FLYING THE HARRIER - Part One. By Arthur Gatland.

Melissa here… My father died when I was 12 and my brothers were 6 and 8. It wasn’t long before Christmas 1978 so Mum added to the mortgage and took us to the UK to spend Christmas with the rellies (we’d never met before) and one of them happened to be a Squadron Leader for a Harrier unit.

He took us to his base and the boys got to sit in the cockpit of a Harrier. It was exhilarating to be able to touch and examine at close quarters such an impressive machine! It was a huge high point in our holiday and it probably inspired one of my brothers and myself to throw ourselves into aviation.

This article is fabulous reading and sometimes has you hanging onto your seat as Arthur takes you through take offs and landings of the magnificent Harrier. Enjoy the ride!

Here’s Arthur…

I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every aircraft that I have been lucky enough to fly. Each one had unique characteristics and abilities that made it rewarding. Having said that, the Harrier was the one that most people ask me about – and it was certainly the highest adrenalin rush.

How does it fly in the VSTOL phase?

The Harrier is a single engine VSTOL (vertical/short take-off and landing) fighter, primarily designed for ground attack operations. The Pegasus engine is a by-pass jet (similar to modern airliners), with 4 exhaust nozzles all moving in unison. The front “cold” nozzles direct the by-pass air, and the rear “hot” nozzles direct the jet exhaust gases, each pair producing roughly half of the total thrust. Control in the hover is achieved by reaction jets (“puffer jets”) at the nose, tail and wingtips all pointing down, and two sideways (yaw) jets at the tail.

The pilot moves the flight controls in the usual way to achieve pitch, roll and yaw commands, and when the engine nozzles are pointing down, bleed air from the engine provides air to the reaction jets. The only additional control over a conventional fighter is the nozzle lever. There are two very important extra instruments – a tiny gauge showing “puffer jets” duct air pressure, and a wind vane on the nose to give an indication of yaw during transition from hover to forward flight, when airspeed is too slow for aerodynamic directional stability.

Apart from the VSTOL innovation, the Harrier had a Head-up Display (HUD) to show flight instruments and weapon aiming display, an inertial navigation system (INAS) and a moving map display, all innovative at the time. The moving map projected a 35mm film strip of the topographical map we used, and the display gave an accuracy of approximately 1nm after 60 mins flight.   

Conversion Training: 

The Harrier OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) and No. 1 Squadron Harriers were based at RAF Wittering, about 1 hour drive north of London. The OCU had several first-generation Harriers for initial training, with the smaller 15,000lb (6,800kg) thrust engines. This was just adequate for hover training with the 12,500lb weight GR1 single-seat aircraft, but barely enough for the two-seat T2 which was a bit heavier.

As a result, our only dual training in hovering consisted of coming to a hover for 20 seconds, then doing a vertical landing, followed by a very quick vertical take-off to establish a hover at 50 feet, then the instructor quickly took over and landed with the low-level fuel lights flashing. The next hovering flight we did was solo in a single-seat GR1, with an instructor watching closely from a control caravan nearby. Not surprisingly, this was only done in very light wind conditions.

The GR1 and T2 Harriers were retrofitted later with more powerful engines. The GR3 had the upgraded Pegasus engine producing 22,000lbs (10,000kg) thrust, which obviously gave a more dramatic performance and much better hovering capability.

The Harrier was an amazing aircraft and exhilarating to fly, not only because of its VSTOL capability, but the sheer power-to-weight ratio made it capable of flying from brakes-off to 40,000 feet in 2 minutes 23 seconds, a world record at the time. Initial rate of climb was 30,000ft/min. On a conventional take-off, it would accelerate from 0-100 knots (185km/hr) in under 5 seconds.

Arthur flying a Harrier GR3 during conversion course

The US Marines ordered Harriers in 1971, and during our Harrier course the first course of Marine pilots arrived for their conversion. They were only planned to do the VSTOL phase, consisting of 21 flights, just 12 hours flying (compared with our 75hr course which included operational flying, combat and weapons firing phases.) They arrived full of bravado and confidence, to which we quietly said, “Wait and see”.

The Harrier was not difficult to fly, but previous aerodynamic principles and pilot instincts did not apply to VSTOL flying, and coupled with that, it all happened very quickly. It needed considerable preparation and focus.

