[USMC] Harrier Flight (2013) VIDEO Utube
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Around 4:15 when the second Harrier is landing there are 2 dials that jump randomly in the cockpit. Is that AoA or the small flapped instrument that seems moving in the front of the canopy?
(whats the name of that small flapped instrument in the nose?)
(SLF/PAX)
(whats the name of that small flapped instrument in the nose?)
(SLF/PAX)
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AV-8B Side Slip Wind Vane
For 'Dimitris': Click thumbnail for 'sideslipwindvane AV-8B' big pic: 
Aerial Pursuits Patrick McMonigle USMC Harrier Pilot
Volume 10.11 Newsletter of EAA Chapter 1114 Apex/Cary, NC Nov., 2004
http://www.bairdsolutions.com/pages/.../ap_nov_04.pdf
“...I am very careful therefore during hover operations required for landing on our small LHA/LHD carrier decks. The death equation dictates this: (angle-of-attack) x (sideslip angle) x (airspeed) = 0. A small wind vane on the nose helps us avoid sideslip, and a rudder shaker reminds us which rudder peddle to stomp on if we get into trouble...."
Aerial Pursuits Patrick McMonigle USMC Harrier Pilot
Volume 10.11 Newsletter of EAA Chapter 1114 Apex/Cary, NC Nov., 2004
http://www.bairdsolutions.com/pages/.../ap_nov_04.pdf
“...I am very careful therefore during hover operations required for landing on our small LHA/LHD carrier decks. The death equation dictates this: (angle-of-attack) x (sideslip angle) x (airspeed) = 0. A small wind vane on the nose helps us avoid sideslip, and a rudder shaker reminds us which rudder peddle to stomp on if we get into trouble...."
Last edited by SpazSinbad; 26th Apr 2013 at 20:48. Reason: Text about wind vane add
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Great, thanks. That's for hovering (only?). The dials moving when the second jet is landing is due to jet wash on that instrument? I read somewhere that it serves even as visual aid without need to look at instrument panel or I remember different thing?
(just curious)
D
(just curious)
D
Very observant. The instruments are IAS and AOA beneath. Flap around lots when near other examples of the most enjoyable flying machine created running at high power. You should see them on an Op launch when 3 feet behind the jet ahead.
The bit in front of the windshield is the yaw vane. Tells you where to point into wind. Useful when transitioning between slow and high speed flight else you crash. Kinda.
The bit in front of the windshield is the yaw vane. Tells you where to point into wind. Useful when transitioning between slow and high speed flight else you crash. Kinda.
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Dimitris,
You use the vane to stay balanced on the way into and out of the hover, plus into wind when you get there. If you keep the vane pointing noseward you will translate into the wind as you decel. The instruments you saw bouncing are basic flight instruments (from memory Standby ASI top and Standby AoA gauge bottom...but could be well off - time and wine have done their damage). They are being bounced around by the jet efflux from dash two confusing the hell out of the pitots and AoA sensors. They jump as his thrust starts bouncing off the deck.
Edited to add. Or what the chap with the faster keyboard just said!
You use the vane to stay balanced on the way into and out of the hover, plus into wind when you get there. If you keep the vane pointing noseward you will translate into the wind as you decel. The instruments you saw bouncing are basic flight instruments (from memory Standby ASI top and Standby AoA gauge bottom...but could be well off - time and wine have done their damage). They are being bounced around by the jet efflux from dash two confusing the hell out of the pitots and AoA sensors. They jump as his thrust starts bouncing off the deck.
Edited to add. Or what the chap with the faster keyboard just said!
Last edited by orca; 26th Apr 2013 at 20:59.
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Thanks guys. The yaw vane in the nose is just visual aid?!?! Are there some short of calibration lines in the canopy? Does it feed the HUD? It must feed something in the cockpit, no?
Now for the stupid question
: Is there any chance the yaw vane to get damaged from jet wash of other plane? Like going off limits side-to side... I guess question extends to AoA indicator sensors..
D
Now for the stupid question
: Is there any chance the yaw vane to get damaged from jet wash of other plane? Like going off limits side-to side... I guess question extends to AoA indicator sensors..D
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It's as complex as a weather vane! Short of being hit with a club hammer, it will tell the truth, even when EMP has taken out the digital systems.
Last edited by Waddo Plumber; 26th Apr 2013 at 22:37.
