBOROUGH AT 70
THE WORLD’S STAGE
1972 and the eased qualification rules brought a swathe of ‘new’ types to Farnborough, including Hindustan’s Kiran and Gnat, a Saab
Viggen and all 10 Fiat G91s of Italy’s Frecce Tricolori. Also present and flying was a Lockheed TriStar, the fifth for Eastern Air Lines, in a
strange hybrid scheme with a basic Eastern livery but with ‘BEA’ writ large on the nose and a stylised union flag logo on the fin. The Rolls-
Royce RB211-powered TriStar’s appearance was a supreme act of confidence and even defiance on behalf of the Lockheed management.
Both the programme and the company had recently come through severe problems. These had been compounded by Rolls-Royce going into
receivership in 1971, leading to the unkind comment that Lockheed built ‘the world’s largest glider’.The Farnborough show can spring
surprises, none more so than the arrival
of a hitherto unknown British aircraft
type that had been constructed in
conditions of secrecy and had made its
first flight just hours previously. This
happened on Friday 11 September
1970 when, at around midday, an
unidentified three-engined aircraft
made a straight-in approach to land
on runway 25. This was G-ATWU,
the second prototype Britten-Norman
Islander, rebuilt with a 90in stretch
to the fuselage (offering 17 passenger
seats rather than nine) and a thirdengine atop the fin. Announced to
disbelieving Farnborough attendees as
the Islander MkIII, the design would
be further refined with an enlarged
fin area and later be christened, rather
nattily, the Trislander.
G-ATWU had made its maiden
flight in this new form at 06.45hrs that
same morning, when John Britten,
Des Norman and Andy Coombe
had taken off from Bembridge
for a one-hour exploration of its
handling characteristics. After
refuelling, the aircraft flew again to
get Air Registration Board approval,following which it made the short,
70-mile flight to Farnborough. The
unheralded arrival of this aircraft, its
bright yellow paint only just dry and
its registration crudely applied, caused
much head-turning and quite a bit
of head-scratching. It taxied in to the
static park where, because of its lack of
flying hours, it remained for the final
three days of the show. Built — or, at
least, converted — in no more than six
weeks from the release of drawings,
this was a fine example of the spirit
and dedication of Britten-Norman’s
Isle of Wight workforce.NEWEST OF THE NEW
In hybrid BEA/Eastern colours, L-1011
TriStar 1 N305EA makes its approach.
Many commented on the tri-jet’s
quietness, bestowed by its RB211
turbofans. ADRIAN M. BALCH54-56,61-66_AM_Farnborough_July18_cc C.indd 64 04/06/2018 13:50