By Zac Yates
A British-built Folland Gnat trainer that flew with the Royal Air Force’s famed Red Arrows display team is being restored to fly in New Zealand. The aircraft, Gnat T.1 XR987, is the first of its kind in New Zealand and is being worked on near Auckland for Matt Wilcock, an airline captain whose love for the type goes back to his childhood.
Wilcock became hooked on aviation after his parents gave him an aviation picture book on his seventh birthday, the cover of which featured several Red Arrows Gnats. Ever since then he has harboured a desire to own and fly an example of the diminutive jet trainer and purchased this example from the U.S. (where it had flown as N7CV) in 2020.
XR987 — which will fly with the New Zealand civil registration ZK-RAJ (for “Red Arrows Jet”) — first flew on May 15, 1964. It flew with both the the Yellowjacks and Red Arrows demonstration teams before being retired from RAF service in 1979. A period in open storage in the UK followed, but by December 1995 she had reached the U.S. and flew for some years wearing the famous Red Arrows paint scheme. After arriving in New Zealand the aircraft spent some time on public display at the Classic Flyers NZ museum at Tauranga before heading to Paul Levitt’s Aero Restoration facility south of Auckland for recommissioning after several years out of the sky.
“The going has been slow, in terms of having to take a lot of things off the Gnat, redo all the seals, gaskets and go through test to ensure it all works,” Wilcock told Vintage Aviation News, “but now we are at the point that most of that has been done, and now its time to start putting it all back on. I am hopeful of first flight within a year from now.”
We look forward to sharing updates on this exciting project and will soon bring you an in-depth interview with owner Matt Wilcock about his own aviation story, and the turbulent tale of the Gnat’s journey to New Zealand and its return to flight.
Related Articles
Zac, born and raised in New Zealand, grew up immersed in aviation, with his father working as a helicopter crewman and living at Wanganui Airport. His passion for aviation started in childhood, building scale model kits and following the global warbird scene. He later trained as a journalist but found mainstream media unfulfilling, leading him to pursue a career as an aircraft maintenance engineer.
Now residing in Blenheim, near the historic Omaka Aerodrome, Zac studies at RNZAF Base Woodbourne and aspires to become a private and warbird pilot. Known as "Handbag" in aviation circles, he shares his love for aviation through photography and writing, connecting with enthusiasts worldwide.
Was this Gnat in Australia 20 odd yrs back?
Hi Greg! No, this aircraft has never been in Australia.
Hi Greg, the Gnat you are thinking of is now, sadly, on display in a shopping mall in China of all places.