Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA5112 F/A-18F Super Hornet 165801, VX-23 “Salty Dogs”, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, 2016

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.

Optional armament provided.

Canopy can be displayed open or closed.

Pilot figure included.

Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic.

Highly collectable.

The McDonnell Douglas Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet is a twin-engine multi-role carrier-based aircraft. The “E” variant is single-seater while the “F” variant is a tandem- seat configuration. The “E” is a much larger, more advanced and more capable variant of the F/A-18C. The Super variant can carry a larger array of weapons as well as more of them and is capable of returning to the carrier while still carrying unspent munitions, a big savings in dollars. The first F/A-18E flight was in 1995 and began delivery to the USN in 1999.

VX-23 “Salty Dogs” (Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23) is located at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The squadron was established on July 22, 1995 as the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron but redesignated VX-23 on May 1, 2002. VX-23 is staffed by personnel selected from the USN and the USMC. The staff’s main mission is to test and evaluate aircraft for flying qualities and perform evaluations. Here every aspect of an aircraft is put to the test. In 2016 F/A-18F 165801 was given a special paint scheme using Maryland State flag colors.

McDonnell Douglas original designer, merged with Boeing 1997 F/A-18E Super Hornet Crew - F/A-18E x 1 / F/A-18F x 2 Role - Multi-role attack and fighter Performance Powerplants - 2 x F414-GE-400 turbofans Thrust (Static) - 22,000 lbs (9,977kg) per engine Ceiling - 50,000 ft + Speed - Mach 1.8 +

Weight - Maximum Gross Take-off 66,000 lbs (29,932 kg)

Dimensions Length - 60.3 ft (18.5 m) Height - 16 ft (4.87 m) Wingspan - 44.9 ft (13.68 m)

Armament 1 x M61A1/A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon (internal) Possible External Payload AIM 9 Sidewinder AIM 7 Sparrow AIM-120 AMRAAM Harpoon HARM Shrike SLAM SLAM-ER Walleye Maverick JSOW (Joint-Stand-Off Weapon) JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions An assortment of bombs, mines and rocket

Model will come with a special color box (photos taken by Caulun Belcher)