Back in the day, the Marines thought that top student pilots deserved airframes like the F18. And then some more rational thinking prevailed and they started sticking the better pilots into the harrier and the accident rate went down.
When I was ATC in the Marines I spent 5 years in Yuma. 4 Harrier squadrons. I've seen my fair share of Harrier accidents, incidents, and issues....
The most entertaining was when the Mars squadron would come from Cherry Point. Those are the student harrier pilots.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the Harrier needs a short roll under full combat load. Lighter loaded it can take off vertically. Doesn't land well under full load either, they would normally "roll on" with a full load if they returned under emergency circumstances.
Not a pilot (gorramit!), but the specs for the Harrier always showed a LARGE delta between max VTO load and max STO load - like, 6,000lbs+, IIRC. 3 tons is a LOT of missiles. Federation of American Scientists shows AV-8B max VTO weight at 9342kg, max STO weight (435meter run) 14,061kg, about TEN thousand pounds heavier. Some of that will be in fuel, too, of course, but
. If you want to carry much in the Harrier, you'd better have a short-takeoff run or a full-on runway. Vertical landing weight is actually a little less than VTO loading - 9,043kg, max spec (design limit is about 2,000kg more).
Still, I see them at the airshow and think, "Man, wouldn't THAT be an awesome daily-driver!" If I didn't have to pay for the fuel or maintenance, of course...