Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-18>HA3512
CF-18 "Centennial Hornet" Celebrating "100 Years of Powered Flight in Canada" 2009
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
In 2009 to mark the "100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada" CF-18 188719 was given a special paint scheme that covered the entire aircraft. The graphics depicted features found on many former Canadian Forces aircraft as well as the airplane that made the very first powered flight in Canada. The vertical stabilizers have a depiction of the Northern Lights and 100 names of people that made significant contributions to Canadian aviation are printed on various locations on the aircraft. This scheme became known as the "Centennial Hornet".
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 |