Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-18>HA3526
CF-18A Hornet 2015 "Battle of Britain" scheme
General Background
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 Aircraft
To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the fearless air and ground
crews, RCAF McDonnell Douglas CF-18A #761 Demonstration Hornet was given a special paint
scheme. The upper portion of the aircraft pattern resembles the early 1940s earth tone and dark
green camouflage used on Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Hawker Hurricane Mark IIs and
Supermarine Spitfires during the Battle of Britain. The tail contains murals of key events and
persons related to the BOB. The aircraft will be piloted by Captain Denis "Cheech" Beaulieu.
Specifications :
| Number of aircraft purchased: | 62 CF-18A / 18 CF-18B |
| Crew: | 1 x CF-18A / 2 x CF-18B |
| Dimensions | |
| Length: | 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m) |
| Wingspan: | 40 ft 0 in (12.31 m) with Sidewinders |
| Height: | 15 ft 4 in (4.66 m) |
| Weight: | |
| Empty: | 23,049 lb (10,455 kg) |
| Loaded: | 37,150 lb (16,850 kg) |
| Maximum Take off: | 51,550 lb (23,400 kg) |
| Performance | |
| Power Plant: | 2 × General Electric F404-GE-400 turbofans, 16,000 lbf (71.2 kN) per engine |
| Maximum Speed: | Mach 1.8 (1,127 mph, 1,814 km/h) @ 36,100 ft (11,000 m) |
| Combat Radius: | 330 mi (290 nmi, 537 km) on hi-lo-lo-hi mission |
| Ferry Range: | 2,070 mi (1,800 nmi, 3,330 km) (range without ordnance) |
| Service Ceiling: | 50,000 ft (15,000 m) |
| Rate of Climb: | 50,000 ft/min (254 m/s) |
| Armament: | Nine Weapon/ Store Stations (5 pylons: 1 Under Fuselage and 4 Wing Stations) (2 LAU 116 located on sides of fuselage: deploys AIM 7 Sparrow and AMRAAM Missiles)(2 LAU 7 located on the wing tips: Deploys AIM 9 Sidewinder Missile), carrying up to 13700 lb (6215 kg) of missiles, rockets, bombs, fuel tanks, and pods |
| 1 × 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan internal Gatling gun with 578 rounds, with a firing rate of 4,000 or 6,000 rounds per minute | |
| Missiles: | Air-To-Air - AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-7 Sparrow |
| Air-to-ground - AGM-65 Maverick, CRV7 rockets | |
| Bombs - Paveway, Mk 82, Mk 83, Mk 84, GBU-10, -12, -16 and -24 laser guided bombs | |
| Avionics: | Raytheon AN/APG-73 radar |
| BAE Systems AN/APX-111 IFF | |
| Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 RT-1556/ARC VHF/UHF Radio | |
| General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems AN/AYK-14 XN-8 mission computer | |
| Smiths Aerospace AN/AYQ-9 Stores Management System |