Gnat G-NATY at Hurn – 6th Sept

Yesterday (Thursday) I took the chance to go to Bournemouth in the hope of seeing G-NATY outside for the first time – I wasn’t disappointed!
Not only was she outside, but she was being prepped to fly!

The guys at de-Havilland, led by PK, have done a superb job with the restoration of the machine, as have the re-finishers for the paintwork.

Well-known (deep breath) Hunter, Sea Vixen, Canberra, Meteor, Jet Provost, Vampire and Gnat pilot Brian Grant was on hand to do the test flight – she’s pictured here taxiing out in a “what could have been” pose 🙂

Back to colour…

The heat-haze was very strong all morning!

Unfortunately did not occur due to a technical problem, and Brian immediately curtailed the take-off run and taxied straight back to the dispersal.

Following Brian’s surprisingly easy exit (He’s well over 6ft!) from the aeroplane, it was towed back to the DHA hangar where its engineers immediately began work on her.
Brian was not finished there however, as he flew JP T.5 XW291 (G-BWCS) on a test flight later in the afternoon.

All images were shot on a Canon 10D, the results from yesterday adding to the very encouraging start I have had with it.

Comments always welcome in whatever guise, either on board or via PM.

Thanks for looking,
Mark