Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA3563F/A-18A Hornet "NASA" N850NA/BuNo 161703, California 2005
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
Three F/A-18 Hornets were acquired from the USN by NASA between 1984 and 1991 of which 1 was a two-seater, NA852. One of the single-seats was F/A-18A Hornet 161703 c/n 48/A037 that was delivered to the USN and was flown by the Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC-60) located at Point Mugu. When it transferred to NASA it was registered as N850NA. The single-seat F/A-18 acted as a chase plane along with the camera equipped N852NA but NA850 was only used for an extra pair of eyes.
Hobby Master HA3563, F/A-18A Hornet "NASA" N850NA/BuNo 161703, California, 1:72
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)
Folded: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 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
