Story ID: 587 Britten-Norman
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander Looks To China
By: David Donald
Caption: Britten-Norman's Islander has become a legend of the UK aircraft industry. Now it is being pitched into the lucrative Chinese regional market
Word Count: 192
Britten-Norman has signed an agreement with Beijing Fangyuan General Aviation (BFGA) for the Beijing-based company to market the BN-2 Islander twin-engine utility/passenger aircraft in China. The primary targets are small regional carriers with short-haul, high-frequency schedules and those that operate from short airfields in difficult terrain.

One of the UK’s most successful and long-lived designs, the BN-2 has been in production since 1965 at a succession of locations. Islanders are currently being built at Lee-on-Solent near Portsmouth, across the Solent from the company’s headquarters and spiritual home at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. Current-production aircraft are available with either Lycoming piston or Rolls-Royce turbine power, with three-blade “scimitar” propellers and options for larger baggage doors.

In the passenger transport role, the Islander can be outfitted with various seating arrangements, including club configuration, leather seats, and in-flight entertainment. Over its career, the aircraft has also been employed for numerous special missions, including cargo transport, parachuting, low-cost surveillance, security, and aerial spraying.

The agreement was signed during the recent Royal International Air Tattoo held at RAF Fairford and announced at the Farnborough Airshow.