Armed Forces Malta Islander Mid Life Update

 

Britten-Norman Islander BN2T AS9819

 

In March 2021 Armed Forces Malta (AFM) signed an agreement with Britten-Norman to carry out a full refurbishment on one of it's current B-N Islander aircraft AS9819. AS9819 C/N 2156 was originally constructed as a BN2T and then converted to BN2B-26 Islander standard, with the turbine engines replaced with Lycoming O-540-E4C5 power plants to fit in with the AFM fleet.

The major refubishment included:

  • Conversion back to BN2T standard with the piston engines being replaced with Rolls Royce model 250 turboprops. This required new engine mounts and modifications to the fuel and control lines.

  • Updated mission sensors.

  • Air conditioning unit.

  • Full airframe inspection with any corrosion issues addressed.

  • Installation of a Garmin G600TXi glass cockpit, with the GTN750Xi and GTN 650Xi NAV/COMM/GPS.

  • Garmin GI275 avionics suite with integral battery.

  • Genesys System 55X autopilot, which when coupled with the Garmin G600TXi allows automatic search patterns during Search & Rescue operations.

  • Upgrade to the interior with an all-new UK designed and manufactured trim kit, seat and upholstery refurbishment and a full refinish of the aircraft exterior.

 

These improvements to the Islander bring the aircraft to the very latest operating standard and will greatly enhance the aircraft’s core capabilities. The electronic touchscreen flight instrumentation replaces the existing analogue gauges reducing maintenance costs as well as providing greater access to aircraft performance data and operating parameters.

At the time of this visit to the Britten-Norman factory AS9819 was nearly ready for repainting and subsequent test flights with the majority of the refubishment completed. The photographs in this article only show AS9819's exterior, as interior photographs were not permitted at the request of AFM.

 

Rolls Royce 250 Turboprop

 

 

 

 

 

Cliff Ibell Images would like to thank Britten-Norman for allowing this visit to photograph this unique Islander and for details of the refurbishment. A set of full size photographs of AS9819 can be found here: B-N Islander / Trilander photos. These are best viewed in full screen slideshow format.

© Cliff Ibell Images
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