Harrier hijack
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,166
Likes: 86
From: Planet Earth
Harrier hijack
Strictly movie / film plot here:
A C5 carrying one or more Harriers is hijacked, the miscreants start them up, depressurize the ‘mother ship’ then open the rear doors
Pointing the stolen Harrier towards this exit they accelerate inside the hold and depart
the aircraft
All of the above is quite possible but then things become problematic, once clear of the C5 the fighter will instantly be ‘immersed’ in
for example a 300 Kias airstream but in a tail first position
Not ideal for retaining control, I used the Harrier in this story so I could put forward the possibility of using nozzle vectoring to assist in stability, on reflection however I don’t think this would make a difference
Even if our Pilot manages to build up 100 knots prior to exit he will still be going backwards at 200 knots in the relative airstream and I doubt the nozzles would have any effect
The other idea is to let they Harrier drop out the back with the engine running and it’s instantly facing the ‘right way’ into the airstream
For the sake of this plot we are disregarding any local aerodynamic interference by the C5
Thoughts ?
A C5 carrying one or more Harriers is hijacked, the miscreants start them up, depressurize the ‘mother ship’ then open the rear doors
Pointing the stolen Harrier towards this exit they accelerate inside the hold and depart
the aircraft
All of the above is quite possible but then things become problematic, once clear of the C5 the fighter will instantly be ‘immersed’ in
for example a 300 Kias airstream but in a tail first position
Not ideal for retaining control, I used the Harrier in this story so I could put forward the possibility of using nozzle vectoring to assist in stability, on reflection however I don’t think this would make a difference
Even if our Pilot manages to build up 100 knots prior to exit he will still be going backwards at 200 knots in the relative airstream and I doubt the nozzles would have any effect
The other idea is to let they Harrier drop out the back with the engine running and it’s instantly facing the ‘right way’ into the airstream
For the sake of this plot we are disregarding any local aerodynamic interference by the C5
Thoughts ?
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 496
Likes: 19
From: Ziltoidia... indeed'd.
Strictly film plot as well:
Before kicking the harriers out use one of the cargo straps around the nose gear, the other tip tied to the rear door/jump door. Don't accelerate the harrier in the cargo hold (enough room to reach 100 kts anyway?), just let it slide out and its own momentum will spin the harrier forward. Use the 300 kias to windmill start the engines and voila!, now you are ready to save the world.
Oh!, and it is stirred, not shaken.
Before kicking the harriers out use one of the cargo straps around the nose gear, the other tip tied to the rear door/jump door. Don't accelerate the harrier in the cargo hold (enough room to reach 100 kts anyway?), just let it slide out and its own momentum will spin the harrier forward. Use the 300 kias to windmill start the engines and voila!, now you are ready to save the world.
Oh!, and it is stirred, not shaken.
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 1,938
Likes: 2
From: Manchester, UK
It would work better aerodynamically if the Harriers were facing forward to direction of flight (i e. Pushed out backwards) although this may not fit in with your plot. Also, does plot demand the C5 has to be at speed? It would be more plausible at lower speed as there'd be danger of buffet from 300kt airflow and hitting C5 on exit.
You're doing the right thing asking us Brits; we do this all the time while we're saving the world. Some people even believe the silly cover story about scrapping all our Harriers!
You're doing the right thing asking us Brits; we do this all the time while we're saving the world. Some people even believe the silly cover story about scrapping all our Harriers!
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,148
Likes: 3
From: Brexitland
.Harrier (OK 'Mini Harrier') facing forward. Bring to low hover. Open C5 rear door. Use nozzles to reverse Harrier out of C5. When in 200 kt airstream (300 too fast), rotate nozzles to aft - off you go and save the world.
Easy peasy! Used to do it all the time 'back in the day' when Harrier pilots were Gods........
Easy peasy! Used to do it all the time 'back in the day' when Harrier pilots were Gods........
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 3
Likes: 5
From: Wor Yerm
Are a C5's doors wide enough for a Harrier? Are they an internal electric start? Without the doors being open, you would run of air to keep their engines running. But you can't be to high or the engines will not start. The engines have to be running to power the controls. The controls are required to recover from the instability of the exit.
PM
PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,269
Likes: 79
From: Denver
Make it an F-104 Starfighter (wingspan 20'10") inside an AN-225 Mriya (cargo hold width 21') - that gives you one inch clearance on each side. 
Don't use the rear cargo door - just open the An-225 nose in flight and let the slipstream strip away the 225 like a banana skin. Off you go!
Of course, 007 already escaped from a disintegrating An-124 in an MD900 helicopter (Die Another Day).
Don't use the rear cargo door - just open the An-225 nose in flight and let the slipstream strip away the 225 like a banana skin. Off you go!
Of course, 007 already escaped from a disintegrating An-124 in an MD900 helicopter (Die Another Day).
Last edited by pattern_is_full; 26th May 2018 at 20:40.
Joined: Jun 1996
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 743
Likes: 4
From: Check with Ops
I wouldn't over-think it.
(a)After a deck run of some 450-500' we only ever saw 90-95kts-ish, so there's no way you're going to accelerate to 100kts inside a C5.
(b)The Harrier always recovered really well after a slow speed 'unusual position', so even if it just trundled out of the back of the C5 and fell to earth for a few seconds, it would be flyable after a very short time of freewill. Just leave the engine at idle and the nozzles aft and your intrepid pilot will be fine.......so long as the C5 is not at low level :-)
(a)After a deck run of some 450-500' we only ever saw 90-95kts-ish, so there's no way you're going to accelerate to 100kts inside a C5.
(b)The Harrier always recovered really well after a slow speed 'unusual position', so even if it just trundled out of the back of the C5 and fell to earth for a few seconds, it would be flyable after a very short time of freewill. Just leave the engine at idle and the nozzles aft and your intrepid pilot will be fine.......so long as the C5 is not at low level :-)
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 260
Likes: 5
From: Connecticut, USA
It's already been done. Way back in the 80's, the Airwolf helicopter got dropped out of the back of a plane.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0507137/?ref_=ttep_ep6
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0507137/?ref_=ttep_ep6
