Restored former Aurigny Islander moved to museum
A RESTORED 1967 Islander aircraft that was one of the first to be flown by Aurigny has made its final journey, to a museum in the Isle of Wight.
The plane has been restored by a group of enthusiasts, the Britten-Norman Aircraft Preservation Society, after it was found derelict in Puerto Rico in the late 1990s.
The aircraft, registration G-AVCN, was the third one produced by Britten-Norman at Bembridge Airport, IoW, and is the oldest one of its type in existence.
Its maiden flight was from Bembridge on 24 April 1967 and it entered service with Aurigny on 1 March 1968.
It later flew in the Caribbean before being left at Isla Grande Airport in Puerto Rico, where it was stripped of useful parts.
That was where it was discovered and, thanks to the efforts of Britten-Norman historians and sponsorship by aviation consultant Airstream International, it was brought back to the Isle of Wight in early 2000.
The original aim had been for it to be restored to fly, but that did not work out.
Work to rebuild it as a static exhibit started in 2011 and in December 2020 it was moved from the BNAPS workshop in Ryde to the Wight Military and Heritage Museum at Northwood, near Cowes.
Once it is reassembled it will be unveiled at a special ceremony, which BNAPS chairman Bob Wealthy said was planned originally for April.
‘As of now the team is in lockdown so we cannot start the reassembly and “finishing off” work at the museum,’ he said.
‘Nothing is certain just now but with a bit of luck the unveiling may take place around July/August time this year.’
. The restored Islander is seen as a tribute to John Britten and Desmond Norman, who founded their aviation company in the Isle of Wight in July 1954, and all who worked at Britten-Norman over the years.
