Skyviper 1,101 Posted May 5, 2020 The F/A-18 Hornet The F/A-18 Hornet is a versatile aircraft capable of taking on a number of tasks, for air to air missions to assault missions you can count on the F/A-18 to get the job done. While this aircraft is vital to carrier operations, it had a lot to prove back in the day when the F-14 Tomcat reigned supreme. As is the story with most aircraft, it was a mixture of politics and finances that ushered in the era for Hornet, Super Hornet, and Growler, which we'll talk about next week. If you recall our F-16 video you may remember the LWF program which helped create the F-16 Viper. Since the Navy needed to save time and money they decided to use portions from the USAF's LWF program and thus the YF-17 become the F-18. The second engine added another level of protection along with other upgrades needed to help the aircraft to become worthy for carrier operations. McDonald Douglass was the primary contractor for the F-18. Northrop Grumman is the secondary contractor and their job is make the components needed to help the F-18 withstand the rigorous carrier operations. However, in the late 90s, Boeing merged with McDonald Douglass and became the primary contractor for this aircraft's production. Northrop Grumman is still doing their part. I wanted to have that written because I don't think it was 100% clear in this video. Speaking of the video I hope you all enjoy it and, as always, I look forward to knowing your thoughts about the aircraft. As you know, CombatACE, strives to spread the joy of aviation and we have a lot of talented mod authors here that have gone through great lengths to create the outstanding aircraft models that are free for interested ones to download and use with their copies of Strike Fighters. More F-18s here: https://combatace.com/files/category/667-f-18/ 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Trotski 832 Posted May 5, 2020 Gotta love the Bug 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JosefK 911 Posted May 6, 2020 (edited) This is my fav fighter jet! I've seen the Navy Tac Demo and consider it the best single ship demo!! Those Rhinos sure bring the heat!!!! My photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjvQ8cx7 (For the record, I consider the EA-18G Growler a separate Electronic Warfare/EW Jet) Edited May 6, 2020 by JosefK Link to photos 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
