Folland Gnat - Survivor XM697 (ex G-NAAT)

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T.1 XM697 - Reynards Nursery (on display), Carluke, Scotland

Gnat T.1 XM697 at Carluke, 21st March 2009; demobbed.org.uk

XM697 was a pre-production T.1, first flown on 16th March 1961 and spending most of her active career with the Ministry of Aviation (A&AEE and HSA) for trials work. Her last active years were spent as a chase aircraft with Hawkers at Dunsfold and she was retired in 1968. 1349 (Woking) ATC squadron looked after her for some years before she was sold on in the mid 1980s. Owned by the late John Hallett and put on display at the Bournemouth Aviation Museum, she was moved to Exeter by road in October 2002 and languished there until 2006 when she left for her new home at a garden centre in Scotland, and is now on display there, gaining the inevitable and inappropriate Red Arrows colours in the process.

Information on this page current as of 09/10/2010, last updated by Damien

Find other photos of XM697 on the following sites:

Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net

Ian Donnachie from carluke	Posted at 4:50pm on Sunday, June 4th, 2017
No longer at garden center, has been sold.
Don Macbeth from Airdrie	Posted at 5:17pm on Monday, May 6th, 2013
We dropped by the garden centre earlier today, & she's looking a little rough. Now been moved under cover in a purpose-built shelter (which they were working on while we were there), she's missing the tip off her nose & a panel on top of the fuselage behind the canopy. Also looks like a dent on top too & the paintwork's peeling. However, judging by the work on the new shelter, I'd guess she's about to be given a makeover.
Paul Fry from East Sussex UK	Posted at 4:48pm on Monday, June 18th, 2012
N.B. This Gnat was (already?)in spurious Red Arrows colours (complete with the full red white and blue tail fin, not just a small RAF tail flash) whilst in the care of 1349 Woking ATC Sqn, i.e. prior to sale on to Bournemouth. As Greg De Freitas says in his posts in APril 2011, we got the nav lights working, quite impressive in the evening half light and we also successfully got the undercarriage hydraulics working in the mid 70's - we cycled the gear a few times with the aircraft up on jacks - impress... read more »read more »
Kerr Davidson from Airdrie, Scotland	Posted at 11:42pm on Thursday, August 11th, 2011
The condition of this Gnat is terrible. Tires burst, paint flaking and the canopy has been left open for a while leaving the cockpit open to the elements.
David McNay from Carluke, Scotland	Posted at 12:09am on Monday, May 2nd, 2011
I live about five minutes drive from this garden centre - this Gnat is in need of some TLC, and there appears to be a panel behind the cockpit missing. There's several white patches where it appears to have been repainted. I'll try and get up to date pictures.
Greg De Freitas from Grenada	Posted at 2:22pm on Friday, April 15th, 2011
I wonder if the hydraulics and navigation lights are still working? They were when I last sat in the cockpit, circa 1975! I always wondered how much it cost in electricity to run the 24 Volts DC system to power it up. I was a Senior Cadet Sergeant back then, and we (1349 Squadron) were quite proud of our 2-seater Gnat.
Greg De Freitas from Grenada	Posted at 2:18pm on Friday, April 15th, 2011
I wonder if the hydraulics and navigation lights are still working? They were when I last sat in the cockpit, circa 1975!

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