B-N Group Ltd has announced the formation of FLY BN Ltd both to provide both a local hub for maintenance and to offer increased support for the entire fleet of Britten-Norman Islander and Trislander aircraft.

Maintenance and support services will also be provided for owners and operators of the upper range of light aircraft with take-off weights up to 5,700 kilos, such as the Beechcraft King Air and Queen Air and Cessna Citation.

Based at Bembridge Airport on the Isle of Wight, FLY BN says it can call upon its sister organisation, Britten-Norman Aircraft, to share its technical knowledge on a ‘need-to-use’ basis to work on areas outside its normal maintenance envelope. The company says it also intends to undertake rotary-wing work.

Managing director James Wilson said: “By separating and expanding the support operation from the manufacturing side, we can now offer an immediate and competitive response to, and rapid turn-round times for, the wide range of work we can carry out under our JAR 145 approvals.

“Our island location just four miles south of Portsmouth is clear of congested airspace and, to assist pilots to get back to a convenient mainland travel network, we are planning a special ‘Home, James!’ scheme as part of the complete FLY BN support service.”