11 - Harrier
Issue 11 - Harrier: Contents
29 July 2011
Aviation Classics takes a leap forward in time this month as we trace the history of one of the most remarkable aircraft of all time. Sir Sydney Camm’s design department at Hawker Siddeley began design work in 1957 on the world’s first vertical take-off and landing jet aircraft, and we tell the story from this time to the RAF’s retirement of the type in 2010. With never before published photographs from the Falklands War, Iraq and Afghanistan, Issue 11 is a unique tribute to the Harrier, its engineers and pilots.
Issue 11 - Harrier: Aviation and politics: Do not mix - Editor's introduction
29 July 2011.
I find this page hard to write, espcially when I am angry. One day my best friend counselled me thus: “If you feel anger, write about it, it will give you perspective and calm the emotion.” Okay, it’s worth a try, thought I. That said, you are looking at the 24th draft of this introduction. See, I told you it was hard.
Issue 11 - Harrier: The Harrier Abroad
28 July 2011.
Overseas customers for the Harrier were surprisingly few. Interestingly, all the foreign air arms to operate the Harrier bought their aircraft through the United States with two exceptions.
Issue 11 - Harrier: The Trainers - The Harrier T.2 to T.12, and the TAV-8A and B
28 July 2011.
The unusual handling of the new VTOL aircraft and the unique skills required of its pilots led to the development of a range of two-seat trainer variants to assist in converting pilots to the Harrier. Prior to its introduction, a new pilot’s first solo flight was also his first flight!
Current Issue: Lockheed P-38 Lightning
On January 27, 1939, Lockheed test pilot Ben Kelsey took the prototype XP-38 Lightning into the air for the first time. The big, twin-engined, twin-boomed fighter was to become one of the most easily identifiable fighters of the Second World War, and was to be the only US fighter aircraft to remain in production throughout the conflict. Its unusual design had a number of advantages. The guns, being grouped close together in the nose, gave the P-38 a tremendous concentration of firepower. The tricycle undercarriage made ground handling simple when compared with the tailwheel designs common to the period. The P-38 was used across the world, undertaking long range fighter escort, fighter-bomber and reconnaissance missions in Europe as well as across the Pacific and Far East.
This issue of Aviation Classics tells the whole story of this ground breaking aircraft, as well as the people behind the development and operational success of this beautiful machine.
PLUS:
• Next issue on sale: 30th March 2012
