Britten-Norman plans to lift Islander output to eight aircraft a year by 2029

Britten-Norman aims to build eight BN-2 Islander utility aircraft a year at its Bembridge factory on the Isle of Wight by 2029. The manufacturer says demand for the type is enough to support the increase.

For years the company relied on Romania's Romaero, which built major sub-assemblies that were moved by road to Britain for final assembly. The arrangement cut costs but brought quality problems that proved hard to resolve. Moving assemblies from Bucharest to the Isle of Wight also meant two sea crossings, which the airframer says unsettled delivery schedules.

Reshoring was the answer. Chief operating officer Richard Milne joined in November last year after roles at Marshall Aerospace and GKN Aerospace, arriving while assembly of the first Islander to be almost entirely built in the UK was about six months along.

That aircraft, ordered by the Falkland Islands Government Air Service, flew in late August and is due for delivery in October. Britten-Norman had been working on repatriating Islander production to Bembridge in some form since 2023.

Milne described his time at Bembridge as exciting, in comments accompanying the announcement of the manufacturer's plans for the type.