Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha recalls the legendry John Farley and the Indian Navy’s legendry Sea Harriers
John Farley with Shekhar Sinha and Arun Prakash
It was 1972 and we were Midshipmen under flying training with the IAF. Having “survived” the basic and intermediate stages, we were on the last stage at Fighter Training Wing, AFS Hakimpet. ‘Lead-in-fighter training’ in the IAF was going through critical times, with depleting numbers of Vampire trainers and its replacement not yet finalised . Even before we arrived at Hakimpet we knew that ours would possibly be the last course to train on the venerable Vampire.
We were six Midshipmen and our leader of Naval pilots was a dashing young Lieutenant ‘Raju’ Sethi. There were numerous rumours floating around as to how the Navy would soon be without a carrier-borne fighter in the foreseeable future. The Sea Hawks were on their last legs post-1971 war, having done outstandingly well to ensure blockade off the erstwhile East Bengal and hastening surrender of the Pakistan Army.
That there was no fighter replacement for the Sea Hawk was extremely discouraging to us, the Naval Aviators of No.112 Flying Pilots Course, particularly when all 7 pilots were being trained for the fighter stream. Then we learnt of the visit of the DASD, Captain Ram Tahiliani (later Chief of the Naval Staff) to FTW. One had heard a great deal about him (nicknamed ‘Tally Ho !’) being the first Indian Navy pilot to land a Sea Hawk on the INS Vikrant. He was a Flying Instructor and Test Pilot trained in France. We were looking forward to meeting him, essentially to ascertain what awaited our return to the Navy after we had earned our ‘golden wings’.
Admiral ‘Tally Ho’ Tahiliani and (then) Cdr Arun Prakash
It was during conversations with him that I first heard of John Farley, the context being that John Farley had done a demonstration deck landing of the Harrier onboard INS Vikrant in July 1972. Incidentally, this was the first ever deck operation of the Harrier anywhere in the world. John had also flown Capt Tahiliani in the two seater demonstrator (G-VTOL). He was then Deputy Chief Test Pilot of Hawker Siddeley Aviation facility at Dunsfold. We were assured by him that the Indian Naval fighter stream had “great future”, with replacement of Sea Hawk being “round the corner”.
After earning our wings, we joined INAS 551 based at Goa in December 1974. The operational Sea Hawk Squadron INAS 300 ‘White Tigers’ next door to be was our next step, though they had very few aircraft left in their inventory . We, in 551, were the first batch to fly HAL-built Kiran Mk.1s but there were two Vampires T.55s as well. Having flown Vampires at Hakimpet, we were reasonably current and would fly them as and when they came on the flight line. After we finished our OFT, we were still hopeful of getting into Sea Hawk cockpits and this became a reality only in December 1976.
Much later, in 1980, while posted at AFA as an instructor on Kirans, the Chief Flying Instructor one day sent for me and mentioned that I was to revert to the Navy and proceed for Sea Harrier induction. By early 1982, the Sea Hawk squadron was virtually number-plated with Cdr Arun Prakash as the Squadron Commander of a combined 300/551 Squdron. In April 1982, Cdr Arun Prakash (CO designate of the new Sea Harrier squadron) and Lt Shekhar Sinha, the QFI designate, got their orders to proceed to the UK for Harrier Flying Training.
Arun Prakash and Shekhar Sinha with Harrier at RAF Wittering
In the UK two of us commenced our flying on the Jet Provost (for UK orientation) at RAF Brawdy in April 1982 and thereafter to the Harrier Basic Conversion at RAF Wittering ( 233 OCU). The next phase was to undergo Sea Harrier OFT (on Indian Navy aircraft) with British instructors and Technical Staff at the Royal Navy’s Air Station at Yeovilton. Our first two Sea Harriers (IN 601 and 602) were still not ready. Therefore, Cdr Arun Prakash and I were deputed to the British Aerospace facility at Dunsfold to acquire factory background experience and test flying techniques. We were later authorised to fly in the prototype two-seater G-VTOL with British Aerospace test pilots, the Chief Test Pilot being the legendary John Farley, this being 10 years after I had first heard of John – and now I actually got to meet him !
We were located at the Chief Test Pilot’s office complex which gave us immediate access to the test pilot Mike (‘Snagger’) Snelling, Heinz Frick and Taylor Scott, were the other Harrier test pilots.
This phase of our continuation training was extremely educative since we would actually observe the aircraft being built in the manufacturing facility and could get into the minutest of details of “why” and “why not” of every aspect of the Harrier. We could walk into John’s office whenever he was not in the cockpit. He was a serious looking, very composed gentleman with an occasional faint smile. He was meticulous in explaining aerodynamics of the Harrier and its on revolutionary VSTOL concept. John would firmly draw the lines between dos and do nots, having been associated with Harrier development since its inception, from the days of the Kestrel P 1117. He was actually the last word in the Harrier Force.
Two-seat Harrier demonstrator (G-VTOL) at Farnborough. This was the aircraft that carried with trials in India during 1972, both with the Navy at Goa and on-board INS Vikrant and later, for the IAF at Safdarjung Airport in the heart of New Delhi.
