Breathe Easier by Keith Ferris

An inflight portrait of the fully loaded U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier demonstrating its weapons carrying capability.

This painting was commissioned by the Bendix Corporation who built the onboard oxygen generating system on the AV-8B Harrier. The painting was completed nearly a half year before the rollout of the first AV-8B. Keith was able to work with engineers from the McDonnell plant in St. Louis, MO to assure the accuracy of the drawing. The painting shows the increased capability of the advanced Harrier, using STOL techniques in the field to carry twice the load over the same radius of action, or the same load over twice the radius of action of its USMC predecessor, the AV-8A. The painting was presented to the United States Marine Corps by Bendix.