Luton Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of

Barton-in-the-Clay Barton-le-Clay is a large village and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire, Central Bedfordshire Borough in Bedfordshire, England, bordering Hertfordshire. The village has existed since at least 1066 and is menti ...

, Bedfordshire, and later

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England, separated from the London Borough of Hillingdon at Harefield by Denham, south of Chalfont St Peter and north bordering villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Iver Heath and St ...

, Buckinghamshire.

History

The company was founded to build the designs of

C.H. Latimer-Needham Cecil Hugh (''Chookie'') Latimer-Needham (20 February 1900 – 5 May 1975) was a British aircraft designer, inventor and aviation author. He is best remembered for the series of aircraft he designed for the Luton Aircraft company and his invention ...

and was based at

Barton-Le-Clay Airfield Barton-Le-Clay Airfield (Barton In The Clay Aerodrome) was first established in 1935 to the west of the village, on farmland owned by the nearby Brook End Green Farm. Its first residents were the newly formed Luton Aircraft Limited and The Dunsta ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. The company built two ultralight wooden aircraft designs by C.H. Latimer-Needham in 1936, the

Buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

and L.A.2. The L.A.2 was later rebuilt to become the L.A.3 the prototype for the successful

Luton Minor The Luton L.A.4 Minor was a 1930s United Kingdom, British single-seat high-wing ultra-light aircraft. The prototype was built by the Luton Aircraft, Luton Aircraft Limited, and design plans were later adapted and copies sold for homebuilding. D ...

ultralight homebuilt. The company sold the plans for the Luton Minor to homebuilders. In 1937 the L.A.5 Major was developed, it was a larger high-wing aircraft, only one was built. The company moved to a new factory (the ''Phoenix Works'') in

, Buckinghamshire. The company closed down when the works were destroyed by fire in 1943. In 1958 the designer C.H. Latimer-Needham and A.W.J.G Ord-Hume formed Phoenix Aircraft Limited who acquired the design rights for both the Minor and Major. Latimer-Needham further improved both designs to be sold as plans for homebuilders.

Aircraft

* 1936 – Luton L.A.1 Buzzard I * 1936 – Luton L.A.2 * 1936 – Luton L.A.3 Minor * 1936 – Luton L.A.4 Minor * 1937 – Luton Buzzard II * 1939 – Luton L.A.5 Major

References

* {{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Companies based in Bedfordshire Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom