ML Aviation

The company Wrightson Aircraft Sales was formed in 1934, this became Malcolm and Farquharson in 1936 and a separate company R. Malcom & Co was formed from that. By 1939 Malcolm and Farquharson was a holding company for R. Malcolm which made aircraft components including plywood structures. The company expanded due to increased demand during the Second World War. To accommodate this, a drawing office and experimental works was set up at White Waltham in Berkshire with production activities staying at Slough.

In 1943, Mobbs[1] who had bought into R. Malcolm in 1940 took full control of the company with Lobelle, who had left Fairey Aviation Company in 1940 to join R Malcolm, named as chief designer. Lobelle became a director of the company shortly after. The White Waltham site became ML Aviation, the Slough site "ML Engineering".

Post war, ML Aviation made, among other products, aircraft handling and weapons stores equipment.

In 1990, ML Aviation's holding company merged the White Waltham activities with newly acquired Wallop Industries at Andover, Hampshire; ML Engineering subsequently moved from Slough to Andover. In the 1996 ML Aviation took over Nash & Thompson.

In 1997 ML Aviation was acquired by Cobham plc.[2]

• M L Utility[3] - a light aircraft with an inflatable wing. Single prototype XK776 made.[4]
• Hafner Rotabuggy - also known as "Malcolm Rotaplane" was built by R Malcolm to a design by Raoul Hafner at the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment

• ML Aviation