Harrier transition to and from hover
Question for any Harrier drivers out there.
Was asked by number one son about Harrier hovering... and realised I didn't know the answer myself.
When transitioning to the hover, are nozzles rotated to vertical and then airspeed left to wash off, while engine rpm is gradually increased to counter the effect of the unloading of the wings?
Similarly, when transitioning out of hover, increase power and rotate nozzles slowly back as wings develop lift?
Obviously it's not like a helicopter - you couldn't just slam the nozzles back and apply full power - it'd drop out of the sky...
How are you taught to fly the transition to and from hover?