96 FLYPAST June 2018
FROM THE WORKSHOP HARRIER
A scheme was hatched to place the
Harrier with a suitable owner and
return her to the 1969 air race and
GR.1 specification.
At Gosport, the Harriers had
been kept outside and by 2012 their
exteriors had become rather shabby
with the paintwork weathered. It was
clear from the first viewing that a
great deal of work would be needed
to return it to former glory.
During a busy and logistically
challenging week that September,
XV741 was dismantled and extracted
from Gosport by low-loader. Safely
unloaded at the Jet Art workshop,
XV741 was put inside and came
under cover for the first time in
over five years.Labour of love
A full survey was conducted to find
out what defects were present, what
the restoration would require and
what parts would be needed to put it
back to GR.1 status. The aircraft was
found to be very complete with the
Pegasus fitted and cockpit equipped
and in good order.
From further research it became
apparent that very few GR.1
specification examples are extant
so doing this job accurately would
result in the finished article being
something quite special. It was
decided to restore XV741 to a top-
end museum display standard
with the possibility of making it
electrically live.Sqn Ldr Tom Lecky-Thompson
in 1969.Harrier XV741 at Gosport in September- Note the GR.3 extended nose and RWR
fairing on the fi n.
Jet Art’s Chris Wilson reunited
Tom Lecky-Thompson with the
unrestored XV741 in
April 2015.XV744, piloted by Sqn Ldr Graham
Williams.
The jump jet stole the show and
grabbed all the headlines. Images of
Tom’s take-off in London and landing
in New York ended up on the front
pages of newspapers all over the
world. A stupendous public relations
triumph for the Harrier, the RAF and
the British aviation industry.
A penchant for
Harriers
FlyPast’s very own contributing
editor Ken Ellis had previously
described Jet Art Aviation as having
a “particular penchant’’ for Harriers
and he is not wrong. The company
has a real passion for the iconic type
and to be involved in the restoration
of this particular example with such
a serious provenance was the stuff
of legend.
Harrier XV741 ended its RAF
days as a GR.3 with an upgraded
Pegasus, plus a laser ranging
and marked-target seeker in an
elongated nose and radar warning
receiver (RWR) on the fin.
In April 1991 it was issued to the
Royal Navy at Culdrose, Cornwall,
for use by the School of Aircraft
Handling. Laid out on the airfield
was a dummy carrier deck where
the Harriers were used as stand-in
Sea Harriers so that personnel could
be trained how to manoeuvre them
prior to experiencing the real thing
on the high seas, embarked on HMS
Illustrious and Invincible.
Following the retirement of Sea
Harrier FA.2s from Royal Navy
service in 2006, XV741 was moved
in February 2008 to HMS Sultan,
Gosport in Hampshire. Four years
later the Ministry of Defence put
XV741 and another example, XV808,
up for disposal by competitive
tender.
Jet Art Aviation put together its
bid and prepared a dismantling
and extraction plan backed up by
appropriate engineering expertise.
In July 2012, we found we had been
successful and that XV741 would be
coming to Jet Art.