AV-8B II And the Water

There are a few things in life where either you or an opponent have a clear advantage, or as I like to say - bringing a gun to a knife fight.

The object is to have every advantage.  And aircraft like the AV-8B II Harrier have that advantage.  Aircraft with wings should go fast, and the faster the more advantage.  And sometimes you just have to be different.
I had seen the original Harrier when I was stationed in Okinawa.  When I saw the upgraded version earlier this year in MCAS Beaufort I was truly impressed.  This is not what the scientist Bernoulli envisioned.  Speed and an airfoil create lift.  Or....  Vectored thrust.
Sometimes life just ain't fair.
My earlier image of the Harrier was a bit over cooked.  Call it excitable.  Now I've been there.  Time to act like it.
In this case, the aircraft had made a few higher speed passes and then settled into a hover.  This is the transition from hover to forward flight.

AV-8B II Harrier in Transition

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 (Auto)

EV -0.67, Manual Mode, Polarizer

And a cool as that is, this was spectacular.  Something you won't get at an air show over an air field.  As the aircraft hovers at a lower altitude and closer to the water, the water spray is very cool.  I like this shot because you can see the spray front.

AV-8B II Harrier and the Spray
NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6
247 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 180 (Auto)
EV -0.67, Manual Mode, Polarizer

In a perfect world, the Harrier would be larger in the image with more detail.  The subject to me in this image is not the aircraft, but the water spray.  Audience participation for those up close.