God bless the UK for inventing the versatile Harrier. The AV-8 has served America well in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Kosovo and elsewhere. A big thank you to our British cousins from across the pond!
Our good neighbours the French must also take some small credit in the development of what turned out to be the Harrier. The layout of the Pegasus engine with four nozzles and how it might be utilised in a vtol aircraft was I think initially a French concept which was adopted, realised and built by Hawker and others later. My source is a long lost edition of Aeroplane Magazine (UK) that featured the Harrier story a few years ago now. There were also ideas for a supersonic capable heavy development of the Harrier which never came about.
I built those engines while in the Marines.. I never knew they sounded like a vacuum cleaner when flying them until now. No wonder we had to so much FOD damage..
I always been amazed by this jet, and always wondered how is from the cockpit ... this video is just a dream come true !!! Thanks for sharing !!! Cheers and keep up the good work.
Spent 7 months on that boat in 97. The lawn dart was the bane of my existence. Broke all of the time but interesting to watch. It ain't that awesome Paul.
I used to watch Harriers take off and land from the roof of the old hospital at KAF back in 2006, and they could really move fast. Very loud engine too, but a cool aircraft to watch. They were very busy when I was there.
I wish that TH-cam and GoPros were around in the late 80s when I served as an avionics tech with the VMA-231 Harrier squadron. It would have given me a greater appreciation of what the pilots job was. All I knew was.that they went out fixed and came back broke. Semper Fi.
Outstanding and awesome,take me back to working with harriers in RAF Germany,1971/74 and again 84/87.but removed in the goverment review in 2010,what a shame.
Very, very cool footage! Thanks for sharing. The approach to landing was especially interesting to someone interested in eventually building a VTOL of sorts... Keep up the good work!
fantastic video really gives you a brilliant perspective what is like fly this type plane from taking off to landing - what a dream job to do for a living!
One of the designers of the Kestrel/Harrier was Sidney Camm, the legend responsible for the Hawker Hunter and the Hurricane, one of the planes which saved the free world back in 1940. What a career!.
Love that "never satisfied with technique" head shake at 3:09 or so after touchdown but nothing to be ashamed of... after all, he out it on the deck in 12 seconds from hover where next guy took over 20 and frequency of ops is critical.
Amazing video, thanks! And why can't all there rest of you just enjoy the show - instead of "traitors" and "they built it and we made it better" and such? And what difference does it make who did what on the plane? UK and the US put money into the project at different times, which meant one or the other continued to develop it - but the Harrier is still a very unique plane in that it is so far the most successful VTOL/STOL military craft, and the first VTOL/STOL that has been used in war in large numbers. That has presumably been a great learning experience for military in the UK, the US and the other countries that use the Harrier - how you use such an aircraft most effectively, and what strengths and limitations it has. I guess the more recent VTOL/STOL designs have more than just taken a quick glance at the Harrier when they laid out the initial designs.
This plane was known as the widow-maker by marine pilots for a reason. I know it was retired for other reasons including the expensive update but just do a basic google search on crash rates. There were some high profile deaths in this plane that were deemed preventable.
What was cool to see in Iraq as an Army Aviator was seeing the lower enlisted crew chiefs taking their Harriers to the test stand and sitting in the pilots seat alone, doing engine checks running it up and down. Could have taken off, was chained but still amazing since in the army you don't see that.
I served with a Harrier squadron in the late 80s. Qualified maintenance personnel would "high power" check the engines after and engine change before the pilot would take it out for a spin. I guess we were more "expendable" if something blew up!
