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

On June 5, 2019 a photo shoot took place over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The aircraft involved were F/A-18++ 162442 from the VMFA-314 “Black Knights” and F-35C 169601 that would soon be transferred to VMFA-314. The F-35C was piloted by Captain Tommy Beau Locke from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 “Rough Raiders” while the F/A-18++ 162442 was piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Cedar Hinton, CAG for VMFA-314. This was a symbolic gesture of passing the torch from the old to the new.

Specifications

• Role: Fighter/Attack
• Manufactured: 1980 to 1987
• Numbers Produced
• A – 371
• B – 40
• Crew
• A – 1
• B – 2
• Dimensions
• Length: 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m)
• Wingspan: 40 ft 8 in (12.4 m)
• Folded: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
• Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.66 m)
• Weight:
• Empty: 28,000 lbs (12,700 kg)
• Gross: 38,000 lbs (17,240 kg)
• Maximum Take off: 56,000 lb (25,400 kg)
• Performance
• Engines: 2 X GE F404-GE turbofans producing 10,600 lb.s.t. dry & 15,800 lb.s.t with afterburning per engine
• Fuel:
• Internal: 1,670 U.S. gal (6,322 l)
• External: As many as 3 X 330 U.S. gal (1,249 l) drop tanks
• Maximum Fuel: 2,660 U.S. gal (10,070 l)
• Maximum Speed: Mach 1.8 1,190 mph (1,915 km/h) @ 35,000 ft (10,670 m)
• Landing Speed: 150 mph (241.4 km/h)
• Combat Ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,240 m)
• Maximum Range: 2,875 miles (4,627 km)
• Armament: 1 X 20 mm M61A1 cannon in nose Plus
• Hard Points
• 4 X under-wing
• 2 X fuselage corner stations
• 1 X center-line
• 2 X wing-tip
• To carry AIM-9 Sidewinder Missiles Or
• AIM-7 Sparrow Missiles Plus
• Up to 3 external fuel tanks and other assorted ordnance