Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA3557CF-188A "Canada Special Marking 2012"
RCAF demonstration team
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 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.
In 2012 RCAF CF-188A 781 (US registry 188781) MSN 0556/A464 was selected to receive the special paint scheme to represent Canada’s Demo aircraft for that season. The aircraft paint theme was “The True North, Strong and Free” and flown by Captain Patrick Paco Gobeil, a former Snowbird Demonstration team member. Images on the aircraft depict the Arctic with 13 snowflakes to represent Canada’s 13 provinces and territories. Also shown are Northern Lights, Canada’s Maple Leaf, a polar bear and an Arctic hunter.
Hobby Master HA3557, CF-188A "Canada Special Marking 2012" RCAF, 1:72
General characteristics
Number of aircraft purchased – 62 A / 18 B
Crew - 1x 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)
Weights
Empty weight - 23049 lb (10455 kg)
Loaded weight - 37150 lb (16850 kg)
Max takeoff weight - 51550 lb (23400 kg)
Performance
Powerplant - 2 × General Electric F404-GE-400 turbofans, 16000 lbf (71.2 kN) per engine
Maximum speed - Mach 1.8 (1127 mph, 1814 km/h) @ 36100 ft (11000 m)
Combat radius - 330 mi (290 nmi, 537 km) on hi-lo-lo-hi mission
Ferry range - 2070 mi (1800 nmi, 3330 km) (range without ordnance)
Service ceiling - 50000 ft (15000 m)
Rate of climb - 50000 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 4000 or 6000
shots 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
