John Britten and
Desmond Norman started developing crop-spraying equipment in the middle 1950s and used
de Havilland Tiger Moths (modified at their factory near
Ventnor, Isle of Wight) for a contract in Sudan. After that, Britten and Norman (who had both trained with
De Havilland) turned their hand to aircraft design. Their first design was the
Britten-Norman BN-1 Finibee, a light single-seater
parasol wing 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 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 version with greater range and capacity. In 1975 Britten-Norman won the
Queen's Award to Industry for technological innovation for the Trislander. Ownership of the company has passed through a number of hands. The
Fairey Aviation group acquired Britten-Norman in 1973. Following financial troubles at Fairey the company was sold to Oerlikon-Bührle (owner of
Pilatus Aircraft of
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==