How long can a Harrier jet hover?

according to this source and this video:
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0123.shtml#b
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y_ePf1Jcr8

We have learned that the Harrier carries a certain amount of cooling water that is needed to prevent the Pegasus turbofan engine from overheating during hover. If operating conditions are such that the water is needed at the maximum cooling rate, there is only enough water available to remain in hover for about 90 seconds before the supply is exhausted. However, the aircraft rarely needs to use this cooling water at the maximum rate, and can therefore hover for considerably longer than 90 seconds. We're just not sure how long "considerably longer" is. We've observed the Harrier hovering at airshows for periods of time on the order of 5 minutes or more. Based on these numbers, our best guess is that the maximum time limit over which the Harrier can maintain hover is probably around 10 minutes or so.

the pegasus engine requires cooling while hovering (no air cooling available during hover) and uses coolant to achieve this so the amount of time it can hover is related to the amount of coolant available. This has never been scientifically measured but is estimated to be between 5-10 mins

First answer by ID3260611345. Last edit by ID3260611345. Question popularity: 10 [recommend question]