Kim in the Folland Gnat T.1 XR537 of Jet Heritage Bournemouth

Pictures and information by
Kim Raquet, UK, 1999
(see insert bottom left)

The Wonderful World of Vehicles

by Kurt Ristniemi

Restored Gnats

Kim Raquet,
the Gnat rebuilder
in Southampton, UK

Restored Gnats Page
The Gnat Main Page

If you have further information on Restored Gnats,
please let me know on the front page.

Page updated 17.08.2005
published 16.08.2005

© Kurt Ristniemi, 1999-2005

Kim's photos of restored Folland Gnats

Gnat T.1 XM693 at Biggen Hill

Gnat T.1 G-FRCE
Ex XS104

The T.1 XR537 cockpit

Cockpit of  Folland Gnat T.1 XR537  (XR537/8642M/G-NATY)

Starboard instruments of XR537

Gnats of the page

F.1 XK740 in the Southampton Hall of Aviation Museum

T.1 XR537 at the Bournemouth Aviation Museum

In the Southampton Hall of Aviation Museum you can find the Folland Gnat F.1 XK740. It has an original Folland ejection seat restored and fitted by Kim Raquet. The seat is similar to the one seen on the WWV 'Folland Gnat FR Mk.1' page. 

And original F.1 ejection seat and the T.1 seat removed from the F.1 XK740, with its Batman ears cut off

Before restoration the jet had  a T.1 ejector seat, whose 'batman ears' had been cut off to fit in the F.1 cabin. The batman ears were points on top of the seat frame, whose purpose was to break the perspex canopy on ejection to prevent the pilot from cutting himself.

The british unofficially call the ejection seat the 'bang seat'. 

Another Folland Gnat with which Kim has worked is the T.1 XR537 (G-NATY) now in the Bournemouth Aviation Museum.

The header picture with Kim and the cockpit pictures show details of the XR537. 

The short nosed Folland Gnat T.MK.1XM693 (7891M) development & trial version in Red Arrows livery on a plinth at Hamble where she was originally built

A Yellowjack showing the characteristic form of the Folland Gnat T.1.

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