Britten Norman
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| Privately held company | |
| Founded | 29 July 1954 |
| Headquarters | Bembridge, Isle of Wight |
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Key people
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William Hynett OBE John Britten Desmond Norman |
| Owner | B-N Group |
| Website | http://www.britten-norman.com/ |
Britten-Norman (often referred to as BN) is a British aircraft manufacturer and aviation services provider beneficially owned by a consortium which includes two members of the Zawawi family from the Sultanate of Oman. The company is the sole independent commercial aircraft producer in the UK.
Britten-Norman has sold more than 1,250 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 on the Isle of Wight although airframes have been assembled under sub contract in Romania for more than 40 years. Romanian aircraft used to pass through Avions Fairey in Belgium to the UK for 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. 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) operations. The three-engined Trislander is still operating but is not currently being manufactured. The aircraft are typically used for inter-island schedules.
Many modern Islanders/Defenders have been fitted with turbine rather than piston engines. Some are employed on police or fishery patrol tasks, providing an efficient and roomy alternative to a twin-engined helicopter. Hampshire Constabulary that oversees matters on the Isle of Wight and across Hampshire was one of two police forces using Defender aircraft. In the UK the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) use the Defender 4000, and the aircraft is also used by the police in the Republic of Ireland, the Garda Síochána. The British Army utilises both the turbine version of the Islander as well as the Defender within its fixed-wing aircraft fleet.
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Wikipedia