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Desmond Norman
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Desmond Norman
Nigel Desmond Norman, CBE, FRAeS (13 August 1929 – 13 November 2002) was a British 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 and managing director of AeroNorTec (1988–2002). With his longtime friend and business partner John Britten, he also designed, built, and sailed racing yachts, as well as a series of air cushion vehicles and crop spraying equipment. He died of a heart attack at age 73 in 2002.
Norman's grandfather was Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet, a Liberal politician, and his father was aviator and engineer Sir Nigel Norman, 2nd Baronet.
The son of Nigel Norman, he attended Twyford School in Winchester, before being evacuated to the United States during the Second World War. There, he allegedly had a fight with the young Ted Kennedy.[citation needed] Returning to England, he was sent to Eton in 1945. At Eton, he kept a Norton motorbike in town and was given to riding it in school clothes. He was outstanding at sport, particularly on the rugby field and in the Eton Eight, which he stroked at Henley in 1946. He went straight from Eton into a two-year engineering apprenticeship at the de Havilland Technical School. Here, he met John Britten, whose enthusiasm for aircraft design matched his own. The two young men also shared a passion for sailing and one of their first joint commissions was to take an old 80 ft (24 m) ketch across the Atlantic to the Bahamas. As a National Serviceman, he won the Sword of Honour during training, before spending two years in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot. He later joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force No. 601 Squadron RAF. Desmond Norman's older brother Mark Annesley Norman (see Norman Baronets) worked for Bristol Siddeley Engines and later for Britten-Norman as sales manager. Norman was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, regularly raced his own designs and designed and built Wavewalker, a two-masted gaff rigged 70 ft (21 m) schooner, for his family. In early 1953, John Britten and Desmond Norman designed and had built a 21 ft (6.4 m). Junior Offshore Group sailing boat. Prior to turning the Britten-Norman partnership into an incorporated company, Norman spent almost two years as an export assistant with the Society of British Aerospace Companies.
In 1954, Desmond started Britten-Norman with co-founder John Britten, a fellow de Havilland graduate. Norman discovered, in John Britten, a partner who was equally keen to make a career out of aircraft design. The two men built their first aircraft at Britten's home, on the Isle of Wight. The BN1F was a 36 hp (27 kW) ultra-light aircraft. The aircraft was a commercial failure, but with a third partner, Jim McMahon, they formed a crop-spraying company, Crop Culture (Aerial) Ltd. It was to be Norman's first big success. The reason was a revolutionary rotary atomiser, whose potential in aerial work Norman had recognised and set about developing.
Desmond Norman recalled that Britten-Norman came about as an aircraft manufacturer because of his and John Britten's experiences as agricultural operators. The partnership began by converting Tiger Moths for export to New Zealand and later moved on to develop spraying equipment. Edward Bals designed the first Micronair rotary atomiser suitable for mounting on an aircraft but, rather than get involved with aircraft, he encouraged Britten-Norman Limited and Jim McMahon to set up Micronair Limited. At one time, Britten-Norman operated 80 agricultural aircraft and the need to consider replacement equipment led to an association with Leyland Snow of Texas. The company acquired a one-third share in the Snow Aeronautical Corp. equity and a lot of the Snow Commander's development had taken place before the whole enterprise was sold to North American Rockwell. The aircraft became the Rockwell Thrush Commander. The success of the crop spraying operations funded the realisation of Britten and Norman's dream: to design and build an aeroplane. At the time, there was no other aircraft that filled its remit, and Norman foresaw the market potential of an island-hopping passenger plane. In 1963, Norman and Britten sold their share of Crop Culture to other members of the Board, to concentrate their efforts on production of the Britten-Norman Islander. A prototype, G-ATCT, was completed within nine months and made its maiden flight in June 1965. Production was centred at Bembridge, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.
In 1960 Britten-Norman developed the early Cushioncraft with support from Elders and Fyffes Ltd. to look at methods of transporting banana crop from plantations in Southern Cameroons. Cushioncraft Ltd was formed out of the hovercraft division of Britten-Norman. In 1966 the British Hovercraft Corporation Ltd took a 20% shareholding. Britten-Norman Ltd had a shareholding in Hovertravel Ltd (now the world's oldest hovercraft transport company), of which Norman was a director since its inception in 1965. In 1968 he was voted off the Board whilst John Britten remained on the Board. Hoverwork Ltd, a subsidiary of Hovertravel, occupies the former Cushioncraft facilities at Woodnutts yard, Bembridge.
In 1971, Britten-Norman went into liquidation and was purchased by the Fairey Aviation group in 1972, Norman stayed on as managing director until 1976.
Clark-Norman Aircraft Ltd. (Triloader Aircraft Corp. NV Woudstraat 21, B-3600 Genk, Belgium) This company was formed in 1995 to develop the Triloader turbo-prop powered 19,000-pound (8,600 kg) (all-up weight) cargo aircraft. Design offices were based on the Isle of Wight with production undertaken by Triloader Aircraft of Belgium. Norman's co-designer on this aircraft was Alec N. Clark, formerly of Hawker Siddeley. Following the failure to secure long term funding for the Triloader, Clark transformed Triloader Aircraft corp into Wolfsberg Aircraft Corporation NV through which Clark developed the Raven 257 to compete with the BN Islander.
