Putting the record straight

On the 11th July John Farley gave an excellent 'Powerpoint' illustrated talk to some 70 Association members on the origins and development of the Harrier family, correcting a number of misconceptions which have taken root over the years.

Starting with the engine, John described Frenchman, Michel Wibault's idea for a new form of powerplant to give his Gyropter aircraft the ability to take-off and land vertically. Frustrated in his own country when Marcel Dassault rejected the scheme Wibault turned to the US funded NATO Mutual Weapons Defence Programme who brought the Bristol Engine company into the picture. At Filton under the direction of Stanley Hooker, Gordon Lewis turned Wibault's idea into a practical vectored thrust engine. Next came Hawkers where Ralph Hooper under Sydney Camm devised an aircraft layout to suit the engine. Perfected by Hooper the layout became the P.1127 and the Harrier.

The rest was history. Harrier I grew into the UK-US Harrier II, still in production at Boeing, St Louis. The US-UK JSF, Joint Strike Fighter, continues the line with Lockheed-Martin and BAE Systems collaborating on the design and development, the demonstrator phase having been successfully completed.

There was a long question and answer session after the talk in which John had made complex technical concepts easy to follow, without becoming simplistic. A very enjoyable afternoon was had by all present.