Author Topic: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration  (Read 92659 times)

Offline PR19_Kit

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #75 on: March 16, 2014, 03:29:35 PM »
What's the weapons load-out of that blue thing in the foreground?  ;)
Regards
Kit

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Offline PR19_Kit

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #76 on: March 16, 2014, 03:30:59 PM »
seriously it would be in Australia’s interest to be a good neighbor and cascade combat aircraft to NZ.  Make it as affordable for them as possible by sharing our support structures and reap the benefits of bringing along our highly capable and friends who are hamstrung by budgets.

Do NZ have ANY combat aircraft these days? I thought that all came to an end when they got rid of thr A-4s.
Regards
Kit

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Any aircraft can be improved by fitting longer wings

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #77 on: March 16, 2014, 05:23:45 PM »
NZ still has P-3K2s plus SH-2G(NZ)s.  They don't have any combat jets though...and arguably don't need them.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2014, 02:50:27 AM by GTX_Admin »
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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #78 on: March 16, 2014, 05:24:31 PM »
What's the weapons load-out of that blue thing in the foreground?  ;)

Classified...but my team have made parts that are on it. ;)
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline PR19_Kit

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #79 on: March 16, 2014, 11:09:47 PM »
What's the weapons load-out of that blue thing in the foreground?  ;)

Classified...but my team have made parts that are on it. ;)

My previous team supplied all its test systems and the moving floor of their wind tunnel (a mere $5m to you sir...) and then they had the nerve to steal one of my Field Service Engineers! I saw him on the TV in the Melbourne pits this morning.  :(
Regards
Kit

--------------------------
Any aircraft can be improved by fitting longer wings

Offline jcf

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #80 on: March 17, 2014, 01:29:44 AM »
The Oz Hornets were 'assembled' in Oz from components sourced from the US, Spain and Oz.
The Australian built components were built under sub-contractor agreements with the US
manufacturers under specific US government foreign military support rules. Extending the
program would have required a lot of negotiations between all parties. Turning the operation
into a true manufacturer of the F-18 would have required a whole lot of money and major
agreements.

The major differences between the A/B series and the C/D were equipment rather than structure,
it was a block number re-designation, so if McDonnell were willing to continue supplying major
structural components, it wouldn't have required major changes in the Oz production facility.

Aside from the political considerations the big if would have been the McDonnel board, literally
in the name McDonnell, based on history, they would not have been interested in creating a
competitor.
“Conspiracy theory’s got to be simple.
Sense doesn’t come into it. People are
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Offline Volkodav

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #81 on: March 17, 2014, 04:49:31 AM »
Still a shame as this plan would have seen a larger fleet built and supported over a longer period of time and would also have increased the opportunity / likelihood of additional sales to existing and new customers.  No need to have set up GAF / ASTA as competitor, maintain them as an assembler and supplier to increase regional support.

Then again if memory serves me correctly McD threw away sales to Israel and South  Korea during the late 80s and early 90s through poor industry support offers and offsets. The orders were theirs for the taking but failed to make it as good value for the customer as GD / Lockheed  was able to.

Do I have the right way of this with my thinking? McD management greed and lack of vision cost them orders and customers?  Can't see Boeing making the same mistakes these days.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2014, 05:00:45 AM by Volkodav »

Offline Rickshaw

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #82 on: March 17, 2014, 08:53:38 AM »
No, greed and lack of vision make Boeing make other mistakes like rushing the 787 into service in the face of competition from Airbus.  I wonder am I mistaken in perceiving that US manufacturing has become fat and complacent in middle-age and finds it hard to compete against new, fitter and upcoming competitors?  :icon_surprised:

Offline elmayerle

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #83 on: March 17, 2014, 08:57:36 AM »
Well, I will say that, IMHO, my present employer went through that and is now engaged in getting back into fighting trim.  Some of the other US manufacturers are facing the same choice (from what I gather, Textron has put Cessna through this and likely will shake up Beechcraft, too - the latter company badly needs it).