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Desmond Norman
Nigel Desmond Norman, CBE, FRAeS (13 August 1929 – 13 November 2002) was a British 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 and managing director of AeroNorTec (1988–2002). With his longtime friend and business partner John Britten, he also designed, built, and sailed racing yachts, as well as a series of air cushion vehicles and crop spraying equipment. He died of a heart attack at age 73 in 2002.
Norman's grandfather was Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet, a Liberal politician, and his father was aviator and engineer Sir Nigel Norman, 2nd Baronet.
The son of Nigel Norman, he attended Twyford School in Winchester, before being evacuated to the United States during the Second World War. There, he allegedly had a fight with the young Ted Kennedy.[citation needed] Returning to England, he was sent to Eton in 1945. At Eton, he kept a Norton motorbike in town and was given to riding it in school clothes. He was outstanding at sport, particularly on the rugby field and in the Eton Eight, which he stroked at Henley in 1946. He went straight from Eton into a two-year engineering apprenticeship at the de Havilland Technical School. Here, he met John Britten, whose enthusiasm for aircraft design matched his own. The two young men also shared a passion for sailing and one of their first joint commissions was to take an old 80 ft (24 m) ketch across the Atlantic to the Bahamas. As a National Serviceman, he won the Sword of Honour during training, before spending two years in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot. He later joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force No. 601 Squadron RAF. Desmond Norman's older brother Mark Annesley Norman (see Norman Baronets) worked for Bristol Siddeley Engines and later for Britten-Norman as sales manager. Norman was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, regularly raced his own designs and designed and built Wavewalker, a two-masted gaff rigged 70 ft (21 m) schooner, for his family. In early 1953, John Britten and Desmond Norman designed and had built a 21 ft (6.4 m). Junior Offshore Group sailing boat. Prior to turning the Britten-Norman partnership into an incorporated company, Norman spent almost two years as an export assistant with the Society of British Aerospace Companies.
In 1954, Desmond started Britten-Norman with co-founder John Britten, a fellow de Havilland graduate. Norman discovered, in John Britten, a partner who was equally keen to make a career out of aircraft design. The two men built their first aircraft at Britten's home, on the Isle of Wight. The BN1F was a 36 hp (27 kW) ultra-light aircraft. The aircraft was a commercial failure, but with a third partner, Jim McMahon, they formed a crop-spraying company, Crop Culture (Aerial) Ltd. It was to be Norman's first big success. The reason was a revolutionary rotary atomiser, whose potential in aerial work Norman had recognised and set about developing.
Desmond Norman recalled that Britten-Norman came about as an aircraft manufacturer because of his and John Britten's experiences as agricultural operators. The partnership began by converting Tiger Moths for export to New Zealand and later moved on to develop spraying equipment. Edward Bals designed the first Micronair rotary atomiser suitable for mounting on an aircraft but, rather than get involved with aircraft, he encouraged Britten-Norman Limited and Jim McMahon to set up Micronair Limited. At one time, Britten-Norman operated 80 agricultural aircraft and the need to consider replacement equipment led to an association with Leyland Snow of Texas. The company acquired a one-third share in the Snow Aeronautical Corp. equity and a lot of the Snow Commander's development had taken place before the whole enterprise was sold to North American Rockwell. The aircraft became the Rockwell Thrush Commander. The success of the crop spraying operations funded the realisation of Britten and Norman's dream: to design and build an aeroplane. At the time, there was no other aircraft that filled its remit, and Norman foresaw the market potential of an island-hopping passenger plane. In 1963, Norman and Britten sold their share of Crop Culture to other members of the Board, to concentrate their efforts on production of the Britten-Norman Islander. A prototype, G-ATCT, was completed within nine months and made its maiden flight in June 1965. Production was centred at Bembridge, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.
In 1960 Britten-Norman developed the early Cushioncraft with support from Elders and Fyffes Ltd. to look at methods of transporting banana crop from plantations in Southern Cameroons. Cushioncraft Ltd was formed out of the hovercraft division of Britten-Norman. In 1966 the British Hovercraft Corporation Ltd took a 20% shareholding. Britten-Norman Ltd had a shareholding in Hovertravel Ltd (now the world's oldest hovercraft transport company), of which Norman was a director since its inception in 1965. In 1968 he was voted off the Board whilst John Britten remained on the Board. Hoverwork Ltd, a subsidiary of Hovertravel, occupies the former Cushioncraft facilities at Woodnutts yard, Bembridge.
In 1971, Britten-Norman went into liquidation and was purchased by the Fairey Aviation group in 1972, Norman stayed on as managing director until 1976.
Clark-Norman Aircraft Ltd. (Triloader Aircraft Corp. NV Woudstraat 21, B-3600 Genk, Belgium) This company was formed in 1995 to develop the Triloader turbo-prop powered 19,000-pound (8,600 kg) (all-up weight) cargo aircraft. Design offices were based on the Isle of Wight with production undertaken by Triloader Aircraft of Belgium. Norman's co-designer on this aircraft was Alec N. Clark, formerly of Hawker Siddeley. Following the failure to secure long term funding for the Triloader, Clark transformed Triloader Aircraft corp into Wolfsberg Aircraft Corporation NV through which Clark developed the Raven 257 to compete with the BN Islander.
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