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.

CF-18A Hornet 188761 was delivered on April 10, 1986 and operated with the No. 439 Squadron
in Europe. In 1987 the aircraft suffered damage but was repaired and returned to service. In 1995
188761 returned to Canada with the No. 441 TFS at CFB Cold Lake. In 2004 the aircraft was
again damaged and returned to service. On July 6, 2006 No. 416 and No. 441 TFSs consolidated
forming the No. 409 Nighthawk Squadron and 188761 received a special No. 409 Squadron
scheme, “Night Mare 01” to commemorate the occasion.

Specifications McDonnell Douglas CF-18 (officially CF-188)

General characteristics

Number of aircraft purchased – 62 A / 18 B

Crew - 1x CF-18A / 2 x CF-18B

Dimensions
Length - 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m)
Wingspan - 40 ft 0 in (12.31 m) with Sidewinders
Height - 15 ft 4 in (4.66 m)
Weights
Empty weight - 23049 lb (10455 kg)
Loaded weight - 37150 lb (16850 kg)
Max takeoff weight - 51550 lb (23400 kg)
Performance
Powerplant - 2 × General Electric F404-GE-400 turbofans, 16000 lbf (71.2 kN) per engine
Maximum speed - Mach 1.8 (1127 mph, 1814 km/h) @ 36100 ft (11000 m)
Combat radius - 330 mi (290 nmi, 537 km) on hi-lo-lo-hi mission
Ferry range - 2070 mi (1800 nmi, 3330 km) (range without ordnance)
Service ceiling - 50000 ft (15000 m)
Rate of climb - 50000 ft/min (254 m/s)
Armament
Nine Weapon/ Store Stations (5 pylons: 1 Under Fuselage and 4 Wing Stations) (2 LAU 116
located on sides of fuselage: deploys AIM 7 Sparrow and AMRAAM Missiles)(2 LAU 7 located on
the wing tips: Deploys AIM 9 Sidewinder Missile), carrying up to 13700 lb (6215 kg) of missiles,
rockets, bombs, fuel tanks, and pods
1 × 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan internal Gatling gun with 578 rounds, with a firing rate of 4000 or 6000
shots per minute
Missiles
Air-to-air - AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-7 Sparrow
Air-to-ground - AGM-65 Maverick, CRV7 rockets
Bombs - Paveway, Mk 82, Mk 83, Mk 84, GBU-10, -12, -16 and -24 laser guided bombs.
Avionics
Raytheon AN/APG-73 radar
BAE Systems AN/APX-111 IFF
Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 RT-1556/ARC VHF/UHF Radio
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems AN/AYK-14 XN-8 mission computer
Smiths Aerospace AN/AYQ-9 Stores Management System

This new site is being updated regularly and it will be much improved before too long. Please be patient, give it time, and check back regularly. Opportunities for community collaboration are in the works for a little further down the road.