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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The AV-8B developed the vectored-thrust Harrier into a second generation of ground-attack aircraft. It served in close air support and reconnaissance roles in the United States, Spain and Italy. The British Harrier II and tandem-seat TAV-8B are related developments. The simulator product represents the AV-8B.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗The first ski-jump looks like a wall
Moving from the Hawk to the Harrier gave Schofield a much larger set of flying techniques to keep practised. He remembered the vibration on the ground, the view from the cockpit and the unusual experience of hovering over a field with cows nearby. Even returning after a weekend could leave a pilot feeling rusty in one part of the repertoire. His first carrier ski-jump departure brought a different surprise.
Hush-Kit interview · February 2019. RAF Harrier GR.7 conversion in 2000; this British Harrier II account does not establish identical AV-8B cockpit equipment.
Hush-Kit · Read more ↗Adjust how the simulator presents movement and sound
The package lists a Smartview camera tied to flight path and speed, configurable sounds and aural warnings, and optional particle effects. These presentation settings accompany the aircraft’s navigation and flight controls.
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II · X-Trident · X-Plane 11
X-Trident · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube USA Military Channel · 9 min ·
COCKPIT VIEW - AV-8B Harrier II's Amazing Vertical Take-off & Landing
Cockpit footage shows the AV-8B operating from a ship and a runway.
Real aircraft · McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
The AV-8B developed the vectored-thrust Harrier into a second generation of ground-attack aircraft. It served in close air support and reconnaissance roles in the United States, Spain and Italy. The British Harrier II and tandem-seat TAV-8B are related developments. The simulator product represents the AV-8B.
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
McDonnell Douglas → · Explore the family →
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
Wikipedia contributors · McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II ↗X-Trident · X-Plane 11 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Cherry Point links the first aircraft with the final trainees
The Marine Corps report places the first AV-8B arrival at Cherry Point in January 1984. Forty years later, the same community marked the qualification of its final two new Harrier pilots, connecting the programme’s beginnings with its planned transition.
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing · Marines receive last AV-8B Harrier pilot designations ↗April 2024 retrospective; subsequent retirement timing is not established by this report
Development milestones
First flight: YAV-8B: 9 November 1978 AV-8B: 5 November 1981
Developed from: Hawker Siddeley Harrier
Wikipedia contributors · McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II ↗McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1372770805
Pilot accounts
The first ski-jump looks like a wall
Moving from the Hawk to the Harrier gave Schofield a much larger set of flying techniques to keep practised. He remembered the vibration on the ground, the view from the cockpit and the unusual experience of hovering over a field with cows nearby. Even returning after a weekend could leave a pilot feeling rusty in one part of the repertoire.
His first carrier ski-jump departure brought a different surprise. From the cockpit, the ramp looked alarmingly like a wall, despite the notes and briefing that explained what would happen. Once the aircraft was airborne, the immediate worry shifted to getting it back aboard.
Hush-Kit interview · February 2019. RAF Harrier GR.7 conversion in 2000; this British Harrier II account does not establish identical AV-8B cockpit equipment.
Read the full account · Hush-Kit ↗Joining the Harrier community as its final new class
Corbett and Jorgensen completed the last AV-8B pilot training class with a low-altitude close-air-support training sortie. For Corbett, earning the designation was a proud achievement with an unusual emotional setting: he was entering a community that already knew its aircraft was approaching the end of Marine service.
He described the occasion as bittersweet, recognising both the work behind reaching the cockpit and the significance of being among the final newcomers. The report also gives space to the squadron supporting the two pilots as they moved towards fleet assignments. It records the start of their Harrier careers in spring 2024, without assuming that the transition dates planned at the time describe the fleet’s present status.
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing report · April 2024. Corbett and Sven Jorgensen completed their final qualifying sortie on 29 March; counted as one reported account, with Corbett’s remarks.
Read the full account · 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing ↗Taking the AV-8B from a test programme onto ships
Nalls’s biography describes a move from operational flying into a small test team at Patuxent River after test-pilot school. Four pilots shared work on the new AV-8B, giving him a place in the aircraft’s development as well as experience flying it. The assignments extended beyond a normal squadron’s daily routine.
Shipboard trials took that work onto the Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi and Spanish Príncipe de Asturias, helping establish how the aircraft would operate from those decks. His biography also records engine-restart testing involving Harrier variants and other aircraft. These reported assignments show the range of a test pilot’s working life; the combined totals in the source are not presented as hours flown exclusively in an AV-8B.
Nalls Aviation biography. Selected material concerns AV-8B/TAV-8B test work after U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in 1985; earlier AV-8A incidents are separate.
Read the full account · Nalls Aviation ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 11McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
X-Trident · Released
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
X-Trident · Released
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024AV-8B Harrier II, Plus and GR9
DC Designs · Released
AV-8B Harrier II, Plus and GR9
DC Designs · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 46 ft 4 in (14.12 m) |
| Wingspan | 30 ft 4 in (9.25 m) |
| Height | 11 ft 8 in (3.55 m) |
| Wing area | 243.4 sq ft (22.61 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 13,968 lb (6,340 kg) |
| Gross weight | 22,950 lb (10,410 kg) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Rolls-Royce Pegasus F402-RR-408 (Mk 107) vectored-thrust turbofan , 23,500 lbf (105 kN) thrust |
| Maximum speed | 585 kn (673 mph, 1,083 km/h) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 0.9 |
| Range | 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) |
| Rate of climb | 14,700 ft/min (75 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Adjust how the simulator presents movement and soundMcDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II · X-Trident · X-Plane 11
The package lists a Smartview camera tied to flight path and speed, configurable sounds and aural warnings, and optional particle effects. These presentation settings accompany the aircraft’s navigation and flight controls.
X-Plane 11 product feature list · gathered September 2026
X-Trident · Read the source ↗Pilot account
The first ski-jump looks like a wallHush-Kit interview · February 2019. RAF Harrier GR.7 conversion in 2000; this British Harrier II account does not establish identical AV-8B cockpit equipment.
Moving from the Hawk to the Harrier gave Schofield a much larger set of flying techniques to keep practised. He remembered the vibration on the ground, the view from the cockpit and the unusual experience of hovering over a field with cows nearby. Even returning after a weekend could leave a pilot feeling rusty in one part of the repertoire. His first carrier ski-jump departure brought a different surprise.
James Schofield
Hush-Kit · Read the source ↗Joining the Harrier community as its final new class2nd Marine Aircraft Wing report · April 2024. Corbett and Sven Jorgensen completed their final qualifying sortie on 29 March; counted as one reported account, with Corbett’s remarks.
Corbett and Jorgensen completed the last AV-8B pilot training class with a low-altitude close-air-support training sortie. For Corbett, earning the designation was a proud achievement with an unusual emotional setting: he was entering a community that already knew its aircraft was approaching the end of Marine service. He described the occasion as bittersweet, recognising both the work behind reaching the cockpit and the significance of being among the final newcomers.
Joshua Corbett
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
DC Designs AV-8B Harrier II manualDC Designs / Just Flight · Manual captured 28 September 2026; flap, trim and nozzle operationAircraft background
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier IIWikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12Product
Harrier AV-8B XP11X-Trident · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Developer documentation
DC Designs AV-8B Harrier IIDC Designs / Just Flight · Product listing captured 28 September 2026; MSFS 2020 and 2024Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 2 profile choices
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 11
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II: The selected centre accompanies the powered-control aircraft rendition.
DC Designs Harrier II (AV-8B / Plus / GR9)
DC Designs · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
The second-generation Harrier, designed around vectored thrust and short-field operation.
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