Mr Petter's Baby Jet - The Folland Gnat
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BEagle
In the week before XR541's Mona incident, I sweated blood over that jet in order to eliminate a 'hands-off' roll to stbd (Mr Petter considered aileron trim a bit girly, clearly). Despite my best efforts, this proved to be extremely difficult; repeated Test Flights showed only marginal improvement. I began to wonder if we had a twisted airframe & did datum checks etc, to no avail. In the end, I slaughtered a goat & read its' entrails; this revealed to me a course of remedial action that, even to this day, I am not at liberty to divulge. Problem solved.
As I recall, the front seater QFI in the Mona episode (no spool-up on roller landing?) was Flt Lt Tony D****e, who I subsequently worked with in 4FTS Ground School. The venerable (& previously discussed on PPruNe) Flt Lt Douggie Mee was in the back seat. All ended well, despite having driven through the wooden fence, methinks.
Tony D also had to functionally test his bang seat when he had a Gnat fuel pump(?) failure on short finals at Valley in '78(?); he & his stude were able to enjoy a stroll on the beach whilst waiting for 22 Sqn's taxi cab.
Happy days of my youth; nostalgia is not what it used to be..............
HB
In the week before XR541's Mona incident, I sweated blood over that jet in order to eliminate a 'hands-off' roll to stbd (Mr Petter considered aileron trim a bit girly, clearly). Despite my best efforts, this proved to be extremely difficult; repeated Test Flights showed only marginal improvement. I began to wonder if we had a twisted airframe & did datum checks etc, to no avail. In the end, I slaughtered a goat & read its' entrails; this revealed to me a course of remedial action that, even to this day, I am not at liberty to divulge. Problem solved.
As I recall, the front seater QFI in the Mona episode (no spool-up on roller landing?) was Flt Lt Tony D****e, who I subsequently worked with in 4FTS Ground School. The venerable (& previously discussed on PPruNe) Flt Lt Douggie Mee was in the back seat. All ended well, despite having driven through the wooden fence, methinks.
Tony D also had to functionally test his bang seat when he had a Gnat fuel pump(?) failure on short finals at Valley in '78(?); he & his stude were able to enjoy a stroll on the beach whilst waiting for 22 Sqn's taxi cab.
Happy days of my youth; nostalgia is not what it used to be..............
HB
Last edited by Halton Brat; 12th Aug 2011 at 08:33.
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There was one single seat proof of concept aircraft built as a Private Venture and called the Midge. It was flight tested by pilots from various Air Forces and crashed after flying over 200 sorties. (wiki)
The UK's 6 x Gnat F1 fighters were used by the Ministry of Supply as development aircraft, but as far as I'm aware, were never used by the RAF.
The Midge was even smaller and lighter than the Gnat fighter, with an MTOW of only 4500lb and was powered by a Viper engine. The Gnat F1, though with a wingspan only 1ft greater than the Midge, had an MTOW of twice that and was powered by an Orpheus with about 3 times the thrust of the Viper.
I remember Douggie Mee talking about the Mona incident when I went back to do a Hawk 'refresher' course at Valley in 1980. If I recall correctly, the engine stagnated during a roller and the brakes weren't up to stopping the little monster - so it went for a stroll across country off the end of the RW.
The Midge was even smaller and lighter than the Gnat fighter, with an MTOW of only 4500lb and was powered by a Viper engine. The Gnat F1, though with a wingspan only 1ft greater than the Midge, had an MTOW of twice that and was powered by an Orpheus with about 3 times the thrust of the Viper.
I remember Douggie Mee talking about the Mona incident when I went back to do a Hawk 'refresher' course at Valley in 1980. If I recall correctly, the engine stagnated during a roller and the brakes weren't up to stopping the little monster - so it went for a stroll across country off the end of the RW.
Loads of these seemed to end up in the USA.
Demobbed - Out of Service British Military Aircraft
Any idea why they were/are so popular over there? Didn't the Yanks have an equivalent?
Demobbed - Out of Service British Military Aircraft
Any idea why they were/are so popular over there? Didn't the Yanks have an equivalent?
