The Britten-Norman BN-1F is a British single-seat ultralight aircraft that was built in 1950.

Design and development

In 1951 Peter Gatrell, John Britten &

Desmond Norman Nigel Desmond Norman, (13 August 1929 – 13 November 2002) was an aircraft designer and aviation pioneer. Norman co-founded Britten-Norman in 1954, was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1970, and served as chairman a ...

built and flew an ultra-light monoplane, their first aircraft, which made its first flight at

Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by some residents that Bembridge ...

, Isle of Wight, on 16 May 1951. This machine crashed on an early flight, when the petrol supply to the 40 hp Aeronca-J.A.P. J-99 twin cylinder air-cooled engine faded out. Modifications were made to the tail unit by adding small ancillary fins to improve the directional stability, inset ailerons were fitted, the JAP engine was replaced by a

Lycoming O-145 The Lycoming O-145 is a family of small, low-horsepower, four-cylinder, air-cooled engines. It was Lycoming Engines' first horizontally opposed aircraft engine and was produced from 1938 until the late 1940s. The family includes the reduction-ge ...

horizontally-opposed twin and the undercarriage was replaced with braced arrangement with rubber bungee springing. It was first flown in this form in May 1951 and was withdrawn from use in 1953. It is now on exhibition in the Solent Sky Museum, Southampton, England, on loan from Michael Short of Austin Texas, USA. The general arrangement of the BN-1 is similar to that of the

Comper Swift The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a British 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company Ltd of Hooton Park, Cheshire. Design and development In March 1929 Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force and form ...

in particular ''G-ABUS'', an aircraft that Desmond Norman was associated with, along with fellow de Havilland Technical School apprentice, Tony Cole, that they jointly acquired in 1948 and restored to flying condition. In part this was an attempt to restart the club flying scene that had been prevalent in pre-war England. The BN-1 can be seen as the first steps towards making cheap aviation available to all as the BN-2 Islander was later to achieve for developing countries. After a period of display at the

Royal Air Force Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * Ro ...

RAF Cosford Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton, Bridgnorth, Albrighton. History Origins RA ...

, the BN-1 was passed to the

Solent Sky Solent Sky is an aviation museum in Southampton, Hampshire, previously known as Southampton Hall of Aviation. It depicts the history of aviation in Southampton, the Solent area and Hampshire. There is special focus on the Supermarine aircraft c ...

Museum in Southampton, where it is now exhibited. John Britten and Desmond Norman went on to form

Britten-Norman Britten-Norman (BN) is a privately owned British aircraft manufacturer and aviation services provider. The company is the sole independent commercial aircraft producer in the United Kingdom. Britten-Norman has so far manufactured and sold almost ...

Ltd which became well known for the BN-2 Islander and Trislander series of aircraft and which is still in business at Bembridge, Isle of Wight.Britten-Norman company website

Specifications (Lycoming)

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

UK Civil Aviation Authority record for G-ALZE
{{Britten-Norman aircraft 1950s British sport aircraft BN-1 Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1951