They are called low power 0-40% or high power 0-100%+ runs. Usually done to duplicate maintenance gripes or trouble shoot systems. We also did them to test new engines. I did a few in my time in the Corps. Exhilarating experience but you gotta be in your toes watching the numbers
This may have been covered earlier in the comment section so apologies for any redundancy but what is the purpose for the wire above the pilot's head? Does it support the canopy in some way? Thanks.
if i'm not mistaken. i think those wires on top of his head are like those heat wires like when the cockpit glass goes foggy. like in your car you wonder why your back dashboard has lines in the back. its to either melt or defog your glass
series25a Put my servant Google to work and found an interesting result: that wire actually contains a small explosive charge. During the ejection sequence that wire detonates a charge with the blast directed upward to shatter the canopy. In the case of "normal" aircraft there is enough airspeed to get the canopy out of the way of the pilot before he/she ejects. With a VSTOL aircraft that is not the case when the aircraft is hovering. That is the pilot would be launched right into the canopy - see Top Gun for how this turns out! ;) So the charge in that wire shatters the canopy so the pilots head does not have to. Ejecting from a fighter plane sounds like a whole lot of fun! /sarc
RobertKaydoo Robert is right, it is called Miniature Detonating Cord (MDC) The Harrier has to have what is called a zero zero ejector seat. This means that the pilot can eject at zero speed and zero altitude. The seat is propelled high enough for the canopy to deploy.
i flew one of those to the moon and my commander was made of cheese, the blue guy at the top of the ladder waved his nose at me and we all jumped into warm marmalade and pilchards
You know when I see these aircraft take off and land vertical it reminds me of those SCFI movies like Aliens where there going to different plants....really cool.
That's a good landing. @sbjenties is right Navy/USMC gear is different than AF. It's made for ship board landings and ops. I've seen some hard/cockeyed landings and most of the time gear took the punishment. I've seen them land so soft a baby wouldn't wake up in the cockpit. This landing is right on espacially on a moving target.
Spot on fella. I'm a Brit and an aircraft geek so I'm naturally proud of this aircraft. It was, after all, a British invention, and it's still nice to see the Yanks using something of ours for a change!
too true. Not only supplying the US armed forces with superior weaponry, we also buy US built aircraft and land vehicles, improve them with decent radar and weaponry, and resell it back to the US. Pretty good for British Engineering id say.
Because they were incredibly old and were experiencing serious fracturing in their critical airframe components. It didn't make sense to make new ones when you could make something better. The USMC is overdue to replace theirs. It is an amazing aircraft, but remember that this was designed in the 1950s.
Basically true, granted. But as a Marine who's been on the ground, this ancient aircraft is a tremendous, life-saving, close air support jet. Fast movers cannot protect us with the same precision, nor of course, from as near our lines.
Its interesting that the US Marine's landing approach seems to differ from the Royal Navy's. This vid shows a direct approach from the rear/left then landing moving forwards, while the British fly along the side of the carrier, stop then drift in at 90 degrees.
i still find it baffling why we haven't adapted the ICAS for approach on aircraft carriers? i understand that the target is rolling/pitching but with todays tech we should find a way of compensation
can't remember where I was reading he article but it was about a new Landing navigation system for the Nimitz class and GRF class. Was supposed to help pilots a lot on pitching/rolling deck.
I love the way all pilots look like they are drinking a hot chocolate in a arm chair. Not pulling 9+g in banked turns and climbing at 10,000ft a minute!
One of the most annoying planes ever, lol. When I was on MCAS Cherry Point, my building was literally a stone's throw from the blast pad where they'd land. They'd come and hover over us on their way to land and you couldn't hold a conversation or do any work till they landed because of how incredibly loud they were. Now that I'm a pilot, it's up there on my list of planes to fly now. Even though I probably never will.
The simple fact that only very few could master the VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) and it was much harder to use alltogether as they were not trained to fly such an aircraft.
God bless the UK for inventing the versatile Harrier. The AV-8 has served America well in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Kosovo and elsewhere. A big thank you to our British cousins from across the pond!
Our good neighbours the French must also take some small credit in the development of what turned out to be the Harrier.
The layout of the Pegasus engine with four nozzles and how it might be utilised in a vtol aircraft was I think initially a French concept which was adopted, realised and built by Hawker and others later.
My source is a long lost edition of Aeroplane Magazine (UK) that featured the Harrier story a few years ago now.
There were also ideas for a supersonic capable heavy development of the Harrier which never came about.
Awesome - love this view from inside the Harrier
- wish there was intercom audio though!
I built those engines while in the Marines.. I never knew they sounded like a vacuum cleaner when flying them until now. No wonder we had to so much FOD damage..
