Folland Gnat - Survivor IE296 (aka E296, G-SLYR)
F.1 IE296 - Gnat Display Team (taxiable, restoration to fly), North Weald airfield, Essex
 |  |  |
Gnat F.1 IE296 at North Weald, 29th September 2018; Damien Burke
IE296 is a Gnat F.1 built in 1967 by HAL at their Bangalore factory. I don't have any information her service history other than that she was redesignated E296 at one point. By 1986 she had been retired and was to be found in David Tallichet's collection at Chino in the USA. George Perez then acquired her in 1989 and registered her as N296PS but she was never actually restored to flying condition and soon moved on to the Arlington Air Station Museum. In 2014 she was acquired by the Gnat Display Team who intend to put her on the display circuit (as G-SLYR - Sabre Slayer). If they succeed she'll be the only flying Gnat F.1 in the UK. She's seen here taxiing at the 2018 Jet Fest event, her first public appearance after a quiet restoration that began in 2015. A couple of years after this, she has yet to take to the air though obviously the state of the classic jet airshow scene and 2020's pandemic haven't helped. Fingers crossed for 2021...
Information on this page current as of 03/12/2020, last updated by Damien |
Find other photos of IE296 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net