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.
F/A-18B 161217 c/n 0016 (B003) was the third pre-production two-seat TF-18A built that later became known as F/A-18Bs. F/A-18B 161217 had been assigned to VFA-125 Rough Raiders but in 1994 it was assigned to the NASA Dryden Research Center, later known as the Neil Armstrong Research Center. In July 2001 161217 moved to NASA Edwards AFB with the registration of N852NA. 161217 acted as a chase aircraft equipped with cameras that could send live video back to engineers who could watch what was happening in real time.
Specifications for the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A/B
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)
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