Hobby Master 1/72 F/A-18A Hornet "Top Hat" A21-29, 75 Sqn., RAAF, 1990 Die-Cast Aircraft

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-18A A21-29 was accepted by the RAAF in April 1988. In May 1990 while deployed to Clarke Air Base in the Philippines a Top Hat and Cane were applied to this aircraft’s tail designating it as the C/Os personal aircraft. On August 2, 1990 two F/A-18s (A21-29 and A21-42) departed RAAF Tindal on a practice pairs intercept. Maneuvering during these intercepts can be quite violent trying to lock onto the target. Unfortunately A21-42 lost sight of A21-29 and rolled into it killing the A21-42 pilot while A21-29 managed to land safely.

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