The UK’s only sovereign civil aircraft manufacturer, Britten-Norman, has this week celebrated the 55th anniversary of the Islander’s maiden flight.
The Islander is one of the world’s most successful and enduring aircraft designs. It has a formidable reputation as a workhorse with the earliest Islander still in operation today.
The aircraft was initially produced at the Britten-Norman factory at Bembridge Airport, but within a few years, the company found that it could not produce the aircraft at a sufficient rate to keep up with the customer demand.
Islanders are operated all across the world, employed as passenger transporters, cargo lifters and air ambulances as well as in more specialist operational roles such as oil pollution detection, search and rescue, crime interdiction and counter-terrorism missions, to name but a few.
By 1967, within 2 years of its maiden flight, the Islander had demonstrated its broad appeal to the market with Britten-Norman delivering its 100th aircraft. Today, Britten-Norman custom designs each aircraft to fit the operator’s needs, leading to many variations and innovations around how the aircraft is employed.
Whilst the Islander’s core airframe has remained predominantly structurally unchanged since the original – a great testament to the designers of the day – today’s Islanders feature a range of product improvements and enhancements. All leather interior, USB charging facilities, glass instrument panel and cabin conditioning are just a few examples of what the Islander now offers as standard.
Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps MP, has said:
“Congratulations Britten-Norman on making this important milestone. I know the company are investing heavily in research and development and I cannot wait to see what happens next.”
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Britten-Norman Chief Executive, William Hynett, said:
“I am incredibly proud that Britten-Norman has reached this milestone. John Britten and Desmond Norman established a simplicity of design that has endured since 1965. It is a testament to British design and manufacturing that the aircraft still has no like-for-like competitor. However, we are not complacent. British Aviation is on the cusp of several exciting technological breakthroughs and we are committed to ensuring the Islander, and our operators, remain at the forefront of these innovations.”
Island Echo readers might be interested to know that the oldest Britten-Norman Islander in existence, the third one built, has been restored over the past 10 years by a team of Britten-Norman Aircraft Preservation volunteers. The aircraft is very near completion but restoration work is on hold at present. All being well we expect to have the Islander on show at our workshop open day at the end of September. For more information about the project go to:
http://www.ivanberrymandirect.cpm/bnaps.htm
Correction website link should read
http://www.ivanberrymandirect.com/bnaps.htm