Talk:McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II/Archive 1

Questions
Under specifications the wingspan is given in feet and meters, but the numbers do not agree. Either the meters or the feet are off. --Eric

Would someone more military minded clear up the difference between an helicopter ship and an amphibious assault ship.

A helicopter carrier is just a small aircraft carrier that has no provision for fixed-wing aircraft (not enough runway space for them to take off or land, no catapult or ramp, etc.). An amphibious assault ship has provisions for helicoptors, may or may not carry fixed wind STOVL aircraft, and has a "well deck" in the back that can be flooded, allowing amphibious landing craft and hover craft to float out and carry troops to the beach.

Does this Harrier also have to carry around a tank of cooling water for landing?

No, not necessarily. The Harrier carries water when it is anticipated that extra thrust may be required for a takeoff or landing. The water, when engaged for thrust augmentation, actually not only cools the exhaust temperature but also increases the mass flow of the exhaust gases that enter the turbine section. Extra thrust is usually only needed when the aircraft recovery weight at landing (which is roughly the sum of the aircraft, remaining fuel and unexpended ordnance weights) is very close to the "hover performance" of the engine and a vertical landing is required, such as aboard a ship. The hover performance is calculated for each landing. Variables affecting hover performance include outside air temperature and altitude. In general, the hotter the air temperature and the higher the landing elevation, the lower the hover performance of the engine. Water injection increases hover performance therefore allowing vertical landings when hot/high conditions exist.

Can the Harrier do a conventional carrier landing with an arresting cable? Does it use a catapult? Does it use an angled ramp? When do they take off vertically?

--anonymous

The Harrier is designed to operate in austere conditions, although it does need SOME ground support.

The Harrier doesn't need to do conventional carrier landings. A vertical landing is far safer--carrier landings are a harrowing experience even for seasoned naval aviators, especially in bad weather. It doesn't need a catapult, and I don't think it has provision to use one. It's been noted about the Harrier that it's far easier to stop and then land, than it is to land and then stop within about 500 feet.

The Harrier is most correctly described as 'STOVL' -- short take-off, vertical landing. When it's carrying a combat load, it usually makes a short take-off run. That lets it take off at higher weights (the total weight of the aircraft can be higher than the thrust of the engine -- for vertical take-off, the Harrier has to weigh less than the engine's maximum thrust) and burn less fuel taking off. When it returns it's lighter (fuel has been burned, weapons dropped), so it lands vertically. --- The previous poster is correct - there is no provision for a catapult or arresting line. I believe the British Harriers use an angled ramp, the US Marines use a flat runway. I have seen multiple Harrier launches straight off the front end of an LHD (a helicopter carrier), then land vertically upon return. Harriers aren't designed to take off vertically when fully loaded with ordnance. The aircraft does have a water tank, it's located under the back part of the wing.

FRS.1 and FA.2
The FRS.1 and FA.2 have very little connection with this version of the harrier. With the FA.2 there was less than 2% commanaility of parts between the types.

Moved to AV-8 Harrier II
Reverted moved according to Naming conventions (aircraft): US military aircraft: Number and name. RAF version of the Harrier II has its own page. The Spanish and Italian Harrier IIs are basically the US version. I would prefer having under AV-8B Harrier II, but was unable to do so (must be moved by an administrator). The original move (Nov. 2005) was done without discussion on this page, so I have done this as a revert. --BillCJ 03:55, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

AIM-7
Well it's highly unverified so I don't care if somebody removes it, but I added that the Harrier II+ can presumably carry AIM-7's as well as amraams, what with the F-18 radar and all. JaderVason 13:17, 15 December 2006 (UTC)


 * If it's unverified, we can't put it on the article, so it's been removed. I doubt the 3 users of the Plus (USMC, Spain, or Italy) still have Sparrows in stock, and there may be wiring or software considerations involved also. - BillCJ 15:03, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Hey, I looked around and this website claims it can carry sparrows. Also says something about the LITENING pod, which I don't believe I've seen on a harrier, but......so what's the consensus on this? JaderVason 17:00, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Based on this video, in which the targeting shots are presumably taken from a harrier, it must have a litening, because it doesn't have any other system capable of taking those shots (or laser designating) Near the end, you can see one on a pylon, and furthermore the article link to "harrier finding success" mentions how the litening pod is a valuable surveillance device on the harrier. Perhaps we should mention it.JaderVason 17:22, 16 December 2006 (UTC)


 * On the Sparrow, that site states its capable of carrying it, but as I said, I've seen no sources stating that any of the users operate the Sparrow with the Plus. I know the Spanish and Italian Navies both operate the Amraam with their Pluses, but as far as I know, the USMC hasn't certified the Plus to carry them. So for right now it might be best to leave out the Sparrow.


 * As for the Litening, I have some printed material on the Harrier II, and I seem to recall the Litening being mentioned there. I'll try to look it up within the next week, and if it's there, I'll put it in the article with a citation. - BillCJ 18:00, 16 December 2006 (UTC)