A Fully Restored ‘76 Hover Jet Is the Best Deal You’ll See Today

Cyber Monday's got nothing on this

November 28, 2016 9:00 am

Due to strict laws governing the flights of repurposed planes, a Hawker Harrier GR3 jet that was restored to glory over the course of 2,000 hours can only be flown in the UK by an RAF pilot.

Luckily, you live in the good ol’ U.S. of A., where the Queen’s buzzkilling rules do not apply.  

Similar to the Harrier model that retired Marine Corps test pilot Art Nalls owns and operates, the GR3 jet restored by Yorkshire-based Jet Art Aviation of Selby is powered by Rolls-Royce engine that gives the single-seat aircraft the distinctive abilities to take off vertically as well as hover.

Last flown in 1990, the restored model was used in Germany and the Falkland Islands before serving as an instructional plane at a Royal Air Force base for 15 years. Given a glossy finish and outfitted with as many of its original components as the restorers could find, JAA says the GR3 is now “not just cosmetically pristine, this machine is alive.”

Alive: yes. Good on gas: uh …

“It burns a little bit of gas,” Nalls told NPR when discussing his 1979 Harrier. “If we’re in a hover, we’re burning a gallon of fuel every two seconds. It can come to a complete stop in the air.”

Nalls declined to reveal what he spent on his ‘79 jet and JAA has taken a similar tactic, only noting that offers will have to start in the “low hundreds of thousands” to be considered.

Save money for gas.

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