The Harrier VTOL jet was good though ! ( and that
landed on 3 wheels as I recall )


I lived nearby to Dunsfold (about 1975) in the UK where the Harriers got
their final flight testing and they were a common sight hovering, going up
and down, flying backwards and sideways and once in awhile flying the way
they were supposed to. Was amazing to watch them "viffing" - flying straight
and level at high speed and then changing altitude without changing
attitude. The Argentinian Mirages and Skyhawks were caught continually with
that manoeuvrer.

I had a USAAF officer staying with me and he comes running in shouting that
theres a plane flying backwards. It was such a common sight that we all just
said "yep, happens all the time". He literally dragged us out to watch this
plane that he knew nothing about and could not believe that they were flying
in the UK. He wanted to know if Boeing or MacDouglas made the things -
cheeky *******.

BTW they had four landing/take off wheels, two that came out of the
fuselage, and two that rotated from the wing tips.

Its amazing that the technology comes from the 1960s and that people can now
make model versions on the Harriers with micro computer controlled jet
swivels, etc.