Trislanders were ideal for Alderney
AS AN ex-pilot I was amused to note that during the week there would be no flights to Alderney due to crosswinds. One of the major advantages Alderney has over the other Channel Islands airports is that it actually has three runways (two being grass) and was often used in the past specifically as an alternative when extreme crosswinds affected all the Channel Islands airports.
But now, with Dorniers replacing Trilanders, I assume they can’t use the grass option. The problem with the Dornier for Alderney starts with the fuselage shape, being slab-sided as opposed to the narrow Trislander.
It must be something like trying to land a furniture van on the runway and consequently quite difficult to get down in severe winds, when you have also to keep the speed up.
So far the Dornier, apart from its tremendous purchase cost, now can’t land in some crosswinds, requires two crew at enormous extra cost, requires £12m. to upgrade the runway, and presumably is too hefty to land on grass. All at an airport that has no landing aids and works on the simple basis that if you can’t see it, you can’t land.
The expression ‘horses for courses’ springs to mind as to the reason the simplicity of the Trislander made it so ideal for purpose and reliability, with fixed wide robust landing gear (much easier to cope with in crosswind landings) single crew, and narrow fuselage.
Trilanders are still available and with the added reliability of turboprop engines, not that the old ones didn’t seem to function OK as used in air search.
When in the Shetlands, I noted that as an island community they still find them ideal.
But all this is just an observation, I am sure far greater knowledge than I have was applied, but it does result in Aurigny having the present situation, and ensures travel to Alderney remains so costly to use and operate with ultimate long-term dissatisfaction for all concerned.
TONY RIX,
Seagull Cottage,
Calais.
Editor’s footnote:
A spokeswoman from Aurigny replies:
The Trislanders were very useful for many years, but as they are no longer manufactured or adequately supported, they are not an option for Aurigny.
Even if they were, their crosswind capability was no better than the Dorniers’ as both aircraft’s restrictions relate to the narrow width of Alderney’s tarmac runway. The Trislanders and Dorniers could use the grass runways, but then the crosswind limit halves, the carrying capability drops significantly and they can only be used in clear weather. The longest grass runway in Alderney would drop our passenger-carrying capability to around 10, but only if the grass was short and dry with a firm surface beneath. As soon as conditions turn wet, a couple of passengers is all we could hope to carry.
The runway refurbishment planned for Alderney is not required for the Dorniers, the main reason it is being done is to prolong the life of the runway, which has not undergone major maintenance for many years. Widening the runway will allow operations in stronger crosswinds, but it will be no longer and therefore not permit any greater carrying capability than now.