Within a week, one Marine had tried to do a vertical take-off by pulling the stick back, a conventional control movement that does NOT work in a VTO. The Harrier went rapidly backwards off the concrete pad, sucked dirt and grass into the engine and damaged it.

Another Marine set the nozzles at 45° (correctly, to check the duct pressure to the “puffer jets”) but then neglected to set the nozzles to the hover position before slamming the throttle to full thrust for take-off. The Harrier leapt off the ground but moving forward at high speed, not vertically. He pulled the nose up, and somehow managed to move the nozzles down while lowering the nose to restore some semblance of control. The instructor in the control caravan was trying to think what he could say quickly to assist, but if the student had moved the nozzles without the control input, or vice-versa, it could have been disastrous.

Suddenly the Marines could be seen sitting quietly reading their Pilots Notes carefully, and they started asking us for advice on techniques etc.

A few weeks after we had just completed our training, we saw photos of one of those US Marine pilots crashing a Harrier at an Air Show, after the pilot demonstrated flying backwards then pushed the nose down too fast and “reverse stalled”. Luckily, he was saved by the ejection seat firing itself as it hit the ground, and he survived. He must have only had 50 hours on type and was doing an air display!

One flight pattern we did NOT practice in the Harrier was a glide approach. We did these in the Hunter and Gnat, but the Harrier, with its short 24-foot wingspan, glided about as well as a streamlined brick. The pilot would need to be overhead the airfield at 14,000 feet and at the downwind point at 7,000 feet. This glide approach would be extremely hard to judge. Additionally, the wheel configuration meant it was difficult to land like a conventional aircraft. It was decided that more aircraft might be lost practising glide approaches than would ever be saved by doing a glide approach after a real engine failure.

I loved the Harrier course; like the Hunter course, I enjoyed the low-level attacks and weapons firing. But, in particular, I loved air combat, and did quite well in this phase. The Harrier had a smaller wing and didn’t turn as well as the Hunter at slower speeds, but the huge engine thrust and ability to use the nozzles gave it an added dimension to air combat.

The course culminated with a 2-day detachment to Scotland, where we carried out some low-level navigation with an FRA (first run attack) on a weapons range. I mistook the target by a few metres and finished up with zero hits on that run. At the course final gathering, I had the dubious honour of receiving the apparently contradictory awards of ‘Winner of the Harrier Trophy’ (best overall student) and the ‘Bum Gun Award’ for the worst FRA score.

HARRIER GR3 COCKPIT

Note Head-up Display (HUD), moving map display, thrust lever and nozzle lever on the left.

HARRIER FIELD OPERATIONS:

I was posted to 3(F) Squadron at RAF Wildenrath in Germany. 3(F) Squadron had only just received its final complement of Harriers and pilots, joining 4 Sqn and 20 Sqn at Wildenrath. Operational flying was a real buzz! 

A highlight was when we went “into the field”, moving to Deployed Sites for 2 weeks at a time. These could be strips of road, simple grass paddocks in farmland, or maybe small grass airfields. At times the Royal Engineers laid metal planks called MEXE planks to make a 400-foot take-off strip, to limit damage to the soft ground.

The aircraft lived in hides made of camouflage nets, and we lived in tents hidden in the trees. It was great fun, and having done quite a lot of camping in New Zealand I didn’t mind the lack of home comforts at all.

The sites were well organised, with a large pillow-tank of jet fuel with pumps supplying hydrant fuel supplies to each aircraft hide. Each hide had its own generator power and intercom wire connections, so we could taxi into a hide, refuel, re-arm, and plan the next flight, and start up and take-off within 12 minutes if required.

3(F) Harrier in a “hide” in field operations

We always did a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) on to a 50-foot square pad. We would typically do 3 low-level simulated attack flights of 30 minutes back-to-back, have a break, and then do another 3 flights. It was fantastic flying but of course a bit tiring – we always slept well.

The sites were – by design – very hard to see, and for the first few days we used a 1:50,000 scale map to navigate and find it, tiptoeing along at a slow 300 knots to make it easier. By the end of the first week, we knew the local area better and we could flash over the strip at 450 knots and 200 feet, pulling up into a short circuit and then into a vertical landing, or maybe a “rolling vertical landing” (RVL) at about 30 knots on to the metal strip.

