Harrier GR3 Cockpit equipment Question

[Ivank]

I am involved in a Falkands War based PC simulation called "Jet Thunder". One featured aircraft is the Harrier GR3. I am trying to figure out a couple of things in the GR3 cockpit. If anyone can help it would be appreciated.

Marconi ARI-18223 RWR system was fitted to all the GR3's that went to the Falkands. Studying many images of various GR3 cockpits does not indicate any form of CRT display. The Sea Harrier FRS1 had similar equipment but had a CRT display on the lower right forward instrument panel. So how was threat information displayed to the pilot on the GR3 ?

In the image below there are a series of 6 Square "lights" are these associated with the RWR system ?

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/6991/gr3xz995cockpitxx.jpg

Also what is the large box unit to the left if the HUD ? I have one cockpit drawing that implies that this is a Standby sight .... though how you would use it as such is beyond me.

HUD AIR TO GROUND SYMBOLOGY
In a similar vein if anyone knows or has information on GR3 HUD symbolgy for manual reversion guns, bombs or rockets it would be handy. We have all we need for the Sea Harrier but little accurate HUD info on the GR3.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Moe Syzlak]

Yes its the radar warning reciever display, quadrant lights and a CW alert if memory serves

[Ivank]

Thanks for the input, thats the 6 pack light arrangement but what of the weird Box to the left of the HUD

[SammySu]

The 6 pack of lights were type of emission indicators - P, TWS, CW, EH, I and J. To the right the 4 pack of lights gave direction of emission indication. The switch right of that tuned the audio alarm on/off.

The box left of the HUD was indeed the standby sight. The mesh bit on the front was an anti dazzle mesh covering the light assembly. The rectangular shape was the lens and collimator. Looking through gave a vertical line, gun aiming cross, and pipper which was adjustable through a depression control (knurled knob on bottom rear).

[Ivank]

Great stuff thanks for the help.

[noprobs]

The standby sight is closed at the front, so the pilot needed to look into it with the left eye, while the right eye saw the target. The HUD had a reversionary sighting mode in case of failure of the weapon aiming computer, so it was normal to set this at an appropriate depression for the weapon to be used, then to offset this aiming point to allow for wind. However, if the HUD had failed, then the standby sight was the next device to use. Otherwise, it was back to the pitot probe, part of the HUD structure, or TLAR (that looks about right).

To get the full effect of the radar warning, you also need to add the audio. The receiver worked on a 1.5 second scan, looking for 0.5 sec at each of 3 frequency bands in turn. At the start of each cycle, the pilot heard a short high tone to assist identification of which band was being listened to. Having identified a threat, the kit produced an aural representation of the scan of the radar. The pilot had to combine the audio input with the frequency light and the direction arrow to interpret what was the threat and what was the best action to take.
:rolleyes:

[Ivank]

Thanks for the info. I was well versed in the TLAR method of Air to mud once :)

We will be including Audio in the RWR system.

Back to the standby sight. What is the grill type arrangement in the front for ?
I am presuming from your description Noprobs that this presentation was a bit of eyeball trickery in that in effect the left eye looking through the sight and the right out the front effectively overlapped the images ?

With respect to HUD backup/Reversionary modes was a vertical DIL/Bomb fall line still displayed (like nil wind CCIP presentation) or did you just get a Pipper or aimpoint refrence ? Also was the aimpoint (as set by the entered depression) the same symbol as the CCIP cue or was it something different ?

[noprobs]

The honeycomb grill was, I think, just to keep sunlight out of the box, enabling the aiming symbol to be visible. The display in the sight was just a luminous vertical line and an adjustable-depression (red?) dot superimposed on it. In the HUD, selecting Rev gave you a fixed green vertical centre line. The release cue was a short horizontal line that could be set to the required depression in mils, using a numerical display. Before an attack, you would set the reversionary HUD symbol to the calculated required depression, then adjust the standby sight to look the same. As it is now at least 18 years since I looked at one of these bits of kit, let alone used it, this description is subject to the usual memory fade. If I find the necessary books (now, where did I put them?) I'll get back to you.

[Stu666]

Ivank, I have been waiting for what seems like years for this "Jet Thunder" sim, how is it progressing?

It is impressive to see the depth and detail of research you are undertaking. I hope it all pays off one day.

[Ivank]

Jet Thunders initial release will focus on the GR3. Release is planned towards the end of 2010. Additional aircraft will be added throughout 2011. Publisher is Aerosoft.

I am just a helper not a coder :)

Thanks Noprobs

[Nick10]

hey ivank. been following the progress of jetthunder with interest. looking forward to its release. prehaps you should post some screens here to show all how cool it looks.

[NorthernKestrel]

Sounds great if will have this level of detail as a standby sight modelled.

Roll on release!

[MudRat_02]

Yeah Jet Thunder looks great, I've been following it for a while with great interest. Good to see a high fidelity Harrier combat sim finally, very keen for the Dagger too.

...admittedly keen to fly the Harrier in the Falklands in no small part due to "Sharkey" Ward's book. :O

[Pup Flyer]

this was quite a good book with some HUD symbology in it -

From the Cockpit: Harrier GR3 (Paperback)
by Michael Shaw (Author)

Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Ian Allan Ltd (Oct 1988)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0711017751
ISBN-13: 978-0711017757

Amazon.co.uk: Used and New: From the Cockpit: Harrier GR3 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0711017751/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&condition=all)

[Ivank]

Just a Bump of this thread. If anyone has any diagrams of Manual reversion Symbology it would be great to see it.

Noprobs in your earlier response on mamual reversion you said:

"The honeycomb grill was, I think, just to keep sunlight out of the box, enabling the aiming symbol to be visible. The display in the sight was just a luminous vertical line and an adjustable-depression (red?) dot superimposed on it. In the HUD, selecting Rev gave you a fixed green vertical centre line. The release cue was a short horizontal line that could be set to the required depression in mils, using a numerical display. Before an attack, you would set the reversionary HUD symbol to the calculated required depression, then adjust the standby sight to look the same. As it is now at least 18 years since I looked at one of these bits of kit, let alone used it, this description is subject to the usual memory fade. If I find the necessary books (now, where did I put them?)"

When setting manual Reversion depression for the HUD what control was used ? Was it the Wingspan setting knob on the HUD controller panel ? Did you get a digital readout of Mills depression in the HUD ?
In manual reversion what was the Aircraft symbol in the HUD, Velocity vector type symbol or velocity vector symbol with 2 legs ? (similar to VSTOL symbol)

Sort of like this:

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/834/gr3manrev.jpg