Great photo from GR3 Harrier cockpit...

PK said:
According to this they bought some but they are just for spare parts.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...life-will-help-extend-harrier-to-2030-372797/
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True. I don't believe they're flying them to integrate into the USMC fleet, but as written here, parts only. For the USMC, every AV-8 lost, there are no attrition replacements. The loss of the 8 or 9 of VMA-211s fleet in Afghanistan from the ground attack was a pretty devastating blow to the fleet, as a USN/USMC squadron generally has 12 aircraft. The blow was somewhat mitigated, when the Yuma MCAS-based VMA-513 was decommissioned and shut down just last month; which is very odd as it was the first USMC AV-8A Harrier squadron back in the day, introducing the jet to the USMC in the early 1970s. But the closure of the squadron, allowed 12 more jets to be redistributed around the fleet.
 
MikeD said:
True. I don't believe they're flying them to integrate into the USMC fleet, but as written here, parts only. For the USMC, every AV-8 lost, there are no attrition replacements. The loss of the 8 or 9 of VMA-211s fleet in Afghanistan from the ground attack was a pretty devastating blow to the fleet, as a USN/USMC squadron generally has 12 aircraft. The blow was somewhat mitigated, when the Yuma MCAS-based VMA-513 was decommissioned and shut down just last month; which is very odd as it was the first USMC AV-8A Harrier squadron back in the day, introducing the jet to the USMC in the early 1970s. But the closure of the squadron, allowed 12 more jets to be redistributed around the fleet.
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It's amazing that spare parts are that hard to come by. Did McDonald Douglas / Boeing not build them under license? Or were they just imported and rebadged? Do the AV8s have Rolls Royce engines?
 
PK said:
It's amazing that spare parts are that hard to come by. Did McDonald Douglas / Boeing not build them under license? Or were they just imported and rebadged? Do the AV8s have Rolls Royce engines?
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Yes, the B's were built in the US under license, and use the Rolls engines. There are spare parts, just not full spare aircraft or attrition replacements. Hence the buy of the UK birds.
 
MikeD said:
Yes, the B's were built in the US under license, and use the Rolls engines. There are spare parts, just not full spare aircraft or attrition replacements. Hence the buy of the UK birds.
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Ahh okay, someone I know told me they used a homegrown engine in the AV8 that made it superior than the BAe harriers. It makes more sense now, those GR.9 weren't that old.


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PK said:
Ahh okay, someone I know told me they used a homegrown engine in the AV8 that made it superior than the BAe harriers. It makes more sense now, those GR.9 weren't that old.
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I had thought they used an updated Rolls, compared to the original Rolls on the A models.
 
Our buddy Art Nalls has a FA2 version privately he flies around to air shows. A really cool, unique guy. He was such a good Naval Aviator that they sent him the USAF test pilot school!

He has 6 hours logged flying in single engine jets without the engine running! He also made the only successful flame-out landing in the Harrier.
 
My understanding is that the later Brit Harriers, in the air defense role, had superior engines and performance. I could totally be talking out of my behind here, but I think I remember hearing folks talk about that. Either way, it is pretty overpowered owing to the vertical takeoff requirement, and as I understand, accelerates very quickly down low.
 
///AMG said:
My understanding is that the later Brit Harriers, in the air defense role, had superior engines and performance. I could totally be talking out of my behind here, but I think I remember hearing folks talk about that. Either way, it is pretty overpowered owing to the vertical takeoff requirement, and as I understand, accelerates very quickly down low.
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But you never see them operationally using the VTOL mode. Or at least I never have, having been deployed near them twice. Granted, they didn't need to, as they were at established bases, but I also don't think they could cary much and do so anyway.
 
MikeD said:
But you never see them operationally using the VTOL mode. Or at least I never have, having been deployed near them twice. Granted, they didn't need to, as they were at established bases, but I also don't think they could cary much and do so anyway.
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Oh absolutely. I just meant that a side effect of them designing the aircraft for VTOL is that the motor was then pretty "hot" for normal level flight.
 
MikeD said:
But you never see them operationally using the VTOL mode. Or at least I never have, having been deployed near them twice. Granted, they didn't need to, as they were at established bases, but I also don't think they could cary much and do so anyway.
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Did two gator cruises with Harriers. They only VTOL for practice on the boat and never with full tanks or groupd weps. It really heats up the engines and nozzles. They have to spray them down every two or three traps. Any other time they launched down the deck and landed VTOL when they came back the boat empty.
 
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