(c) Copyright 2008 Nalls Aviation Inc.
‘Jump jet’ gets drafted for civilian flying duty
Former Marine flies his own ‘hot rod’ Harrier
By Matt Thurber
AINonline
Saturday, March 1, 2008
AINonline
Saturday, March 1, 2008
First Flight, Finally
Once the starter problem was solved, Nalls and team held a briefing in preparation for the first flight from the 4,150-foot runway at St. Mary’s County. Nalls flew a rolling takeoff, and right after liftoff the radio failed. Fortunately, he had briefed for this possibility and the team members in the chaseplane–a Beech Baron–knew exactly what was on Nalls’ test card and also knew to help him with any necessary radio calls.
Everything worked fine, although one caution light illuminated, warning of a problem with cooling in a rear equipment bay, and there was one small fuel leak. Nalls flew for about 15 minutes then landed conventionally (horizontally). The warning light was the result of a missing panel in the equipment bay, but the temperature inside the bay wasn’t actually higher than normal. The radio and fuel leak were fixed and the team celebrated the first flight.
Once the starter problem was solved, Nalls and team held a briefing in preparation for the first flight from the 4,150-foot runway at St. Mary’s County. Nalls flew a rolling takeoff, and right after liftoff the radio failed. Fortunately, he had briefed for this possibility and the team members in the chaseplane–a Beech Baron–knew exactly what was on Nalls’ test card and also knew to help him with any necessary radio calls.
Everything worked fine, although one caution light illuminated, warning of a problem with cooling in a rear equipment bay, and there was one small fuel leak. Nalls flew for about 15 minutes then landed conventionally (horizontally). The warning light was the result of a missing panel in the equipment bay, but the temperature inside the bay wasn’t actually higher than normal. The radio and fuel leak were fixed and the team celebrated the first flight.
On November 11, Nalls took off again after the team briefing. Twelve minutes into the flight, the number one hydraulic system failed completely. The failure was later discovered to be the result of a burst hydraulic line.
The Harrier has two hydraulic systems, but the number two system powers only the elevator and ailerons. That means no brakes, no flaps and possibly no landing gear if the emergency system doesn’t work. The big problem for Nalls was that it would be impossible to stop at St. Mary’s without brakes, and in any case, the drill for failure of the primary hydraulic system is to land vertically.
Landing vertically is not a problem if the landing gear works. But Nalls was unable to get the gear all the way down. He decided to go to Patuxent River Naval Air Station, just minutes away, instead of returning to St. Mary’s. He had asked the folks at Pax River months earlier if he could operate the Harrier from there, but they had refused. The hydraulic failure, however, was a first-class emergency, allowing Nalls the discretion to handle it as he saw fit. The safest option was Pax River.
Nalls knew that landing a Harrier with the gear up in a hover is a dangerous move, but it is also the only and approved way to land a gearless Harrier. The tricky part is that unless such a landing is executed perfectly, the nose might cant forward, collapsing the cockpit and causing the ejection seat to fire. “It can be fatal,” Nalls said. “I was between a rock and a hard place. I hadn’t hovered in 16 years and I had 20 minutes worth of fuel; the pucker factor goes up in a hurry.”
The Harrier has two hydraulic systems, but the number two system powers only the elevator and ailerons. That means no brakes, no flaps and possibly no landing gear if the emergency system doesn’t work. The big problem for Nalls was that it would be impossible to stop at St. Mary’s without brakes, and in any case, the drill for failure of the primary hydraulic system is to land vertically.
Landing vertically is not a problem if the landing gear works. But Nalls was unable to get the gear all the way down. He decided to go to Patuxent River Naval Air Station, just minutes away, instead of returning to St. Mary’s. He had asked the folks at Pax River months earlier if he could operate the Harrier from there, but they had refused. The hydraulic failure, however, was a first-class emergency, allowing Nalls the discretion to handle it as he saw fit. The safest option was Pax River.
Nalls knew that landing a Harrier with the gear up in a hover is a dangerous move, but it is also the only and approved way to land a gearless Harrier. The tricky part is that unless such a landing is executed perfectly, the nose might cant forward, collapsing the cockpit and causing the ejection seat to fire. “It can be fatal,” Nalls said. “I was between a rock and a hard place. I hadn’t hovered in 16 years and I had 20 minutes worth of fuel; the pucker factor goes up in a hurry.”
Article 3d
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(c) Copyright 2008 Nalls Aviation Inc.
Last updated on 11/30/2008
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