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No doubt this was due to:
High net-worth individuals, looking for toys.
Low fuel costs (at the time).
More user-friendly regulatory environment.
The maintenance hrs per flying hr for the Gnat would be very high, as they were in RAF service. This is a very complex aircraft; engine removal requires tail assy removal. On refitting the tail, the Horizontal Stab incidence angles are measured with a Clinometer, to within a few minutes of a degree tolerance. Adjusting the Stab either took a half-day, or several days, depending on your luck. The Liquid Oxygen Tank also required tail removal for access; deep joy. Fully-powered flying controls with manual reversion, Q-feel, datum shift of Stab on landing gear selection, Hobson Power Unit for the Stab; all crammed into a tiny package. You needed x2 elbows in each double-length arm to do anything.
Loved it though!
HB
No doubt this was due to:
High net-worth individuals, looking for toys.
Low fuel costs (at the time).
More user-friendly regulatory environment.
The maintenance hrs per flying hr for the Gnat would be very high, as they were in RAF service. This is a very complex aircraft; engine removal requires tail assy removal. On refitting the tail, the Horizontal Stab incidence angles are measured with a Clinometer, to within a few minutes of a degree tolerance. Adjusting the Stab either took a half-day, or several days, depending on your luck. The Liquid Oxygen Tank also required tail removal for access; deep joy. Fully-powered flying controls with manual reversion, Q-feel, datum shift of Stab on landing gear selection, Hobson Power Unit for the Stab; all crammed into a tiny package. You needed x2 elbows in each double-length arm to do anything.
Loved it though!
HB
Last edited by Halton Brat; 12th Aug 2011 at 14:16.
Thanks for the link, HaveQuick2!
I'm glad to see that XR977 has been preserved at Cosford! I was the first of my course to solo on the Gnat and did so on 4 Mar 1975 in XR977. Just a quick 0:30 around Anglesey, then 3 circuits all of which went very smoothly.
Ironically, I was cleared solo by the QFI who had said the day before (about my Ex9): "Right, you dangerous little bugger, you can do that trip again!".
Such helpful debriefs we had in those days! I can't remember what I'd allegedly done wrong, but remember his words quite clearly! But he did the re-fly, so must have been happy the second time.
I'm glad to see that XR977 has been preserved at Cosford! I was the first of my course to solo on the Gnat and did so on 4 Mar 1975 in XR977. Just a quick 0:30 around Anglesey, then 3 circuits all of which went very smoothly.
Ironically, I was cleared solo by the QFI who had said the day before (about my Ex9): "Right, you dangerous little bugger, you can do that trip again!".
Such helpful debriefs we had in those days! I can't remember what I'd allegedly done wrong, but remember his words quite clearly! But he did the re-fly, so must have been happy the second time.
Saw one on the ramp at Sharm El Sheikh last year when I was 'passing through'. Not sure where he was going but he looked tiny parked next to the bigger civjets.
I have a piccy at home somewhere.
I have a piccy at home somewhere.
I was wandering around Chino a few years ago and came across a Gnat all done out like Red Arrow. There was a young, bored looking lad fiddling with it and he was eventually joined by a scruffy looking elderly bloke. I asked if it was going to fly and they confirmed that it was so I waited for the hotshot pilot to arrive. In the meantime, I disclosed my futile claim to a back seat ride as the son in law of Petter's cousin.
Then the scruffy bloke came out with a red helmet, jumped in, started up and went flying.
Still, I would probably have been sick.
Then the scruffy bloke came out with a red helmet, jumped in, started up and went flying.
Still, I would probably have been sick.
Wander00 they were owned by MoS, flew in RAF markings (XK724, XK739-741, XK767 & XK768), were flown and assessed by RAF pilots, but were not actually operated by the RAF.
Pictures:
Pictures:
Dog Tired
Fantom - when was that photo taken?
Also noted, on the top of the hood is the famous Harry Apiafi, no less.
Last edited by fantom; 12th Aug 2011 at 20:34.
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he Gnat in the photo always needed left aileron trim after that, nobody ever knew quite sure why...