bootneck Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I work as a volunteer, at the Helicopter Museum at Weston Super Mare, and I was in for a treat when two lorries turned up late this afternoon transporting the parts of a Harrier GR.1. It is not a normal GR.1 though as it is the one that was used by Rolls Royce as a test bed for supersonic harriers. This aircraft was, until recently, on display at Kemble in Gloucestershire. The aircraft serial is XV798 The harrier is being off-loaded (in the dark and in pouring rain!) to be laid up for a while outside the main hangar. I'll let you know what future plans there are for it when I find out. I'll leave it to the real harrier enthusiasts here to provide descriptions, histories and specifications of those massive forward thrusters! cheers Mike . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Velociweiler Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 PCB as far as I remember. Plenum chamber burning. Not that I have the foggiest what that means... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Should be good for a whif though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Velociweiler Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Just going by memory, and that only (i.e. no academic knowledge...) this configuration Harrier was in investigation circa roughly 1978, at around the same time the US AV8-C (externally identical - to my eye, other than colour scheme - to the AV8-A) was in a similar programme in the USA. At the present, I get the feeling, in the UK at least, that project is going no further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charley420 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Did it ever fly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Velociweiler Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Did it ever fly? The photos I remember seeing (and what I base my memories on) had the airframe rigged to a gimballing gantry. The airframe being powered, but not in free flight, in the traditonal manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 I believe the original airframe (GR.1) did, but not with that engine spec. The GR.1 crashed in Germany and then Rolls Royce received it to do testing with the Plenum chamber-burning thruster prototype. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 I've seen pictures of it from when it was being tested but had no idea it had survived, it's great news that it has and that it's going to be looked after! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 At the recent FAA Yeovilton show, our stand was in front of the P1127 - behind which was a Pegasus engine on display. Next to it was the BS-100 PCB engine. The front 'hot' nozzle was nowhere near as big as the one on your Harrier though - maybe a proposed production engine? Doh! - I've just realised that your Harrier has a BS-53 Pegasus with PCB - the engine at the FAA Museum is the definitive BS-100 - designed from the outset with PCB. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 .............Doh! - I've just realised that your Harrier has a BS-53 Pegasus with PCB. Hi Ken, all information gratefully received. Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now