VIFF-ing the Harrier

Early in 1970, a Marine Lieutenant Colonel named Bud Baker (who, at the 1969 Farnborough Air Show, became one of the first two Marine Corps pilots to fly the Harrier) approached me at my usual Friday afternoon position at the bar of the Naval Air Test Centre (NATC). He made me two offers; a beer, and the opportunity to be the Marine Corps project officer for the development of air combat manoeuvring (ACM) with the Harrier aeroplane. The former I accepted immediately but the latter required some thought.

When he saw me hesitate, I was politely informed that he only asked out of courtesy, and the decision was not really mine. On top of that, he was to be my boss for the next several years and since he gave the project a high priority, I had better put it on the top of my list of things to do.

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