Why Clapp declined a Harrier development post

The proposed Harrier development appointment appealed to Clapp and would have brought immediate promotion. He nevertheless judged that its most difficult problems would be flying problems requiring a pilot's perspective rather than an observer's. Accepting would therefore have put his own career before the program's needs. The decision is especially revealing because the Navy was reducing conventional carrier aviation and Fleet Air Arm officers had fewer obvious paths to senior rank. Clapp gave up a rare opportunity rather than claim competence he did not believe he possessed. The anecdote supports the broader argument that his authority grew from professional self-restraint as much as ambition.