AV-8B no gear landing on USS Bataan

originally posted by: coastlinekid
The pilot should get a bonus worth half the value of the plane!

This is why he gets his huge salary...lol. Just think in a few years he will be flying for Delta or United...that's his big payoff and all that skill will be a loss to the military. No bonuses for this guy for doing his job and to get a bonus he'd have to work for the VA doing nothing.

originally posted by: tsurfer2000h
a reply to: boomer135

There's a lighting system on the deck that the pilot looks out at to land in circumstances like that. He couldn't see the stool from the cockpit.

Even with the lighting system it must have been a nerve racking few until he finally got down on deck. Quick question for you...

How heavy would that Harrier be at the nose, because it doesn't seem to me that a stool would be strong enough to handle the weight, but I guess it was.

The rear landing gear sits behind the airplanes center of gravity so more weight is carried by the nose wheel. It may be in the neighborhood of 55% of total weight. On a normal airplane as opposed to a Harrier weight is distributed between all wheels and the main wheels are still slightly behind the C of G so the nose wheel carries maybe 35% of the airplane's weight. On tail dragger like the P51 the main gear is slightly ahead of the CofG but the weight distribution is the same as a normal airplane. The tail wheel carries about 35% of the total weight. Clear as mud ..right.