Hobby Master 1/72 HA3570 F/A-18B Hornet A21-117 75 SQN RAAF Dec 2021 Final Flight

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 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 75 Squadron moved to RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia during May 1967. They remained there until 1981 when they moved back to RAAF Darwin. The RAAF had operated the F/A-18 since 1984 with No. 75 re-equipping with F/A-18s in 1988 at RAAF Tindal. After 35 years the RAAF was replacing the Hornet and sold 25 aircraft to Canada. The last aircraft to arrive at Williamtown for disposal was A21-117 c/n 623/ATF117, delivered in 1988.

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