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'Dimitris' some of your questions may be answered in the AV-8B NATOPS PDF: (37Mb)
http://info.publicintelligence.net/AV-8B-000.pdf
Click thumb for instrument panel
http://info.publicintelligence.net/AV-8B-000.pdf
Click thumb for instrument panel
Lots more on Intake Momentum Drag and the purpose of the weathervane in this other thread. Does the weathervane repeat inside the aircraft? Sort of. There's a sideslip indicator at the bottom of the HUD in VSTOL mode but I'm buggered if I can remember what instrument feeds it.
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TWC, P6 driver
You are aware that the helmet cover can be removed from said helmet... and then be used to provide some degree of protection for said pilot's head (reduce the likelihood of ticks and venomous spiders making a home in the hair - admittedly not much of that; lower the risk of sunstroke/sunburn to the skin under that short hair, provide visual camouflage for that part of the body, etc)?
You are aware that the helmet cover can be removed from said helmet... and then be used to provide some degree of protection for said pilot's head (reduce the likelihood of ticks and venomous spiders making a home in the hair - admittedly not much of that; lower the risk of sunstroke/sunburn to the skin under that short hair, provide visual camouflage for that part of the body, etc)?
Last edited by GreenKnight121; 27th Apr 2013 at 01:15.
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GK121,
I think you're taking yourself far too seriously. The guys that wear the helmet covers outside of the war zones are basically just posers; the 'look, I've been somewhere hot and I'm going to let everybody know' types. On my VMA we had one but his posing didn't last too long and he ended up with the reflective taped hats, just like the rest of us. Having a camouflaged cover over your reflective hat is just stupid if you're operating from a ship and not going feet dry. The whole idea of the tape is to make you visible in the ocean if you end up banging out and blending into the sea is not high on the list of survival priorities. Removing it is easy should you be conscious, not having to ups your chances.
As for being a rifleman first; well that's good in theory but doesn't work so well in practise. Sure, everybody qualifies on the range and keep current with their personal weapons but the chances of leading a bunch of Devil Dogs, having ejected from your AV8 and landed in the middle of a leaderless platoon are pretty much zero and, as has already been alluded, the average squadron Joe has about as much idea of leading ground troops in a ground skirmish as I do on rocket science.....which is not a terribly large amount
Still, give me a II+ to play with again and I'd even wear the shirt-lifting scarf that goes with his helmet cover
Edited to add: Yep, Orca, the HUD ball was inertially driven and fed the yaw stab and shakers. Why do I remember such trivia and can't recall the stuff I'm meant to know?
I think you're taking yourself far too seriously. The guys that wear the helmet covers outside of the war zones are basically just posers; the 'look, I've been somewhere hot and I'm going to let everybody know' types. On my VMA we had one but his posing didn't last too long and he ended up with the reflective taped hats, just like the rest of us. Having a camouflaged cover over your reflective hat is just stupid if you're operating from a ship and not going feet dry. The whole idea of the tape is to make you visible in the ocean if you end up banging out and blending into the sea is not high on the list of survival priorities. Removing it is easy should you be conscious, not having to ups your chances.
As for being a rifleman first; well that's good in theory but doesn't work so well in practise. Sure, everybody qualifies on the range and keep current with their personal weapons but the chances of leading a bunch of Devil Dogs, having ejected from your AV8 and landed in the middle of a leaderless platoon are pretty much zero and, as has already been alluded, the average squadron Joe has about as much idea of leading ground troops in a ground skirmish as I do on rocket science.....which is not a terribly large amount
Still, give me a II+ to play with again and I'd even wear the shirt-lifting scarf that goes with his helmet cover
Edited to add: Yep, Orca, the HUD ball was inertially driven and fed the yaw stab and shakers. Why do I remember such trivia and can't recall the stuff I'm meant to know?
Last edited by Pontius; 27th Apr 2013 at 02:42.
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Harrier Wind Vane Usage
'Dimitris' has reminded me about this 'Sharkey' story:
The Harrier Story – A Forsaken Legend by CMDR “Sharkey” Ward DSC AFC, 18 Sep 2011
www.sharkeysworld.com
“...11. My Air Warfare Instructor training had taught me that no matter how good you are at fighter combat or weapon delivery, if you don’t keep flight safety and survival in the forefront of your mind at all times, then you are asking for trouble. This served me well during Harrier training because there was one part of the flight envelope that could be extremely hazardous if you didn’t obey the rules.