A typical Harrier take-off from the field involved starting engines in the hide, then a short taxi out across the grass and lining up on the take-off strip (grass, metal MEXE planks, or road) for take-off. You hold the Harrier on the brakes, put the thrust up to 55% - that’s the maximum on the brakes (any more thrust and the aircraft will just slide with locked wheels). Move the nozzles down slightly and check the duct pressure to the “puffer jets”, then set the nozzles aft. Then slam the throttle lever forward to full thrust, which is reached in 2.5 seconds, and release the wheel-brakes.

Put your left hand quickly on to the nozzle lever and hold it firmly. The ground might be quite rough so hang on! At a pre-calculated speed, somewhere between 60 to 90 knots which takes about 3-4 seconds, pull the nozzle lever back to the 60-degree position, using a pre-set nozzle stop. Pull the nose up to 8 units of AOA (angle of attack) as indicated by the Head-up Display and climb away. Once clear of the trees, slowly accelerate by moving the nozzles back towards the fully aft position and raise the landing gear and flaps.

3(F) Harrier doing a vertical landing

– note nozzles in the 81° “hover stop” position.

The landing was usually a vertical landing. After flying downwind, lower the landing gear, flaps and lower the nozzles to 40 degrees. Turn on to final approach, and lower the nozzles to the hover position, and as the speed reduces, increase thrust until the wing lift is totally replaced by jet exhaust.

Almost full thrust (around 95%) is required at around 120 knots when the wings effectively stop flying. Then the speed is reduced to zero, aiming to reach the hover over the landing pad, using a combination of the nozzle braking position and/or raising the nose while also pushing the engine exhaust forward slightly.

The centre of the vertical landing pad is indicated by marker boards positioned two in a line, with another two at 90 degrees. When they all line up, you are hovering over the pad (which you can’t see from hover height.) When it’s all steady, reduce thrust a small amount and start descending, then put that amount of thrust back on to make sure the descent rate doesn’t increase. Maintain the steady descent rate until touchdown, with no attempt to “cushion” the touchdown. Then close the throttle, move the nozzles fully aft, and taxi off the pad on to the grass and taxi to your designated hide.

A ground-crew marshaller will give you guidance as you taxi into the hide, often missing trees by a few inches on each side. After shutdown, ground-crew will immediately connect ground electrical power, refuelling hose, and an intercom cable connecting the pilot with flight operations and other aircraft in your sortie formation, so you can debrief on the mission, and receive instructions for the next flight. If required, a ground runner will rush over with a new target map for your next sortie. The briefing, refuelling and re-arming as required, will be completed quickly. The turn-round times between landing and take-off are aimed to be between 12 and about 20 minutes depending on the urgency required.

Arthur in 3(F) Squadron Harrier during field operations

It was common on these deployments to undergo an operational evaluation over two or three days, an internal review or the important NATO Tactical Evaluation (TACEVAL). They involved a war scenario, and we were assessed against a long list of target skills and proficiencies. The Harrier Force generally did well on these evaluations.  

On one such exercise, I was returning to the site, and I saw an RAF F-4 Phantom flying over our site, probably taking photos in an attempt to find where we were hiding. If our site was compromised, we would have to do a site-move to a new predetermined location (and we were expected to achieve this within a few hours.)

I took it upon myself to accelerate to 600 knots and chase the F-4 and ‘shoot him down’ (with the gunsight movie film), then turn around and head back to the site for landing. Of course, this extra manoeuvre used extra fuel, and I was quite low when I finally touched down in a vertical landing. In fact, the low-level fuel lights started flashing as I taxied in, so it was possibly cut a bit fine. At least I was credited with the kill, and that F-4’s reconnaissance photos would have been declared unusable for the purpose of the exercise.

Flying from the sites was so exhilarating that it was a definite anti-climax going back to a normal airfield like Wildenrath which in comparison with the size of the deployment sites looked ridiculously HUGE.

For interest, see this Youtube video (1976 8mm movie clips) of 3(F) Sqn Harriers operating from one site: https://youtu.be/RJwooVXNfsw

Harrier taking off from MEXE plank strip