Hobby Master 3588 1/72 F/A-18C Red Devils 165222, VMFA-232, Nov 2014

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic twin engine all-weather night fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18s first flew in November 1978 and the first production flight on April 12, 1980. The first 380 aircraft were F/A-18As and in September 1987 production switched to the F/A-18C. Variants A and C are single-seat aircraft while B and D are tandem-seats. The Hornet can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases with the capability of in flight refueling. A total of 1,480 A-D variants were built.

Specifications

• Role: supersonic twin engine all-weather night fighter and attack aircraft
• Crew: 1 x F/A-18C, 2 x F/A-18D (Pilot and Weapons Systems Officer – WSO)
• Dimensions
  • Length: 56 ft (17.1 m)
  • Wingspan With AAMs: 40 ft 5 in (12.31 m)
  • Folded: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
  • Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.7 m)
• Weight:
  • Empty: 23,000 lb (10,400 kg)
  • Loaded: 36,970 lb (16,770 kg)
  • Maximum Take off: 51,900 lb (23,500 kg)
• Performance
  • Power Plant: 2 x General Electric F404-GE-402 turbofan
  • Dry Thrust: 11,000 lbf (48.9 kN) per engine
  • After Burner Thrust: 17,750 lbf (79.2 kN) per engine
  • Maximum Speed: Mack 1.8 (1,190 mph) (1,915 km/h) @ 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
  • Range: 1,089 nmi (1,250 miles) (2,000 km) with 2 x AIM-9s
  • Combat Radius: 400 nmi (460 miles) (740 km) air-to-air missions
  • Ferry Range: 1,800 nmi (2,070 miles) (3,330 km)
  • Service Ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,240 m)
  • Rate of Climb: 50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
• Armament:
  • 1 x 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon mounted in nose with 578 rounds
  • 9 x Hardpoints - a capacity of 13,700 lb (6,215 kg) with external fuel tanks and ordnance
  • 2 x wingtip missile launch rails
  • 4 x under-wing
  • 3 x under-fuselage
  • Rockets:
    • 2.75 inch (70 mm) Hydra 70 rockets
    • 5 inch (127 mm) Zuni rockets
  • Missiles:
    • Air-To-Air
    • 4 x AIM-9 Sidewinders or
    • 4 x AIM-132 ASRAAM or
    • 4 x IRIS-T or 4 x AIM-120 AMRAAM and 2 x AIM-7 Sparrow or
    • Additional - 2 x AIM-120 AMRAAM
  • Air-To-Surface:
    • AGM-65 Maverick
    • Standoff Land Attack Missiles (SLAM-ER)
    • AGM-88 HARM Anti-radiation Missile (ARM)
    • AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)
    • Taurus Missile (Cruise Missile)
  • Anti-ship:
    • AGM-84 Harpoon
    • Bombs: JDAM Precision-Guided Munition (PGM)
    • Paveway series of Laser-guided bombs
    • Mk. 80 series of unguided iron bombs
    • CBU-87 cluster bombs
    • CBU-89 gator mine
    • CBU-97
    • Mk. 20 Rockeye II
    • B61/Mk. 57 nuclear bombs
  • Others:
    • SUU-42A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod Or
    • Electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod Or
    • AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk targeting pod (USN only) to be replaced by AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR Or
    • LITENING targeting pod (only used by USMC, Royal Australian Air Force, Spanish Air Force and Finnish Air Force) Or
    • Up to 3 x 330 US gallons (270 imp gallons / 1,200 liters) Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight Or Extended range/loitering time
  • Avionics:
    • Hughes APG-73 radar
    • ROVER (Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver) antenna for use by USN F/A-18C strike fighter squadrons
    • Inertial Navigation System (INS)
    • GPS
    • 2 x mission computers
    • HUD (Head Up Display) cockpit display
    • Very High Frequency (VHF) omni-directional landing system
    • Multiple-functioning Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display