Offline jcf

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #84 on: March 17, 2014, 12:43:27 PM »
No, greed and lack of vision make Boeing make other mistakes like rushing the 787 into service in the face of competition from Airbus.  I wonder am I mistaken in perceiving that US manufacturing has become fat and complacent in middle-age and finds it hard to compete against new, fitter and upcoming competitors?  :icon_surprised:

Umm, Boeing management made mistakes on the 787 but lack of vision was not one of them.
The 787 has more "all new" in one package than any other civil airliner in the past fifty years, which
is what lead to some of the problems. Questionable upper level decisions made a mess and caused delays, rather than a rushed process. A number of problems were caused by equipment and system suppliers (not the build partners) making promises that they couldn't keep, and they weren't all
'US manufacturers'. Of the build partners the one with the most serious problems was Italian.
Dunno where you got the idea that the 787 was 'rushed into service'.

As to perceptions, what goes on looks a lot different from the inside.



“Conspiracy theory’s got to be simple.
Sense doesn’t come into it. People are
more scared of how complicated shit
actually is than they ever are about
whatever’s supposed to be behind the
conspiracy.”
-The Peripheral, William Gibson 2014

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #85 on: March 17, 2014, 03:00:56 PM »
If anything I thought the 787 was delayed into service.
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #86 on: May 17, 2014, 02:49:47 AM »
Plenty of good YF-17 photos here - click on the image below to go to the link.  Make sure to click on the images there too since they contain detailed descriptions.

All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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Offline uncle les

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #87 on: May 17, 2014, 11:16:31 AM »
Nice find.

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #88 on: May 18, 2014, 03:22:29 AM »
A different look the YF-17 & F/A-18 could have taken - the single-engine P-610:


All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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Offline Volkodav

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #89 on: May 19, 2014, 09:39:46 AM »
Got to admit the twin layout suits it better.

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #90 on: September 27, 2014, 01:24:00 PM »
Stumbled over this:


NASA F-18 HARV (High Alpha Research Vehicle) built by Thomas Brückelt from the 1/72nd scale Heller F-18 Hornet kit.  Additional images and build article can be viewed at modellversium.de by clicking on the html or thumbnail image.


Am I the only one that thought "X-wing cannons" when looking at the wingtips?  8)


What has been imagined, cannot be unimagined!  :o



 ;D
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Moritz

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Offline elmayerle

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #91 on: September 27, 2014, 02:16:19 PM »
A different look the YF-17 & F/A-18 could have taken - the single-engine P-610:




I wonder if a production version of that could be modeled by combining a F-18 kit with a F-16 one?  It would get rather challenging, even so.  Too, I can just imagine one with a diverter-less inlet as trialed on the JIST testbed.

Offline Kerick

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #92 on: October 01, 2014, 10:49:12 AM »
Stumbled over this:


NASA F-18 HARV (High Alpha Research Vehicle) built by Thomas Brückelt from the 1/72nd scale Heller F-18 Hornet kit.  Additional images and build article can be viewed at modellversium.de by clicking on the html or thumbnail image.


Am I the only one that thought "X-wing cannons" when looking at the wingtips?  8)


What has been imagined, cannot be unimagined!  :o



 ;D


This needs to be built!
How would the wings fold to fit on a carrier deck? ;)

Offline elmayerle

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #93 on: October 01, 2014, 10:51:44 AM »
Upper wings fold up and then the lower wings fold up to lie against them?  It might take some careful positioning, but it's doable.

Offline Kerick

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #94 on: October 01, 2014, 10:58:14 AM »
I don't have any F-18 kits on hand. :icon_crap: Something cheap would do, considering the amount of hacking involved!

Offline taiidantomcat

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #95 on: October 01, 2014, 08:20:16 PM »
That is wonderful  :-*
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Offline Cliffy B

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #96 on: October 01, 2014, 10:40:23 PM »
See if you can get one of Dragon's 1/144 twin pack Super Bugs.  Usually $10-15 and you get 2 full birds and plenty of ordnance.
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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #97 on: October 02, 2014, 05:23:00 AM »
I love the X-wing version! :)
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #98 on: December 31, 2014, 01:24:26 PM »
Random idea:  a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet with the recon nose pack of the the RF-18:

All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Volkodav

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Re: F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #99 on: April 06, 2015, 10:59:49 PM »
Been thinking, yes I know its dangerous (hurts too), so here it is, not only does the USMC use the D for FAC and CAS the USAF adopts it as a replacement for the A-10 (and the A-7 in the ANG).  Another thought, F/A-18C being selected as the ANGs new fighter / interceptor instead of the F-16.