I always been amazed by this jet, and always wondered how is from the cockpit ... this video is just a dream come true !!! Thanks for sharing !!! Cheers and keep up the good work.
Love the sound of that engine spooling up...
Nice Video... And special thanks for not dubbing over with music!
The most amazing video, from a kid who used to just dream of these from about the Falklands war time. Thanks so much for uploading!
It takes years and years and life of dedication to become a harrier pilot. You must be a born aviation lover.
He looks pleased with that landing haha
The UK Government were dicks to retire their Harrier fleet early.
Especially for retiring the FA. 2 😔but sure they needed the money for the GR. 9
Spent 7 months on that boat in 97. The lawn dart was the bane of my existence. Broke all of the time but interesting to watch. It ain't that awesome Paul.
Incredible video man! great last part too, watching the other harrier take landing.
I used to watch Harriers take off and land from the roof of the old hospital at KAF back in 2006, and they could really move fast. Very loud engine too, but a cool aircraft to watch. They were very busy when I was there.
I wish that TH-cam and GoPros were around in the late 80s when I served as an avionics tech with the VMA-231 Harrier squadron. It would have given me a greater appreciation of what the pilots job was. All I knew was.that they went out fixed and came back broke. Semper Fi.
WHY THE HELL ARE YOU READING TH-cam COMMENTS. Watch a video and then stab an unfolded paper clip in your eye, the experience is similar.
Lmao
Great, look like real in the cockpit. Thanks to upload this movie.
Nice quick clear video man gj . Landing wasn't that bad
It's an awesome aircraft to behold. Thanks for posting!
Great post,thanks Battlefield.
That's so cool seeing that Harrier in that last bit doing what the pilot just did.
Outstanding and awesome,take me back to working with harriers in RAF Germany,1971/74 and again 84/87.but removed in the goverment review in 2010,what a shame.
Terrific POV.
Awesome ! Respect.
Awesome plane and it sure needs awesome pilots to do that. Thanks for sharing. :)
One of the best aircraft EVER. Long live 1 Squadron!
Very, very cool footage! Thanks for sharing. The approach to landing was especially interesting to someone interested in eventually building a VTOL of sorts... Keep up the good work!
And I thought I had quite an exciting day today....
Lucky. Pilots are never satisfied with their landings :D
fantastic video really gives you a brilliant perspective what is like fly this type plane from taking off to landing - what a dream job to do for a living!
One of the designers of the Kestrel/Harrier was Sidney Camm, the legend responsible for the Hawker Hunter and the Hurricane, one of the planes which saved the free world back in 1940. What a career!.
Great, video! These are great airplanes. Though sub-sonic, they can go pretty fast and very maneuverable. Thanks for posting!
The AV 8B doesn't need to be a supersonic jet since its main job is CAS, not the air to air combat.
Great video,no disco gay music.
Thanks for keeping it real.
Fantastic clip - thanks very much.
If you watch very closely you can see the G-suit on his thigh inflating when he does the high "g" turns.
Gee...you guys don't get much leg room in those things. Thanks a bunch for the video...it's hell cool!
wish it was longer!!
trident3b wtf is that supposed to mean, ace?? Did your husband let u post that prating retort?
I like the way those planes land.. a true technology breakthrough.
That's why it's called Harrier, mean in Arab is "Silk", because that aircraft landed smoothly..
Lovely tech view
Try Utomo Andi No it's named Harrier after the bird.
seen one land Akrotiri air show, a few years back, makes a hell of a racket on take off !!
This is bloody excellent, mate :-)
I swear...that's the stuff dreams are made out of!
Pretty Bad Ass!!! Incredible experience. I'm jealous!
Love that "never satisfied with technique" head shake at 3:09 or so after touchdown but nothing to be ashamed of... after all, he out it on the deck in 12 seconds from hover where next guy took over 20 and frequency of ops is critical.
A special plane for special pilots, skilled stuff. Thanks USA from a Brit. 👍🇺🇸🇬🇧👍
That was the most Amazing thing Ive ever seen !!
Amazing video, thanks!
