At just over 49ft long
and with a wingspan
of almost 53ft, the
aircraft was never
going to win any
beauty contests in
the traditional sense,
but it def initely had
a certain character
that would be loved by
many for nearly half a
century.long and safe association with the type.
In the 1990s Aurigny added special three-bladed propellers to
the two wing engines, partly in a bid to reduce cabin noise (it did
very little in this respect!) but also to increase the maximum take-
off weight. Only Aurigny converted its Trislanders to this new
three-bladed variant, which gave them a very different sound to all
other examples in service at the time. The tail engine retained the
standard two-bladed propeller.
Flying Experience
Flying onboard a Trislander was certainly a ‘different’
experience, and one that is likely never to be experienced again.
Prior to boarding, passengers would be required to watch the
safety video in the departure lounge and would then be taken out
to the aircraft. Due to the aircraft being so small, weight had to
be evenly distributed and the pilot would decide who would sit
where. Up until the early 1990s, passengers were actually weighed
at check in! Eventually this practice ceased and the weight was
calculated using an ‘average’ weight for males and females.
Upon arriving at the aircraft, passengers were called out by their
names and then shown to their allocated seats by the ground staff.
Even with five doors – three on the right and two on the left of
the aircraft, access to the cabin could be restricted as every other
row of seating folded forward and passengers had to climb in in
a similar way to which you would enter a two-door car. The seat
was then folded back and the other passengers could board.
Once inside, the passengers were treated to views from some of
the largest windows ever fitted to a commercial aircraft, offering
amazing panoramic views across the islands when in flight.
After loading was complete, the Captain would turn around
and address the passengers with the usual welcome message and
shortly after the three engines would start up. The aircrafthttp://www.airlinerworld.com 27Perhaps the most
famous of all
Trislanders. G-JOEY
began life as G-BDGG
but was re-registered in
tribute to the cartoon
aircraft beloved by
aviation enthusiasts
young and old.