In our recent video walkthrough of a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, Aidan mentioned an interesting side note: “Loganair operates Islanders on the shortest scheduled flight in the world. Flight 353 from Westray Airport to Papa Westray Airport in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. At 1.7 miles the flight time, including taxi, is two just minutes. That’s shorter than a PKA-WNA run in Bethel … a real time builder!

Well, as I just read on the BBC’s website, it turns out that Loganair pilot Stuart Linklater retired this past week … after completing the Westray to Papa Westray flight more than 12,000 times! And that’s not the only record Linklater holds. He also holds the record for the time taken to make the flight between the two islands–53 seconds.

Now there’s nothing particularly unconventional about flying an Islander on scheduled airline service. Yet sometimes it’s not the airplane or the mission that makes the person behind the controls an oddball pilot. Sometimes it’s the route!

More Information

Loganair
Westray & Papa Westray Tourist Association
Commuting to School via Islander
Bidding War for the Route
The World’s Longest Flight
Britten-Norman company site
Britten Norman Islander on Wikipedia.org
Islander stats from Airliners.net
A Cowboy’s Guide to the Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander

Flight Simulation

Want to fly the Islander on the Westray-Papa Westray route yourself? Pick up these great add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator X:

The BN-2 Islander by Aerosoft
Orkney & Shetland Isles photoscenery for FSX by Horizon Simulation
Detailed airport scenery for Scotland by Scotflight