Nozzle angle
Hello John,
Re. the scale on the nozzle lever, may I ask did you ever use that for your steep climb take-offs from the hover ? I got the impression it was done by 'seat of the pants' instinct.
Another Test Pilot asked a Flight Test Engineer to monitor the nozzle angle readings on the fuselage side compared to those in the cockpit - I wondered how accurate the painters were who put the markings on, and how much it mattered anyway with such pitch control and all the variables - that was before a series of late FRS2, generally heavily loaded short ski ramp tests though.
I don't know if you're aware, but there was a sort of urban myth among groundcrew that you did those take-offs with one hand on the seat handle; even I could see the flaw in that theory, as you apparently needed three hands already !
Andy