The Tangmere Folland Gnat restoration begins.
Folland Gnat T.1 XR571 first flew on the 4th of October 1963 and last flew in 1975, after a heavy landing at RAF Valley. Although painted in Red Arrows colours she was never a flying display aircraft, but acted as their station ‘gate guard’ at RAF Brampton and Kemble. When the Red Arrows moved to RAF Scampton, XR571 became the ‘gate guard’ there. When Scampton closed in 2022, XR571 was put up for disposal. She spent a short while at Washford Farm before arriving at Tangmere on the 28th of April 2023. The Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engine is not installed.
Picture of Gnat outside prior to work beginning. (See Below)
Following a period of careful planning, on the 5th of October 2023, XR571 was moved into the museum’s Conservation Hangar. This first required the construction of a temporary hangar to house items displaced from the conservation hangar, then required a process of ‘musical aeroplanes’, first the removal of the Vampire, then a general tidy-up, then the installation of the Gnat into the back of the hangar, and finally moving the Vampire back into the hangar.
The Conservation Hangar is slightly higher than the surrounding car park and a small ramp joins the two surfaces. Moving the Vampire was facilitated by placing ‘dollies’ under the wheels. Moving the aircraft down and then back up the ramp was made easier by using a winch and cable arrangement which enabled precise control. Although both aircraft are minus their engines and fairly light, going up the ramp would have been almost impossible without the winch.
The careful planning paid dividends when the aircraft fitted back into the hangar just as expected.
Aircraft jacks were placed under the Gnat for a later stage when the gear is planned to be removed. As of that date, the aircraft was sitting on the ‘dollies’.
Using manuals supplied with the aircraft, a comprehensive restoration work-scope was developed by the museum’s Engineering Department. This covers all planned stages of the restoration and allows for any discrepancies found during the disassembly and inspection phase. A significant aspect of the planned work-scope involved the separation of the rear fuselage from the aircraft.
A cradle to support the rear fuselage has been fabricated by the museum’s Special Projects Department. It is constructed with facilities to adjust the height and angle of the rear fuselage during reinstallation. A ‘dummy run’ was conducted on the 9th of October 2023 to ensure the cradle would work appropriately when used ‘in anger’.
Once satisfied that everything was ready, with the cradle in place and ‘taking the weight’, on the 14th of October2023, the eight securing nuts were loosened off and the rear fuselage was separated from the rest of the aircraft. A collective sigh of relief could be heard from everyone present! The two halves of the aircraft were moved apart for the first time in many years. They now sit about a metre apart allowing access to the inside of the fuselage and enabling removal of components and treatment of internal corrosion. Will they ever join together again!
Throughout November and December 2023, the planned removal of flight controls began. This work was frustrated by the difficult removal of obstinate screws in access panels. Many required drilling out, but a drill extraction tool enabled many to be removed undamaged. The ailerons and flaps have been removed from the wings, followed by the elevators and rudder from the aft fuselage. Work has already started on inspection of these control surfaces and careful preparation for their painting
Although space inside the fuselage is limited, work has begun on careful inspection for corrosion and removal of some components to facilitate cleaning and detailed reprotection. Although the plan for the interior of the aircraft is somewhat fluid and dependent upon the eventual restoration result, it is hoped that it will be possible for this area to be visible (and illuminated) through the rear of the fuselage.
One large area of corrosion was already known about, this being at the aft-most section of the fuselage at the six o’clock position. The skin of the Gnat is quite thin, and galvanic corrosion had occurred at frame 30 where a steel ‘top-hat’ section meets a Dural aluminium section. This corrosion had migrated into the adjoining skin, leaving a sizeable hole. A detailed repair was drawn up by museum engineering staff and as of March 2024 is currently in work. Whilst most of the repair is simple sheet metal work, involving an internal doubler with a flush repair section, the fabrication of frame repair sections will involve the museum’s special projects department. It will require the folding of the ‘top-hat’ section as a straight piece, and then the ‘shrinking’ of this into a curved section. This is much easier to write about than it is to do!
Whilst work at the back of the fuselage goes on, plenty is happening at the other end! Work around the canopy has started.
The canopy has been removed to allow its restoration, and also access to the front and rear cockpits.
These will become very busy areas as a full scope of work is planned to make them very presentable.
The front windshield will also be removed as it has become faded. A replacement is already in hand.
As of April 2023, work began to remove and restore the nose and main undercarriage legs.
The museum’s engineers work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and whilst the Gnat is not the only work being undertaken, it does constitute the larger part of the workload. It is difficult to set a timescale for completion at the outset as the full scale of work is as yet unknown. It will become apparent as the work progresses. Work will be done to the highest non-flying presentation standard, and it is hoped that it will enable the preservation of the Gnat for the pleasure of museum visitors for many years to come.
Considerable progress was made in the latter part of April, and on the second of May the rudder was removed, and then the landing gear came out.
The rudder, which was quite difficult to remove, was fettled near to the aircraft and the nose gear, which was also a challenge to remove, joined the two mains in the temporary ‘gear bay’.
Follow us as we progress through the restoration of the Gnat. Contribute with questions or suggestions. Be kind; we’re all volunteers, contributing our years of engineering experience to keep the aircraft ‘alive; for our visitors.
