Hobby Master 1/72 F/A-18C "Chippy Ho" NF400, CAG bird, VFA-195 "Dambusters", 2010 Diecast 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.

In the fall of 2010 the VFA-195 “Dambusters” began to convert to the new F/A-18E Super Hornet. VFA-195 became the first unit to fully equip with the F/A-18E. The callsign for VFA-195 for the CAG aircraft NF400 1648899 is “Chippy” so the name “Chippy Ho” was a natural, similar to “Tally Ho”. There have been 3 “Chippy Ho” marked F-18C’s, Bu. No’s 163758, 164899 and 164905. VFA-195 became the “Dambusters” because they took part in busting dams in the Korean War.

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