Roberto Inzerillo wrote: >> Clarification: I was referring to the vertical "hover" for the MiG 29. The >> Harrier can hover horizontally very nicely, and can "bow", or hold another >> stable pitch attitude, and while hovering it can also be rotated about a >> vertical axis, under control. Yes, that gives it capabilities like a >> helicopter, in some ways. Still, is that really useful in air-to-air >> "dogfighting", or in preparing to launch a missile while beyond visual >> range, beyond the range of the enemy's missiles, and while not closing the >> distance to the target aircraft? >> > I think the Harrier potentials in hovering and vertical takeoff/landing > are not for dogfighting but for strategic reasons. The Harrier can > takeoff/land without standard airfields, which makes them usefull even > when enemies destroy nearby airfields. The Harrier can takeoff from very > small carriers too. >
Yes, that was the justification for doing it in the first place, but in the Falklands RNAF pilots developed an air to air tactic for reversing dogfights called "vector in forward flight" that is partly credited for their extreme air superiority in that war. Of course, they were mostly fighting Pucaras, with a small number of Mirages thrown in, but the point is that the pilots were definitely using the hovering capabilities in dogfights. Josh ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV _______________________________________________ Flightgear-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-users
