XR987 was first flown on the 15th of May 1964. She flew with both the Yellowjacks and Red Arrows aerobatic teams. Retired in 1979, by 1987 she had been disposed of and was in open storage at Cranfield.

At some point in the early 1990s, she was acquired by a US owner and transported to the USA. In December 1995 she was issued with a new certificate of airworthiness as N7CV and based at Wilmington, Delaware. She changed hands in 2007, joining the International Aero Preservation Society. In 2011 she moved to Pembroke Pines in Florida.

In late 2020 Matt Wilcock fulfilled a lifelong dream to own a Gnat and acquired her, then it was shipped to its new home in New Zealand.