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Vectoring nozzles in flight.


DaveRindner

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Anyone practice that skill? On ground, I really like the ability of AV-8B to taxi backwards, doing its own pushback. On STOL, vector nozzles all the way to 110 and use 1/3 thrust to use as breaking aid. Cool stuff.

In a high G high energy turn, try viffing the nozzles to 85 to 90 with max thrust to push A/C into tighter turn. Don't do that whilein a barell roll. I tried it twice, and both time, if VIFF is done quickly at high bank, the aircraft departs.

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Curious about how others control nozzles with a single throttle unit. I wanted to use the pinky wheel on TM 16000m FCS throttle to control nozzles, but I need that to zoom in and out more frequently so I use one of the thumb switches for the nozzles instead.

 

It feels awkward using the switch to viff because it happens so fast, but the nozzles rotate so slowly with a switch as opposed to the wheel.

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I have X-56 Rhino. I map throttle pitch trim wheel as axis to NOZZLE ANGLE. Seems natural. In real Harrier, nozzle angle is not on a HOTAS, but in DCS it can be. However even with angle limiter, I cannot land or takeoff vertically, or hold the A/C in stable hover. For me its a like balancing broom stick in palm of your hand. Hopefully I'll get better with time. I also struggle with mental control inversion. When hovering and doing VSTOL, or trying to, my muscle memory thinks its a helicopter collective. Two skills interfere with each other in my case.

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Heres what I do in VTOL.(some of it lol)

 

 

Some cool moves including the VTOL Pirouette and the rocket.:pilotfly:

 

 

In order to fly like that I have a split throttle one is for throttle the other is for nozzle and that's how to get the most out of the Harrier also feathering those two is how to use them effectively.


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However even with angle limiter, I cannot land or takeoff vertically, or hold the A/C in stable hover

 

 

Same here. I have tried and tried and tried.

Even with zero wind the aircraft will simply not hover...it usually tilts up and will fall back if no correction is made..

 

 

Any tips on plain hovering folks ?

 

 

Thanks

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You are sure you have all the correct things, like no weapons (than gun and sidewinders), water set to Take-Off position, full flaps, you have guns or the wings set in loadout, VTOL mode, throttle at maximum etc?

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I have X-56 Rhino. I map throttle pitch trim wheel as axis to NOZZLE ANGLE. Seems natural. In real Harrier, nozzle angle is not on a HOTAS, but in DCS it can be. However even with angle limiter, I cannot land or takeoff vertically, or hold the A/C in stable hover. For me its a like balancing broom stick in palm of your hand. Hopefully I'll get better with time. I also struggle with mental control inversion. When hovering and doing VSTOL, or trying to, my muscle memory thinks its a helicopter collective. Two skills interfere with each other in my case.

 

Yes, it is exactly like balancing a broom on your hand. It's a 20,000 lbs jet, it does not want to hover. If you stop focusing and making corrections for a second you will lose your balance. Landing on the Tarawa is slightly easier because you are given a 30 kt headwind due to the ship steaming forward. You are a little more stable but not much.

 

You can't stop correcting when in hover, and it may require severe control movements to stay true.

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Watching YT of old'er documentaries on Harrier, it seems that by nature of its design , Harrier, when in hover, wants to fly backwards, so a gentle push forward on stick is needed.

Unless landing on a still vessel with helicopter sized aviation deck, or LHA with no headway, I think that hovering and pure 0 kias with zero headwind, those skills are perhaps not critical to good usage of AV-8B in DCS (and perhaps in real world). As long as one can land at 50 knots, without breaking or flipping A/C , in any MET condition, it is good enough , to advance to weapons training. Requiring pure VSTOL is just, IMHO , not critical. As long aviator can take off and land AV-8B like Fieseler Storch (Very short TOL), it is sufficient for combat effectiveness. Pure vertical is really for airshow cuircuit. Operation missions flown with fuel and mission specific stores, use STOL departures and recoveries. I do understand that likely all NATO HarrierII community and respective services , do not agree with that, and push pure vertical T/O and land capability to be qualified and coded. But its unnecessarily increases training time and cost, as well as introducing unnecessary risk into training and operational missions. At 45-50 knots IAS, as long as GW is within limits, there is H20, AV-8B handles nice and safe. On touchdown, with ground speed falling very fast, and nozzles pushed beyond 90 deg. and full toebrakes, AV-8B can stop within 4-5 of its fuselage length. At least it does that in DCS, for our purposes.

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Same here. I have tried and tried and tried.

Even with zero wind the aircraft will simply not hover...it usually tilts up and will fall back if no correction is made..

 

 

Any tips on plain hovering folks ?

 

 

Thanks

 

Trim. It also helps if you do by the book accelerating and decelerating transitions. It will set you up for the hover quite nicely instead of just slamming on the breaks and trying to hover.

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