No more Harriers

I was at my office at the airport a few weeks ago and heard what was obviously a fighter jet coming in. What was weird is that the noise didn’t subside, like the jet was slow rolling in. I ran outside to see several Harriers coming in doing the short landing thing. So freaking cool!
 
Frack N Cylons said:
I was at my office at the airport a few weeks ago and heard what was obviously a fighter jet coming in. What was weird is that the noise didn’t subside, like the jet was slow rolling in. I ran outside to see several Harriers coming in doing the short landing thing. So freaking cool!
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They do have a very distinctive sound would those Rolls-Royce engines. I loved having them on station for CAS because a) they were Marines and knew the job, and b) they could fly low and slow and loiter forever it seemed.

In my increasingly foggy memory bank, I remember Cherry Point being the home of A-4s, A-6s, the Harriers, and Pedro, the orange-coned CH-46 of VMR-1 that did search and rescue in Eastern North Carolina. I think they also had a time of having some F-4s, but not for long and the Marines relocated those two Beaufort, South Carolina.

All of those are gone now and pretty soon the base will have only F-35s.
 
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Funny timing, a friend is doing some work in San Diego and sent a pic of one of the small flat tops with a Harrier on deck, I asked thinking they’d been retired but he knows ships not planes so didn’t even know that’s what it was. Guess they’re bringing the last in the Pacific in too.
 
Some years ago we were spending a few days at one of the NC beaches. I don't remember which one, but not far from Wilmington, as I recall. In one of the beachfront hotels. Some time in the late evening there was suddenly a lot of noise outside on the beach and a lot of light. Going out onto the balcony of our room we saw a Harrier hovering at very low altitude just past the surf, pointed inland. I'm thinking less than 100 ft.? I don't recall looking upwards at it! It did that for just a couple of minutes and then turned and flew south. I have no idea what they were doing or why. But it was a very cool event.

Purely as an inexperienced civilian, I'll miss the Harriers and the A-10s.
 
Mathieu18 said:
Funny timing, a friend is doing some work in San Diego and sent a pic of one of the small flat tops with a Harrier on deck, I asked thinking they’d been retired but he knows ships not planes so didn’t even know that’s what it was. Guess they’re bringing the last in the Pacific in too.
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As I understand, the West Coast has finished their last deployment of Harrier squadrons as well. They are also transitioning to the F-35.
 
Frack N Cylons said:
I was at my office at the airport a few weeks ago and heard what was obviously a fighter jet coming in. What was weird is that the noise didn’t subside, like the jet was slow rolling in. I ran outside to see several Harriers coming in doing the short landing thing. So freaking cool!
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I parked cars at RDU years ago, on my way to Hertz I got to see the F-15 come in to land at the start of the runway as I drove under it, very cool.
 
I saw an air show demonstration at the Reading Pa air show many years ago.
They had a harrier hover aver the runway, slowly point the nose upward, cut in the afterburners, and seem to disappear.
It was impressive..

also saw the Blue angles as a kid and loved them. also saw them a few time since then, Dayton Oh, and Portsmouth NH, I had lunch near Miramar and spent most of the time looking at the aircraft flying around
 
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My son lives in Havelock, attending the Aviation Maintenance school at Craven Community College. Often we’ll be talking on the phone and he has to stop long enough for the Harriers to pass by just above the trees.

And some days when I have my kayak just off the north end of the runway at Cahooque Creek, it’s like my own private low altitude air show.
 
711b said:
They seem to fly over the Seattle area (and my son's house) on a pretty regular basis. He sends us videos of them. :)
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They are there if there's an airshow. They are based in Pensacola, Fla., so that's where they go after each show.

I have not seen them in a few years now, not since they have transitioned to the new Super Hornet. We'd catch them at the show at Cherry Point, and the Thunderbirds at the show at SJAFB in Goldsboro.

MostWanted said:
My son lives in Havelock, attending the Aviation Maintenance school at Craven Community College. Often we’ll be talking on the phone and he has to stop long enough for the Harriers to pass by just above the trees.

And some days when I have my kayak just off the north end of the runway at Cahooque Creek, it’s like my own private low altitude air show.
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We used to stop at the little Dairy Queen in Havelock on 70 on the way back from the beach, we'd sit and watch the planes come overhead. Same for Wilbur's BBQ on 70 in Goldsboro, we'd get sandwiches and eat in the car, watching the B-52s/F-4s/F-15s come overhead to land.
 
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