My first opportunity to fly with John Farley was on a cold British winter morning of November 1982 in G-VTOL, (GVeetol as it was affectionately called). We had a lengthy pre flight briefing in his office. He was aware that on return to India my task was to train new pilots on the Sea Harrier and therefore the importance of comprehensive understanding of the mighty Pegasus engine and various aerodynamics. The two-seater aircraft displayed relatively greater instability than the single seater since it was bigger in size and heavier but engine thrust was the same. John walked up to the briefing board and explained in great detail, for instance, the phenomenon of Intake Momentum Drag (IMD), typical to the Harrier particularly the two seaters. Very often, during the briefing, he would remind us that adverse effect of IMD was controllable but should not be attempted as a flight demonstration. There had been some very tragic losses of lives in the past during this flight regime.
After briefing we would walk upto the aircraft and went round for external checks. He would carefully explain every part of the airframe and its aerodynamics. Nothing of the Harrier’s design was without a reason our subsequent start up and taxi was uneventful since we were now qualified Harrier pilots. At Dunsfold we were getting the hang of G Veetol which was the only Harrier in the world without a Head Up Display thus requiring frequent reference to head down instruments which made flying a real challenge. John had complete mastery over the Harrier, and could demonstrate a critical test flight point, show as to how things could go wrong - and more critically, how the pilot should go about correcting it.
Back on the circuit then, we practiced different types of landings that the Harrier was capable of. John emphasised monitoring of a number of head down instruments during the approach and simultaneously carry out perfect visual landings. The real seat-of-the-pants flying skill of John was brilliantly on display during the last approach to hover. It was a virtually no winds (good for a vertical landing) with fair amount of snow deposit on the landing pad. He hovered G Veetol initially at what looked like 80 feet above the landing pad. During descent to the landing pad we came into ground effect, marked by increased airframe vibrations, when the Harrier is most unstable. This was accompanied with snow being spewed all around the aircraft by its powerful jet blast. Normally one does a reasonably hard landing with the Harrier : the throttle is shut closed short-of touch down in order to kill its entire energy to prevent bounce back and instability in ground effect.
Having entered the ground effect John then demonstrated a perfect spot turn through 360 degrees to prove that the jet was controllable even in an unstable regime. I was speechless – and probably breathless – while John was at home and in complete control of the two-seater. Spot turn in hover itself could be of challenge – and one would not even think of attempting the manoeuvre in ground effect.
During debriefs he cautioned against trying this manoevore as a demonstration but the fact that it was still controllable gave me all the confidence I needed in my subsequent Harrier instructor years when back in India. That was one and only John Farley.
[This was written soon after John Farley passed away on 13 June 2018]
John Farley, 1933-2018
John Farley, OBE, AFC (1933 – 2018) was a fighter pilot at the Royal Air Force and became an experimental test pilot majorly involved in the development of the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 and latterly the BAe Harrier.
John Farley subsequently joined the Aerodynamics Research Flight at RAE Bedford which had him associated with the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 which in turn led to his long and successful association with BAe Dunsfold, leading to 19 years of Harrier test flying. He joined Hawker Aviation as a company test pilot in 1967 following his service in the RAF, later being appointed Deputy Chief Test Pilot in 1971 and Chief Test Pilot in 1978. In this capacity he began work on the development of the Sea Harrier, being the first pilot to undertake a take off with the aid of the 'ski-jump' and demonstrating this to the general public at the 1978 Farnborough Airshow.
One particularly challenging aspect of the test flying programme on the Harrier revolved around Intake Momentum Drag Yaw, which aspect had the mass of air ingested by the intake of the engine during a crosswind possibly leading to a state of uncontrolled roll. John Farley deliberately flew right into the edge of this condition repeatedly, so that a system to counter it could be developed.
He was involved in the conversion course onto the Harrier of the first United States Marine Corps pilots in 1967, which at that time consisted of neither a two seater version of the aircraft nor a simulator being available, and called heavily on all Farley's experience. He was to continue this association with the USMC, utilising his skill on subsequent developments such as the AV-8B.
Renowned as a display pilot, Farley developed what was to become known as the Farley Take off. This would see the aircraft put into the hover at around 100 ft (30.5 m), then using the Reaction Controls, raise the nose to around 60 degrees, adjusting the main engine nozzles to suit, so the aircraft was still hovering, but with a high nose up attitude. He would then apply maximum power and "rocket climb" away. There were no gauges or instruments to aid this, it was all by seat of the pants judgement. RAF, Royal Navy and Indian Navy pilots were forbidden from trying this !
John Farley carrying out the famous ‘Farley Climb’ in an Indian Navy Sea Harrier at Farnborough
John Farley's Autobiography A View From The Hover is widely regarded as an aviation classic, and essential reading for anyone aspiring to develop a knowledge of test flying.
Sea Harriers and the White Tigers
The relationship between the Indian Navy’s first fighter squadron, INAS 300 ‘White Tigers’ and the Sea Harrier is etched in history. Supplanting the Sea Hawk of INAS 300, the first BAe Sea Harrier (IN 601) was handed over to the ‘White Tigers’ on 27 January 1983 at Damsfold when, according to lore, the BAe chief test pilot did a ‘Farley Climb’ vertically and on landing, was treated to the best curry in town, much appreciated by the Royal Navy, British Aerospace and their Indian Naval hosts.
This remarkable photograph of the last three IN Sea Harriers was taken by Captain Navtej Singh of the Indian Navy.