f18c-profile

The McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet was developed as multi role successor of the Navy's Phantoms and Corsair A-7's . The design is a twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets (F/A for Fighter/Attack). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17  in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, since 1986.

The F/A-18 has a top speed of Mach 1.8. It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground, supplemented by the 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon. It is powered by two General Electric F404 turbofan engines, which give the aircraft a high thrust-to-weight ratio. The F/A-18 has excellent aerodynamic characteristics, primarily attributed to its leading edge extensions (LEX). The fighter's primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), air interdiction, close air support and aerial reconnaissance. Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier asset.

The first generation F-18 Hornet provided the baseline design for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet , a larger, evolutionary redesign of the F/A-18.


F/A-18C  Hornet US Navy

US Navy fighter, aircraft was photographed at Nellis AFB, Nevada, USA.

Photographed November 2009 by Cees Hendriks (C) Copyright IPMS Nederland

View this gallery with more than 40  pictures......

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F/A-18 NASA

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is using an F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft as its Systems Research Aircraft (SRA). The aircraft is on loan from the U.S. Navy and was photographed at Nellis AFB, Nevada, USA.

Photographed November 2008 by Cees Hendriks (C) Copyright IPMS Nederland

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F/A-18 Martin-Baker SJU-5A ejection Seat

On display at the USS Midway carrier museum, San Diego

Photographed 2011 by Cees Hendriks (C) Copyright IPMS Nederland

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Many, many kits have appeared over the years. Too much to list!

 

This webpage was first created January 2012 by M. de Vreeze