Pilot September 2017

http://www.pilotweb.aero Pilot September 2017 | 31

roll rate and that gentle control inputs are
the ideal. With this in mind I take a light
hold of the stick. Our main concern is that
at 250kt I don’t spear us up into controlled
airspace. I’d set the altimeter before we
took off but the easiest instrument to read
is the VSI so I keep an eye on that to make
sure I’m not putting the Lilliput jet into a
climb. Actually, it’s not twitchy in pitch at

all−less so than the RV. And it isn’t

nervous in roll either, but it does gently roll

a few degrees from side to side. After a few

moments it’s clear that the best approach is

to let it self-correct rather than try and

cancel it out with the ailerons.

We’re in contact with Southend now

which means I can nudge the throttle

forward. “Try about eighty per cent,” says

Brenninkmeyer. Far from the delay I was

expecting, the Gnat immediately surges

forward and in a remarkably short time

the ASI is reading 350kt. Now we really

are clipping along and I suspect that

there is a massive grin on my face,

uncomfortable oxygen mask permitting.

With this extra airspeed the Gnat has

stopped rolling from side to side and is

now completely stable. We’re warned of a

Cessna out to our left (and he’s warned

‘Gnat at your nine o’clock, fast moving’)

but he’s passed in a flash.

We’re now at the coast north of

Felixstowe and south of Sizewell. There’s a

temporary purple airway to our north so we

have limited space for Brenninkmeyer to do

a few aeros. He starts with a couple of

twinkle rolls. You’re obliged to pause

between each roll in the Gnat because a

string of them risks inertia coupling causing

control difficuties. “It rolls quickly,” he says,

“so be ready.” It does too−about 360

degrees per second. Not as mad as an Sbach

but very brisk. My turn. Lift the nose but

nowhere near the ‘ankles on the horizon’

that the RV requires, and bang. Beautiful!

Brenninkmeyer explains to me that the

Gnat, due to its swept back wings, doesn’t

stall like a conventional aircraft and has a

wide buffet margin. As the angle of attack

increases you get a mush with a massive

Colin Goodwin | Gnat pilot

Taxying must be done slowly and carefully to avoid sucking any FOD into an engine

The undercarriage is only 5ft 1in wide and the

wingspan 24ft — narrower than that of Colin’s RV-7