I love the Hornet because I used to work on the fine airplane in the Navy. The Hornet is the very first Fighter and Attack plane the military has ever had. This airplane was designed to take over for the F-4 Phantom and A-7 Corsair that was very old and last used in the Vietnam War. The Navy went to McDonald-Douglas to design there new aircraft. The company did not do the Navy wrong; in fact they have designed one of the greatest airplanes of all time. They did such a good job and the Navy was so happy, that when it came time to get a new plane they only wanted to improve there best plane that was already in service. .
The F/A-18 Hornet is described as being an all weather fighter and attack aircraft. It is designed for traditional strike operations such as interdiction and close air support without compromising its fighter capabilities. With its excellent fighter and self-defense compatibilities, the Hornet at the same time increases strike mission survivability and supplements the F-14 Tomcat in fleet air defense. Hornets are currently operating 37 tactical squadrons from the air stations world wide, and from 10 aircraft carriers. The Hornet comprises the aviation strike force for 7 foreign countries including Canada, Australia, Finland, Malaysia, Spain and Sweden. .
The Hornet has a length of 56", height of 15.3" and a wing span of 40". The engines that propel this beast forward are two general electric F404-GE-404 engines that produce 18,000 pounds of thrust each. Combat thrust to weight ratio is greater than one to one. Combat is 500+ nm, which means that it can attack or fight anything within that range. Combat ceiling of 50,000 ft, which is good because bullets can't really fly that high. The pilots told me that they would see the come up and fall down just like rain at altitude. .
This plane can also carry a huge load of armament through the sky. Can carry up to 13,700 lbs of external ordinance with nine weapon stations; two wingtip stations for sidewinders, two outboard stations for air to air or air to ground weapons, two nacelle fuselage stations for AMRAAMs, Sparrows or sensor pods, and one centerline station for fuel or air to ground weapons.
