Britten-Norman has reached an important milestone in the development of Islander production. Aircraft serial number 2317 took off from Bembridge Airport on the Isle of Wight on 3 September, becoming, according to the manufacturer, the first Islander whose airframe has been assembled in the United Kingdom from individual components. Its first flight also demonstrates the capability of the new production line at Bembridge, where the company now directly manages the entire assembly process.

This represents a significant change from the previous production arrangements. From 1968, Islander airframes were built by a subcontractor in Bucharest and then transported to the Isle of Wight for fit-out, customisation and certification. Design, ownership of the type certificate and production oversight remained in the United Kingdom throughout. From 2009, major subassemblies arrived at Bembridge by road, whereas aircraft 2317 was assembled there from individual components.

This approach gives Britten-Norman direct control over the assembly sequence, tooling and quality checks, while removing the need to transport major assemblies across Europe. The company sees this as the foundation for increasing production and achieving more reliable delivery schedules.

Britten-Norman’s flight test crew operated the aircraft on its first flight, watched from the apron by members of the engineering and production teams who had rolled it out of the factory five weeks earlier. The aircraft took off from the same runway used by the Islander prototype for its maiden flight in June 1965, just a few hundred metres from where the company was founded.

Among the employees involved in its assembly was Pete Dowers, for whom it was the 500th aircraft of his career. Dowers began his apprenticeship in September 1978, and his early major projects included camera floor conversions for Belgian Army aircraft.

“For 48 years the airframes have arrived here and we have finished them off. This is the first one we have put together ourselves from the components up, and I stood on the apron and watched it fly. Five hundred aircraft, and this is the one I will remember. It is a special one,” Dowers said.

The flight test programme continues at Bembridge, assessing performance, handling and the short take-off and landing capabilities for which the Islander is known. Once testing is complete, the aircraft will undergo the final stages of preparation for delivery to the Falkland Islands Government Air Service, which will use it to connect settlements across the archipelago.

A second airframe is already progressing through the production line, and components have been ordered for the aircraft that will follow it. Britten-Norman has invested in tooling and facilities and increased its workforce from around 100 employees in 2024 to approximately 180. The company also says it holds letters of intent from operators in the regional passenger and special mission sectors.

“Assembling the aircraft here is what lets us lift the rate. It puts the build sequence, the tooling and the quality gates in our own hands, and it takes a road journey across Europe out of the middle of every aircraft. That is what on-time delivery depends on. The learning from this aircraft goes straight into the second one and into every one after that,” said Richard Milne, Chief Operating Officer at Britten-Norman.