12. This was when the aircraft was in transition from wing-borne flight to the hover. The transition commences during your approach to hover and land. The aircraft nozzles are placed in the vertical and as the aircraft slows down rapidly, power is increased to make up for the loss of lift from the wings – until eventually you are being supported entirely by the thrust of the four nozzles. During this transition period which lasts for just a few seconds, it is essential to keep the airflow over the aircraft directly in line with the fore and aft axis. A little wind vane sits on the nose of the aircraft in clear view of the pilot to allow the pilot to make sure that he is decelerating directly into the relative wind. If the air stream is allowed to drift away from the nose of the aircraft, a phenomenon known as Yaw Intake Momentum Drag can suddenly set in and without any other warning the aircraft will roll viciously upside down. This puts the pilot ‘between a rock and a hard place’: either ‘stick with the aircraft and burn as you crash’ or ‘use the rocket powered ejection seat to hammer you headfirst into the ground’. Normally there is no escape possible!
13. My superb Royal Navy Sea Harrier Squadron trials team pilots were so well tutored on the vices of the Harrier by the RAF HCU that during our first three years of trials and operations with this “difficult” aircraft, we had no accidents and achieved the best flight safety record of any jet aircraft entering service ever in the UK. And so I am eternally grateful to them....”
The Harrier Story – A Forsaken Legend by CMDR “Sharkey” Ward DSC AFC, 18 Sep 2011
www.sharkeysworld.com
“...11. My Air Warfare Instructor training had taught me that no matter how good you are at fighter combat or weapon delivery, if you don’t keep flight safety and survival in the forefront of your mind at all times, then you are asking for trouble. This served me well during Harrier training because there was one part of the flight envelope that could be extremely hazardous if you didn’t obey the rules.
12. This was when the aircraft was in transition from wing-borne flight to the hover. The transition commences during your approach to hover and land. The aircraft nozzles are placed in the vertical and as the aircraft slows down rapidly, power is increased to make up for the loss of lift from the wings – until eventually you are being supported entirely by the thrust of the four nozzles. During this transition period which lasts for just a few seconds, it is essential to keep the airflow over the aircraft directly in line with the fore and aft axis. A little wind vane sits on the nose of the aircraft in clear view of the pilot to allow the pilot to make sure that he is decelerating directly into the relative wind. If the air stream is allowed to drift away from the nose of the aircraft, a phenomenon known as Yaw Intake Momentum Drag can suddenly set in and without any other warning the aircraft will roll viciously upside down. This puts the pilot ‘between a rock and a hard place’: either ‘stick with the aircraft and burn as you crash’ or ‘use the rocket powered ejection seat to hammer you headfirst into the ground’. Normally there is no escape possible!
13. My superb Royal Navy Sea Harrier Squadron trials team pilots were so well tutored on the vices of the Harrier by the RAF HCU that during our first three years of trials and operations with this “difficult” aircraft, we had no accidents and achieved the best flight safety record of any jet aircraft entering service ever in the UK. And so I am eternally grateful to them....”
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My superb Royal Navy Sea Harrier Squadron trials team pilots were so well tutored on the vices of the Harrier by the RAF HCU that during our first three years of trials and operations with this “difficult” aircraft, we had no accidents and achieved the best flight safety record of any jet aircraft entering service ever in the UK. And so I am eternally grateful to them....”
-RP
Rhino, utter rubbish. You made that up. Ha!!!
As for the weather vane, it only goes to show how things moved on. In the F4, we had a piece of string. It was called the yaw string, but no one ever told me why. Disappointed that there was no such thing in the F-15 or the F-3.
As for the weather vane, it only goes to show how things moved on. In the F4, we had a piece of string. It was called the yaw string, but no one ever told me why. Disappointed that there was no such thing in the F-15 or the F-3.
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Orca / Stuff,
The pedal shakers activated when the slip ball in the HUD touched the outside vertical limit lines (at 0.06 lateral g, if memory serves, driven by the INS). Asymmetric stores/fuel could cause it to lie, so the vane was always the 'master'. It took me well over a year before I had the spare capacity to see the vane during vstol....
The pedal shakers activated when the slip ball in the HUD touched the outside vertical limit lines (at 0.06 lateral g, if memory serves, driven by the INS). Asymmetric stores/fuel could cause it to lie, so the vane was always the 'master'. It took me well over a year before I had the spare capacity to see the vane during vstol....
Last edited by DITYIWAHP; 28th Apr 2013 at 02:35.
In the F4, we had a piece of string. It was called the yaw string...
I don't recall such a thing - where was it fitted?
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Bottom of the windscreen, dead centre, i have some pictures from the last public photocall at RAF Wattisham, its visible on some of the assembled F-4s
-RP
-RP
