Britten-Norman
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Britten-Norman (BN) is a privately owned British aircraft manufacturer and aviation services provider. The company is the sole independent commercial aircraft producer in the United Kingdom. Britten-Norman has so far manufactured and sold its aircraft to customers in more than 120 countries. In addition to aircraft manufacturing, the company also performs maintenance, overhaul and repair work as well as performing sub-contract engineering and design work. The company's historic home is located at
Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by so ...
on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
although airframes have been assembled under subcontract in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
for more than 50 years. Romanian aircraft used to pass through to the UK for finalisation and certification. Nowadays aircraft are manufactured in the UK at the company's Lee-on-the-Solent manufacturing facility at Daedalus Airfield, a former
Royal Naval Air Station Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Ro ...
. Spare parts production continues at the Bembridge site with sub assemblies also being supplied from the Romanian facility. The company manufactures such aircraft as the Islander and the militarised Defender both of which are capable of short take-off and landing (
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...
) operations. The three-engined Trislander is still operating but is not currently being manufactured. The aircraft are typically used for inter-island schedules.


History

John Britten and Desmond Norman started developing crop-spraying equipment in the middle 1950s and used
de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary traine ...
s (modified at their factory near
Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface D ...
, Isle of Wight) for a contract in Sudan. After that, Britten and Norman (who had both trained with
De Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...
) turned their hand to aircraft design. Their first design was the Britten-Norman BN-1 Finibee, a light single-seater
parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
aircraft. They pitched the design to several aircraft companies but found no one willing to produce the design. Britten and Norman made a detailed analysis of the aviation market and decided there was a demand for a twin-engined utility aircraft with the minimum of complex systems that could operate from short, rough airstrips and also be used for high-density commuter flights. This brief developed into the BN-2 Islander, and the Britten-Norman company was formed to produce the aircraft, which first flew in 1965. During the 1960s, Britten-Norman were involved in the development of
hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...
via their subsidiary Cushioncraft Ltd; their first craft, the CC1, was the world's second hovercraft. Desmond Norman then designed a four-seater touring aircraft to compete with established types such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. A single prototype of the BN-3 'Nymph' was built and flown in 1969, but failed to attract significant orders. Norman set up his own company to build the plane, renamed the 'Freelance' and produced components and fuselage sections for six aircraft. However, orders were still not forthcoming and, following failure to win a military order for the 'Firecracker' design, Norman's company closed. After Norman's death in 2002, his son has overseen the completion of one of the Freelances to airworthy condition, and plans to assemble and sell the other five, with the possibility of full-scale production. Following the failure of the 'Nymph', Britten-Norman continued to develop and improve the Islander design, which was enjoying great success. This culminated in 1970 with the Trislander, a
trimotor A trimotor is a propeller-driven aircraft powered by three internal combustion engines, characteristically one on the nose and one on each wing. A compromise between complexity and safety, such a configuration was typically a result of the limit ...
version with greater range and capacity. In 1975 Britten-Norman won the
Queen's Award to Industry The King's Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen's Award for Enterprise, is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting oppor ...
for technological innovation for the Trislander. Ownership of the company has passed through a number of hands. The
Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes, Hillingdon, Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire that designed important military aircraft ...
group acquired Britten-Norman in 1973. Following financial troubles at Fairey the company was sold to Oerlikon-Bührle (owner of
Pilatus Aircraft Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland. In June 2016, the company employed 1,905 people. The company has mostly produced aircraft for niche markets, in particular STOL, short takeoff and landing (STOL) ...
of
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
in 1978, hence the ''Pilatus Britten-Norman'' designation of some of the aircraft). Oerlikon-Bührle sold Britten-Norman to Litchfield Continental / Biofarm Inc. (BIOF). B-N Group acquired the assets of Britten-Norman in 2000. In March 2024, the company announced it had secured new investment from a group of investors led by 4D Capital Partners LLP.


Aircraft


See also

*
Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astro ...


Notes and references


External links


Britten-Norman company website
{{Use British English, date=August 2011 Aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom British brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1954 1954 establishments in England