F/A-18 - Hornet for the carrier

The F/A-18 Hornet is a fourth-generation multi-role combat aircraft developed by Northrop and McDonnell Douglas in the 1970s. The Hornet is a fairly versatile combat aircraft that performs both fighter and attack missions, which is what caused the unusual index.
The aircraft are operated mostly by the US NAVY and Marines, but also by the USAF and the air forces of some other countries. Over 2,000 units have been delivered, production continues by Boeing.
In this video we will get acquainted with this aircraft, learn its history, characteristics and prospects.

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[andersonbowes]

The Hornet doesn't get enough credit IMO. It's the blue collar multi-role fighter that can do a lot of things well to very well. It's not the best in anything, but it's reliable, strong and versatile... can't say that about a lot of it's enemies.

[robertmosher]

I will always have an affinity for the F/A18 as I watched them hold off a determined enemy of several hundred insurgents who had isolated a company outpost using IEDs, keeping us from reinforcing the outpost until we could neutralize a way through the dozens of explosive devices they had laid out for us. The did this first using their 20 mm guns, then their defensive flares, making gun runs until we broke through. That was some heroic flying. They only responded as they were nearby and had already dropped their ordnance on an objective miles away when they heard our net call for CAS and came running. Without their flares any missile locked on them was a death sentence and any air to air fight was impossible with no no more 20mm rounds

[Shadowfax-]

All these years, it never occurred to me where the gun is located. You always learn something new from Sky!

[aaronseet]

For decades I was unsure why the final aircraft was designated F/A-18, until finally one of the pilots mentioned that when set to A2G mode, the FCS applies a different flight profile, making it behave like a stable and accurate bomber.

[fluffly]

To my understanding one of the main reasons for the speed drop between gen 3 and gen 4 was that Mach 2 capability turned out to be almost useless in practice; aircraft in real combat conditions basically never had a reason or a chance to go that fast. There is such thing as too much speed.

[oldfriend]

Thank you so much for this documentary. The F/A-18 is one of my all-time favorite aircraft. The original Northrop designers and employees in the mid 70's, the McDonnell Douglas engineers and various workers from the late 70's through the 80's and 90's, and later with Boeing must all be very proud of the longevity this aircraft has been able to maintain. It is amazing how much went into converting the YF-17 Cobra into the F/A18 Hornet.

[the_cheese]

"The Mature Teenager" is one of the best descriptions of the F/A-18 I've ever heard; the F-15 is the science genius older sister, the F-14 the sports-star older brother, the F-16 the misunderstood younger sister. Great video, Sky!!

[DavidRichardson]

Speaking for myself, the F/A-18 is my favorite plane. Yes, I like plenty of others, but to me, the F/A-18 stands above them all. It was the first plane I saw flying at the first air show I can remember being taken to (great job winning me over, Blue Angels). I also had a classmate whose godfather was an F/A-18 combat instructor, so I sort of always had such a bias for it. I even got taken up on a quick flight in one (back seat, of course). I have gotten to fly in plenty of planes (mostly historical ones and always as just a passenger), but the F/A-18 will always be the highlight for me.

[AndrewTubbiolo]

"The Final Countdown" The best Tomcat cinematography of them all.

[kellywilson]

I was assigned to the very first F-18 squadron on the east coast at NAS Cecil Field fla 1984/1988, VFA-131 Wildcats and was also the first squadron to see combat in Libya in 1986 operation el-dorado canyon .

[TheGlitch]

A quote that fits to the F/A-18 and the F-14: legends never die

[sixaout]

Just a small mistake, but the Rafale uses the SNECMA M-88 engines, the F-404 were only used during the initial flights of the Rafale A demonstrator, while waiting for the M-88 development to be completed

[ADPeguero]

This is why I like your channel Sky. I never knew the F18 was derived off of the F5. I've been following fighter jets since my childhood in the early 80's and this is the first time I hear this. Now that you mention it, I can see the resemblance :-)

[Willaev]

The Navy went from “F-14s are too expensive and too complex, give us simpler, cheaper Hornets” to “Hornets are too simple and cheap, give us expensive and complex F-35s” in the space of 3 decades.

[thespacebaryonyx]

At the bug interview: “so what do you guys do”

hornet: “i like to hurt people”

[TheNismo]

Hi from FInland, those planes can be pushed to the insane levels ^^ Our airforce has been showing in the airshows how that plane can be taken beyond its max :)

[smithsanity]

The F-18 is such an underrated fighter. This aircraft is genuinely a beast in the air and will give ANY opposing fighter aircraft a run for it’s money.

[tom]

The F-18 looks like it was the child of an engineer and artist. TG2 is going to be awesome.

[ronclarke]

Well done - very good documentary. Thanks.
People are overly attracted to speed. However, the FA18 has very good systems and weaponry along with great slow speed/high AOA. It's so good - even though it has extra pounds on it because it was designed for carriers - it has been bought as a land fighter. The FA18EF are even better at both BVR and weapons delivery than even an F-16 IMHO. And I still think the F-16 is also a great multipurpose lightweight jet.

[thundercactus]

Funny story about Boeing clashing with Bombardier over the C series: their suggested tariff for the plane got blown WAY out of proportion to a ridiculous number, making it insane for anyone to try to import them. And the C series isn't really competition for the 737, other than the fact Boeing doesn't make any aircraft in that smaller size and was filling that gap with 737s that were too big.
So Bombardier GAVE 51% of the project to airbus, who then offered it in the US (and subsequently worldwide, making the venture worth it for bombardier) as the A220, AND even started manufacturing most of the plane in Alabama to make it pretty well impervious to retaliation from Boeing claiming it's a foreign airplane.
This then forced Boeing to make a deal to purchase 80% of Embraer's commercial aircraft division in order to sell Embraer E-jets to compete with the A220. Then COVID19 hit and Boeing was forced to cancel the deal. Leaving them good and properly fucked out of a size of aircraft that's likely going to be REALLY popular for a while.