Quote:
Originally posted by socalpunx:

Why is a Harrier jet able to take off from what is basically a stable position while hovering?
It's different.

A harrier is only needing to overcome one force - gravity. It's wings, while the engines *are forcing the air down* don't need forward momentum to create lift.
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"Nature has constituted utility to man the standard and test of virtue. Men living in different countries, under different circumstances, different habits and regimens, may have different utilities; the same act, therefore, may be useful and consequently virtuous in one country which is injurious and vicious in another differently circumstanced" - Thomas Jefferson, moral relativist