And why can't all there rest of you just enjoy the show - instead of "traitors" and "they built it and we made it better" and such? And what difference does it make who did what on the plane? UK and the US put money into the project at different times, which meant one or the other continued to develop it - but the Harrier is still a very unique plane in that it is so far the most successful VTOL/STOL military craft, and the first VTOL/STOL that has been used in war in large numbers. That has presumably been a great learning experience for military in the UK, the US and the other countries that use the Harrier - how you use such an aircraft most effectively, and what strengths and limitations it has.
I guess the more recent VTOL/STOL designs have more than just taken a quick glance at the Harrier when they laid out the initial designs.
Got to be up there as one of the best British planes ever 👍👍
Great job!!!!!
love from Italy!!
Awesome video! I LOVE the sound of those engines! Do these ships use catapults like Navy aircraft carriers?
This is what the UK has always been capable of.
Marvellous artifice, and invention!
Especially our dratted government canning the thing in 2010... :-/
Impresionante y maravilloso . Muchas Felicidades .
Wow! That is awesome! Do they normally stay so close to the ocean for so long?
Brilliant video and aircraft. Wonder why the pilot shakes his head in disappointment right after touching down?
i think it was more of a "thank god i didn't crash" kind of thing. i imagine its not too easy landing it on that ship
Thanks for the tips i will be doing the D of E not sure about air cadets but maybe.
There is NO experience like being a Pilot.
My LIFE is like a SCI-FI movie...
enjoyed that.. Thank you.
Meanwhile on the headset,
I'm like a biiiiird, I always fly alway..
Great footage!
That is a sight to behold right there
This plane was known as the widow-maker by marine pilots for a reason. I know it was retired for other reasons including the expensive update but just do a basic google search on crash rates. There were some high profile deaths in this plane that were deemed preventable.
0:58 a rate this...
What was cool to see in Iraq as an Army Aviator was seeing the lower enlisted crew chiefs taking their Harriers to the test stand and sitting in the pilots seat alone, doing engine checks running it up and down. Could have taken off, was chained but still amazing since in the army you don't see that.
I served with a Harrier squadron in the late 80s. Qualified maintenance personnel would "high power" check the engines after and engine change before the pilot would take it out for a spin. I guess we were more "expendable" if something blew up!
Scott Chandler
Lol
***** If that was the case in the USMC, these jets would NEVER fly! Our pilots just have more faith in their techs and mechs I guess.
They are called low power 0-40% or high power 0-100%+ runs. Usually done to duplicate maintenance gripes or trouble shoot systems. We also did them to test new engines. I did a few in my time in the Corps. Exhilarating experience but you gotta be in your toes watching the numbers
Trust the Marines to stick to proven designs. This canopy has the best view I have seen on a fighter aircraft.
That is so awesome you rule man!!!!!
This may have been covered earlier in the comment section so apologies for any redundancy but what is the purpose for the wire above the pilot's head? Does it support the canopy in some way? Thanks.
if i'm not mistaken. i think those wires on top of his head are like those heat wires like when the cockpit glass goes foggy. like in your car you wonder why your back dashboard has lines in the back. its to either melt or defog your glass
series25a Put my servant Google to work and found an interesting result: that wire actually contains a small explosive charge. During the ejection sequence that wire detonates a charge with the blast directed upward to shatter the canopy. In the case of "normal" aircraft there is enough airspeed to get the canopy out of the way of the pilot before he/she ejects. With a VSTOL aircraft that is not the case when the aircraft is hovering. That is the pilot would be launched right into the canopy - see Top Gun for how this turns out! ;) So the charge in that wire shatters the canopy so the pilots head does not have to.
Ejecting from a fighter plane sounds like a whole lot of fun! /sarc
RobertKaydoo Robert is right, it is called Miniature Detonating Cord (MDC) The Harrier has to have what is called a zero zero ejector seat. This means that the pilot can eject at zero speed and zero altitude. The seat is propelled high enough for the canopy to deploy.
Christopher Gregory 4
Those are some pretty serious skills right there!
Gotta love them flyboys/girls, especially flygirls.
So the Harrier does everything. Were they used in Desert Storm? How long does it take to become a Harrier Pilot?
