Folland Gnat - Survivor XR538 (G-RORI)
T.1 XR538 - Heritage Aircraft Ltd. (flyer, Gnat Display Team), St Athan, Wales
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Gnat T.1 XR538 at North Weald (with XR992), 29th September 2018; Damien Burke
First flown on 21st June 1963 and serving exclusively with 4 FTS, XR538 ended her career by being withdrawn to the care of 5 MU at Kemble in November 1978. Delivered to RAF Halton as instructional airframe 8621M in March 1979, she was disposed of in the 1990s and acquired by Rory McCarthy (hence the registration of G-RORI).
Initially wearing a black and yellow scheme, she has changed hands several times in the ensuing years and while with Delta Jets from 2002 to 2005 was restored to a beautifully accurate rendition of her 4 FTS colours of the mid 1970s. Currently owned by Heritage Aircraft Ltd. and based at North Weald (the UK centre of Gnat flying - all the flyers are based there), she is still a regular airshow performer.
During the latter part of 2024, the Gnat Display Team began moving some of their assets from North Weald over to St Athan, which saw XR538 arrive in July 2024.
Initially wearing a black and yellow scheme, she has changed hands several times in the ensuing years and while with Delta Jets from 2002 to 2005 was restored to a beautifully accurate rendition of her 4 FTS colours of the mid 1970s. Currently owned by Heritage Aircraft Ltd. and based at North Weald (the UK centre of Gnat flying - all the flyers are based there), she is still a regular airshow performer.
During the latter part of 2024, the Gnat Display Team began moving some of their assets from North Weald over to St Athan, which saw XR538 arrive in July 2024.
Information on this page current as of 20/08/2025, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XR538 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net