F/A-18

[Dreadnought]

U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornets with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 312 arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Oct. 1, 2020. Marines with VMFA-312 and Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA (AW)) 533, based out of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, take part in a rotational unit deployment program to supplement Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12. The deployment enables MAG-12 to maintain its obligation to the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the U.S. while facilitating the safe transition for VMFA-242 from F/A-18D Hornets to F-35B Lightning II.

[Dreadnought]

Thrust Vectoring - on an F18 Hornet!  The Story of the NASA Dryden HARV Project:

The F-18 HARV or High Alpha Research Vehicle was a NASA testbed used to study performance at high angles of attack or alpha.  The aircraft flew from 1989 to 1996 in a 3 phased research program that progressively added modifications to the Hornet.  Let’s take a look at the specifications of the F-18 HARV.


Specifications

Length:  56 FT (17.1 M)
Height:  10 FT 6 IN (3.2 M) AT CANOPY
Wingspan: 37 FT 5 IN (11.4M)
Maximum speed: initially Mach 1.8 (1,190 MPH/1,915 KMH), subsonic with later modifications
Phase 1 weight:  31,980 LB, WITH 6,480 LB OF INTERNAL FUEL  14,506 KG / 2939 KG
Phase 2 and 3 weight: 36,099 LB ALSO WITH 6,480 LB OF INTERNAL FUEL  16,374 KG / 2939KG

 
Engines: Thrust Class
Each General Electric
EACH F404-GE-400 turbofan engines, each producing 16,000 LB of thrust  71.17 kN WITH afterburner.


The aircraft that would become the F-18 HARV was actually a pre production F/A-18 and the sixth one ever built.  Having been assigned  Bureau Number 160780, this particular F18 was chosen as a testbed because it had a spin chute installed as the NAVY had used it to evaluate spin performance and recovery.  Under NASAs use the aircraft was designated number 840.

The HARV program was a joint effort between NASA's Dryden, Ames, Langley and Lewis research centers.  By the time NASA received the aircraft, it had been cannibalized for spare parts so extensively by the Navy it was assumed that the aircraft would never fly again.  In fact, the engineers cataloged 400 missing parts and virtually no documentation of the existing wiring system.  To get 840 airworthy, the mechanics and technicians had to cut out the existing wiring, find substitute parts, assemble and rewire the aircraft.  By the time they were done, the words “Silk Purse” were painted on the fuselage, a take on the expression you can't make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

F-18 HARV

During the late 1980s, NASA decided to deepen its understanding of flight at high angles of attack, or alpha. For this purpose, it created the High Angle-of-Attack Technology Program, or HATP.

A unique aircraft was selected among thousands to participate in the program. It was the infamous F-18 Hornet. Previously used by the Navy for testing purposes, the chosen example was the sixth Hornet built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

However, the aircraft had been severely cannibalized for spare parts throughout the years, and it was so mangled that the Navy believed it would never fly again.

Still, the engineers carried on and believed in what would eventually be remembered as the legendary F-18 High Angle-of-Attack Research Vehicle, providing the foundations on how to handle all future American fighter aircraft...

[Kubovac]

Australija ima 14 lovaca F/A-18 Hornet u radnom stanju koji bi mogli da budu prebačeni u Ukrajinu

Početkom leta je objavljeno da bi Australija mogla da prebaci 41 borbeni avion četvrte generacije F/A-18 Hornet u Ukrajinu. Kako se ispostavilo, Kraljevsko vazduhoplovstvo ima daleko manje aviona u ispravnom stanju.

Novinari časopisa The Australian Financial Review dobili su pristup izveštaju o inventaru američkih borbenih aviona koje drže Kraljevsko australijsko vazduhoplovstvo. Popis je izvršila američka avio-kosmička kompanija RAVN na zahtev Ukrajine, koji je pre nekoliko nedelja objavio ukrajinski ambasador u Australiji Vasil Mirošničenko.

Saznalo se da ako Australija zaista želi da preda F/A-18 Hornet ukrajinskom ratnom vazduhoplovstvu, samo 14 letelica je u ispravnom stanju. Među njima je 11 jednoseda i tri dvoseda.

Svaki avion je leteo više od 3.000 sati, što je otprilike polovina ograničenja. Istovremeno, nije isključeno da letelicama F/A-18 Hornet može biti produžen vek u službi, pri čemu bi Ukrajina potencijalno mogla da koristi F/A-18 Hornet dve godine.

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[Kubovac]

Španija će potrošiti 55 miliona dolara da produži vek trajanja borbenih aviona F/A-18 Hornet do sredine sledeće decenije

Španija namerava da uloži nekoliko desetina miliona evra u produženje radnog veka lovaca F/A-18 Hornet četvrte generacije. Vlada zemlje je odobrila investiciju.

Španija će potrošiti oko 50 miliona evra (55 miliona dolara) za kupovinu rezervnih delova da bi potrošili životni vek aviona. Ovo će omogućiti lovcima F/A-18 Hornet, koji u Španiji imaju oznaku EF-18M, da lete do 2035. godine, uprkos glasinama o povlačenju iz upotrebe do 2030. godine.

Iberijska vlada je već počela da rashoduje stari F/A-18 Hornet, koji je stacioniran u vazdušnoj bazi Gando na Gran Kanariji. Zameniće ih evropski lovci Eurofighter Typhoon.

Pre dve godine Španija je potpisala ugovor sa Erbasom. Madrid je naručio 20 aviona četvrte generacije. Posao je vredeo oko 2 milijarde evra (2,2 milijarde dolara). Isporuke borbenih aviona Eurofighter Typhoon počeće 2026. godine.

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