AP 118 · No. 10 Section II · Aircraft 1965

Aircraft hub · 1965 · Cold War

Britten-Norman Islander & Trislander

The Land Rover of the air, still built on the Isle of Wight; the Trislander put a third engine on the tail, why not. The gazetteer currently lists it at 5 UK museums.

1965
First flight
~1,280
Built
170 mph
Top speed
5
Museums

Last verified 2026-10-11 against the gazetteer Compendium. Airframes move — confirm on museum pages before travel.

On charge

Where to see the Britten-Norman Islander & Trislander in the UK

The gazetteer records 5 Britten-Norman Islander & Trislander airframes (including cockpit sections and replicas where noted) across 5 UK collections, in 3 regions: East of England, South East England, Scotland.

MuseumCityRegionAirframes recorded
Army Flying MuseumChecked 2026-10-08 Stockbridge South East England Britten-Norman Islander AL.1 ZG993
Gatwick Aviation MuseumChecked 2026-10-08 Gatwick South East England Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander
IWM DuxfordChecked 2026-10-08 Cambridge East of England Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk III Trislander G-BEVT
National Museum Of FlightChecked 2026-10-08 North Berwick Scotland Britten-Norman Islander G-BELF
Solent SkyChecked 2026-10-08 Southampton South East England Britten-Norman BN-1F G-ALZE

3D model

The BN-2A-26 Islander in 3D

A procedural model built in Blender from the type’s published dimensions, painted as G-BELF, a Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander, construction number 823, built at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight and registered in January 1977, flown in West Germany as D-IBRA from 1977 to 1987, then by Atlantic Air Transport at Coventry, parachuting operators and Cormack (Aircraft Services) at Cumbernauld, re-registered G-HEBZ in 2007 and given by George Cormack to the National Museum of Flight: overall lime yellow with black ‘SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE’ titles along both sides below the cabin windows, the Scottish Ambulance Service crest aft of the titles, black ‘G-BELF’ on the rear fuselage, two thin black stripes along the lower rear fuselage, a saltire on the fin, yellow spinners and grey two-blade propellers with white tips, the air-ambulance colours it wears as displayed at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune, standing for the Islanders that flew the Scottish air ambulance although this airframe never did. Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom · all 215 models · download .glb (1.1 MB) · Plate 190 in The Hangar

Computed from the survey

Collection context

Types you’ll see alongside

Harrier family, Blackburn Buccaneer, de Havilland Canada Chipmunk, de Havilland Dove family, de Havilland Sea Vixen.

Where the type is thickest

South East England has 3 collections recording the type.

Marks and variants recorded

Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk III Trislander; Britten-Norman Islander AL.1.

Type notes

The Britten-Norman Islander & Trislander in brief

TypeBritten-Norman Islander & Trislander
UK museums holding one5
Airframes recorded in this survey5

Serials are the gazetteer's survey snapshot of what each collection records on charge — restorations move between workshops and reserve hangars, so check the museum page for opening times and current display status before travelling. Every type across 119 museums is indexed in the Compendium.

Aircraft questions

Frequently asked

How many Britten-Norman Islander & Trislander airframes are left in the UK?

The Aviation Gazetteer records 5 Britten-Norman Islander & Trislander airframes in UK collections.

Which museum has the most Britten-Norman Islander & Trislander airframes?

Army Flying Museum has the most in this survey, with 1 recorded airframe.