Love the harrier

[westr]

I’ve been flying in DCS a long time now, and I remember a time when Razbam were receiving a lot of flack for there modules, both The mirage and the harrier. They stuck with it, by the look of things they are getting the strike Eagle in a more polished state before it’s release compared to previous releases. I think Razbam deserve a lot of credit for their modules. I think the harrier is absolutely brilliant, it’s a difficult one to compare as it’s a unique flight model. However as a pc flight simmer it feels right, a heavy bomb load is really felt and when the bombs are gone it makes a noticeable difference, harrier is a great challenge to fly, the cockpit looks great, it runs great in VR, they listened and got the VR pilot body released, it’s a complex aircraft with loads of systems to master, they have made a ton of tutorials for it, well done Razbam I’m so glad you stuck with it with DCS. Here’s to your future modules. Can’t wait to buy the strike Eagle. 

[Spurts]

Agree, the Harrier is my go to plane for ground attack. 

[Topo]

Agree, it's also my preferred module. 

[Dangerzone]

I don't fly it as my primary module, but I'm so grateful to have it in my collection. The VTOL/STOL capabilities - able to land it at a FARP, on the Tarawa, etc allows me to have some real unique flying. It's unique weapon systems as well, yet not difficult to learn help.

I also have the A10II in my collection. I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I fly and enjoy the Harrier a lot more than the A10IIC. I think I've identified the cause too. For me it's always about the flying experience / flight characteristics first, and the weapons deployment is definitely second place. The A10IIC while a great weapons platform and more versatile and wins hands down in weapon employment - but with it's flying - well - it kinda feels like I'm flying around in my Cessna 182 from the flight side of things when compared to the Harrier which offers me some very unique flying opportunities. 

Probably the same reason why I love the UH-1 so much. Sure - it's probably the most useless chopper in the game when it comes to weapons - but my oh my - the flight characteristics and experience is just so enjoyable.

I don't know the history with Razbam and what's happened before I purchased the AV8B - but I'm happy with what I've got and eager to see what they do with the F15.

[Eugel]

38 minutes ago, Dangerzone said:

I also have the A10II in my collection. I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I fly and enjoy the Harrier a lot more than the A10IIC.

Same here, I fly the A-10 as my primary, but recently have had more fun with the Harrier.
A few times in multiplayer, I was the only A-10 while others were flying their F/A-18, so I had to start alone on some airfield and by the time I got to the target area, the party was already over. With the Harrier, you are more flexible, you can start with the others on a carrier, you can keep up with their speed, etc.

Sure, compared to the A-10 you only carry half as many weapons and have to head home to refuel and rearm more often.
But the Harrier is just so much more fun to fly. I love the agility, the engine sounds, the cockpit ... and vertical landings in VR are amazing.

[shinobi61]

I love the a10, but it's literally a close air support platform, ie, troops call in when they need some support or suppression, huge payloads and long loiter time. 

However in dcs playing online and etc, there is almost always SAMs and an urgency to get to a target because you will soon have fa18s bombarding the place with jsows.

So being able to get to the target faster in the harrier is better, awesome loadouts, (10x jdams and real jdam ripples)

Fun flight model, great for sead, in many cases the best, arguably the best tpod, without a tpod the DMT is amazing tool for auto bombing.

Nothing worse that flying 60nm in the a10 to a target area and an fa18c booms overhead and killing all targets with 8x cbu jsows before you arrive lol

This is why I'm flying the harrier alot more these days.

[Coole28]

I’d like to echo some of the points Shinobi61 said.  AV-8 is definitely the best ground pounder in DCS in my opinion, it’s really the most versatile guy out there.  

• The FLIR with it’s hot spot detector is an absolute godsend playing on multiplayer servers where enemy unit labels are disabled, especially in my low resolution VR headset.  Saves an awful lot of time in target acquisition, which in turn lowers the amount of time I have to loiter in dangerous territory.  The FLIR HUD repeater also makes night ops a breeze.
• DMT is a criminally underrated tool.  Going into engagements where I know there is a JTAC, I can replace  my TPOD with a jamming pod, increasing my survivability without sacrificing a weapon station.  In a pinch you can also use it for JDAM targeting too (though it is much less accurate than the TPOD).
• Sidearms are another criminally underrated tool as well.  I can’t speak for other pilots out here, but for me surprise SHORADs are a far bigger threat than enemy aircraft when doing CAS.  I’d take sidearms any day over sidewinders.  More than a few hours of my life were wasted flying an A-10 50+ miles to a target area just to have to turn around because it turns out an SA-15 is guarding said target area.  Not a problem with the AV-8.
• VTOL is both effective and loads of fun to do.  Being able to operate out of LHAs and FARPS is way more entertaining than airports, and can often get you on target faster as well. Plus you never have to worry about crashing into anybody when landing on congested airfields, you can just land directly in the parking spot!
• Perhaps most importantly, the FM makes the plane actually fun to fly.  F-18/16/Jeff are incredibly boring to fly, they basically just fly themselves apart from takeoff and landing.  Even the A-10 to a degree seems rather monotonous to fly.  Not in the AV-8 though, you can really feel the weight change as you drop munitions, and maintaining RPM and H2O during S/VTOL poses an enjoyable challenge.

[markturner1960]

Second all of these opinions, it's an awesome module, great looking, enourmous fun to learn to fly properly and really unique.....Love it, well done Razbam