The first Islander airframe assembled in the UK from detail components has completed its first flight from Bembridge Airport on the Isle of Wight.
The aircraft departed at 14:25 on 3 September 2026 and has now entered its flight-test programme. After flight testing and final programme work, it is intended for the Falkland Islands Government Air Service.
The flight marks a change in Britten-Norman’s production process at Bembridge. The company said it now builds complete Islander airframes at the site under its own production control, rather than bringing major sub-assemblies together for final assembly.
The manufacturer had previously said that the first fully UK-built Islander was undergoing ground tests at Bembridge ahead of a planned September first flight. The completed flight moves that aircraft into the next stage of its programme, but does not represent the end of the testing and remaining programme work.
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Britten-Norman repatriated Islander production to Bembridge after production activity had been carried out overseas. It has described the return to detail-level assembly as giving the company greater control over the build sequence, tooling, quality checks and delivery timing.
The revised arrangement also removes a road journey across Europe for major sub-assemblies, according to the manufacturer. That is one of the changes associated with carrying out complete airframe assembly at Bembridge rather than relying on the previous production route.
A second Islander is progressing through the same production line, and components for subsequent aircraft have been ordered. Britten-Norman has a strategic ambition to establish production at up to eight aircraft a year, although the company is still progressing the production-line work described in the update.
The first aircraft’s next formal stage is flight testing, followed by the final programme work identified by the manufacturer before its intended role with the Falkland Islands Government Air Service. Meanwhile, activity on the second aircraft and the ordered components for later aircraft provides the immediate production context for the Bembridge line.
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