Hobby Master Archive

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.

The Swiss Air Force received the first of 34 F/A-18 Hornets on January 23, 1997. The Swiss have 3 F/A-18 squadrons (Fliegerstaffel), 11, 17 and 18 with Fliegerstaffel 17 receiving the first aircraft followed by Fliegerstaffel 18 “Panthers” in 1998. Since the dimensions of the F/A- 18 are larger than the Mirage III it was replacing the caverns in the mountains where the aircraft are kept had to be enlarged. Fliegerstaffel 18’s J-5018 c/n 1366/SFC018 is the only aircraft that wears their squadron badge.

Specifications for the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornet 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)

Weights Empty - 23,000 lb (10,400 kg) Loaded - 36,970 lb (16,770 kg) Maximum Take off - 51,900 lb (23,500 kg)

Performance Powerplants - 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

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA3507 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C J-5018, 18th Sqn “Panthers” Swiss Air Force, November 2009

True 1/72 scale Professionally painted Great attention to detail All markings are Tampoed (pad applied) Option to display the model on a stand that is provided Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions Canopy can be displayed open or closed Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic Highly collectable