Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander G-HEBZPhotographed on 26 November 2006 in the Museum of Flight, East Fortune, Scotland. Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B aircraft operated by Logan air appeared in the colour scheme of the Scottish Ambulance Service in 1993.
The BN-2 Islander was Britten-Norman's second original design, work on which began during 1963.
Developed as a Dragon Rapide replacement, the emphasis was on producing a rugged and durable aircraft that had good field performance, low operating costs and was easy to maintain. One unusual feature is that there is no centre aisle between seats in the main cabin, instead there are three doors along each side of the fuselage for passenger boarding. The prototype BN-2 Islander was powered by two 155kW (210hp) IO-360 engines and its first flight was on June 13 1965.
The first production machines were powered by 195kW (260hp) IO-540s and were simply designated BN-2, the first flew in 1967. A small number were built before production switched to the BN-2A which introduced fairings to the main undercarriage legs, wing leading edge and flap droop, and an increased maximum takeoff weight. From 1970 the base A model was the BN-2A-6 and the BN-2A-7 had extended wingtips, while the BN-2A-2 and BN-2A-3 were powered by the 225kW (300hp) IO-540, the latter with the extended wingtips.
Picture added on 21 February 2008
