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Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-18>HA3522

McDonnell Douglas CF-18b Canadian Armed Forces "AETE"
HA3522
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
Canadian Armed Forces AETE (Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment) is located at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta as part of 4 Wing. Also located there are No. 409 and No. 410 Squadrons. AETE is responsible for flight tests as well as ground test for all types of aircraft operated by the Canadian Forces as well as some civil flight testing. This McDonnell Douglas CF-18B (CF-188B) was taken on strength March 15, 1983 and spent time with 410 Squadron and/or AETE. In May 2006 the aircraft received its one-off paint schemes.
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