1:47 model aeroplane engine mode engage. 1:58 Rotax 2 stroke mode engage.
The headshake on touchdown.
We’ve all been there!
Those look like the Wiley X Orion Flight Gloves, if it helps, Hatch SOG Operator Series are pretty similar to those too.
That's crazy!!!! AWESOME!!!
Every time I watched one take off from onboard the ship, especially at night it seemed like the most dangerous type of launch we do in Naval aviation.
i flew one of those to the moon and my commander was made of cheese, the blue guy at the top of the ladder waved his nose at me and we all jumped into warm marmalade and pilchards
You know when I see these aircraft take off and land vertical it reminds me of those SCFI movies like Aliens where there going to different plants....really cool.
Awesome Harriers........the end of an era.
That's a good landing. @sbjenties is right Navy/USMC gear is different than AF. It's made for ship board landings and ops. I've seen some hard/cockeyed landings and most of the time gear took the punishment.
I've seen them land so soft a baby wouldn't wake up in the cockpit. This landing is right on espacially on a moving target.
awesome aircraft, lucky for someone to fly them daily, lucky for others to observe.
Spot on fella. I'm a Brit and an aircraft geek so I'm naturally proud of this aircraft. It was, after all, a British invention, and it's still nice to see the Yanks using something of ours for a change!
too true. Not only supplying the US armed forces with superior weaponry, we also buy US built aircraft and land vehicles, improve them with decent radar and weaponry, and resell it back to the US. Pretty good for British Engineering id say.
Nothing more dangerous than a 'Devil Dog" in the air. Semper Fi'.
nice one...love how non jocks critisize what theyve never done themselves..
Great vid!
Wow amazing flying.
Thanks, it is great! Спасибо!
WOW!
I feel like I was there,in the cabin!
my dream job..speechless
Because they were incredibly old and were experiencing serious fracturing in their critical airframe components. It didn't make sense to make new ones when you could make something better. The USMC is overdue to replace theirs. It is an amazing aircraft, but remember that this was designed in the 1950s.
Basically true, granted. But as a Marine who's been on the ground, this ancient aircraft is a tremendous, life-saving, close air support jet. Fast movers cannot protect us with the same precision, nor of course, from as near our lines.
thats so awesome im going to jjoin the airfouce becuase of this video
Its interesting that the US Marine's landing approach seems to differ from the Royal Navy's. This vid shows a direct approach from the rear/left then landing moving forwards, while the British fly along the side of the carrier, stop then drift in at 90 degrees.
Does such a jet wirk with an ADIRU too?
Or just GPS?
And have it an Autopilot like normal planes?
THAT WAS FUCKING COOL AS ALL GET OUT..WHAT A AMAZING PEACE OF EQUIPMENT....DAMN
what does he do at 0:20 ? ive seen a lot of pilots in videos do that
retracting the landing gear.
Great video. Not sure why the UK decided to get rid of there harrier jets. Amazing jets
At school, I would love to be an RAF pilot when I grow up.
i still find it baffling why we haven't adapted the ICAS for approach on aircraft carriers? i understand that the target is rolling/pitching but with todays tech we should find a way of compensation
can't remember where I was reading he article but it was about a new Landing navigation system for the Nimitz class and GRF class. Was supposed to help pilots a lot on pitching/rolling deck.
clearly its the most enjoyable job on earth
I love the way all pilots look like they are drinking a hot chocolate in a arm chair.
Not pulling 9+g in banked turns and climbing at 10,000ft a minute!
One of the most annoying planes ever, lol. When I was on MCAS Cherry Point, my building was literally a stone's throw from the blast pad where they'd land. They'd come and hover over us on their way to land and you couldn't hold a conversation or do any work till they landed because of how incredibly loud they were. Now that I'm a pilot, it's up there on my list of planes to fly now. Even though I probably never will.
Sounds like a vacuumcleaner. Is it made by Dyson?
A legend!
The simple fact that only very few could master the VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) and it was much harder to use alltogether as they were not trained to fly such an aircraft.
LOUDEST fucking plane I've ever heard in my life.
AWESOME!
Awesome !