Pilot September 2017

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

sink rate. A loop, as he demonstrates, is
flown at the ‘nibble’−the onset of buffet.
We haven’t got a high enough cloudbase
for me to try one but the man in front does
a lovely, tidy one. Anyway, if I haven’t
done quite a lot of aerobatics within the
last few days−and I’ve not−I start to feel
sick very quickly. And the Gnat’s cockpit
would be very difficult to clean...
We turn the jet back towards North
Weald and again I take over. It’s so
smooth through the air, no vibration at all
and hardly any noise. So different from
being in a big piston-engined machine. In
a Spitfire you have the constant
hammering and vibration from the
Merlin, lovely as it
is, to give you the
feeling that you are
being punched
through the air. The
Gnat’s smoothness
and tranquillity
gives the
impression that the
air has given up trying to drag us back
and is letting us slice our way through.
Within a very short time the
North Weald circuit is on our nose.
Brenninkmeyer will demonstrate the
classic ‘run and break’ to knock our speed
down to more suitable numbers for
downwind and final approach. They’re
still big numbers. Depending on weight,
the over-the-hedge speed varies between
130 and 145kt. Those figures seem scary

but in reality when our man brings us in

it’s a non-event. From my restricted-view

perch in the back I can see that he flies us

onto the runway rather than floats us onto

it. We’re really cracking along and I can

feel that Brenninkmeyer is doing a lot of

taildragger-style work with his feet to keep

the Gnat straight and true. Looking at the

ridiculously narrow 5ft 1in undercarriage

I’d suspected that some concentration

would be required. The brakes are

incredibly effective and in short order

we are taxying off the runway.

All of this has been an extremely

undisappointing experience. So different

from anything else that I’ve been in or

taken control of. I’d

imagine that flying

in formation with

another Gnat and

then aerobatting in

company with it

would be the

ultimate buzz.

There is another

Gnat in the trust, the yellow machine

once owned by Pink Floyd’s David

Gilmour, but Brenninkmeyer’s eyes really

sparkle when he talks about the single-

seat fighter version that they’re readying

for the air. It’s lighter than the trainer and

should be even more exciting. You can

see the gas extraction ports in the engine

intakes where the original cannons were

fitted.

Trustee pilots

The Heritage Aircraft Trust operates

the Gnats via a limited company.

The group is on the lookout for a

couple more trustee-pilots. Clearly,

running and maintaining the jets is

hugely expensive so the numbers

are big. A new trustee has to bring

with him or her £75,000 which will

be put into the trust. It’s not a share,

so once it’s handed over that’s it.

Then there’s a monthly fee of £2,500

to cover hangarage, maintenance

and all other standing costs

including engineer Peter Walker,

who is the most experienced (he’s

ex-RAF) Gnat engineer in the world,

and a couple of apprentices.

Large sums of money, but as I

point out to Brenninkmeyer, not so

outrageous when compared to

other extreme adrenaline hobbies.

Running a classic Formula One car

for example. A friend who does just

this in historic racing reckons that a

European meeting will cost him

around £15,000 for the weekend and

that a full rebuild for a Cosworth

DFV is around £100,000. In that

Colin Goodwin | Gnat pilot

context, the cost of putting yourself into

the Gnat isn’t any more extreme. Each

sortie costs around £1,000 in Jet A1

which wouldn’t buy you a set of slicks

for your old F1 car. Anyway, it’s

somewhat pointless talking about pound

notes because most of us are not in this

league and have enough trouble putting a

few litres of 100LL in our machines and

paying for the hangarage. But there are

others for whom cash isn’t an issue and

for them the Gnat will provide a thrilling

experience. If there is a distant aunt who

I don’t know about but who is about to

leave me millions, I will for sure be

writing Mr Brenninkmeyer and his fellow

trustees a fat cheque. A blast in a Gnat

once a fortnight would contrast nicely

with flights in my Hawker Sea Fury.

Canopy open — it’s time to take off the helmet. Did he
enjoy the sortie? The grin says it all

The Gnat’s skinny

tyres will kiss the

surface at between

135 and 150kt