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Looking for thoughts on Hornet and Super Hornet loadouts


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One of my modeling bucket list items, is to build at least one F/A-18 for each squadron that has operated it. This would include both USN, USMC and foreign squadrons. Most of the builds will be color birds, I can only take so much grey aircraft. To keep things interesting, I did not want to do 'war' load outs on all of them. With that in mind, any ideas on some 'airshow' load outs? Right now it would be for some USMC 18Ds.

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One of my modeling bucket list items, is to build at least one F/A-18 for each squadron that has operated it.

Sounds like a surefire way to modeling burn out. Hope your plans are over many, many, many years and not within a few months.

Good luck

Steven L :salute:

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You really have to use your imagination. The "airshow" load is mostly a thing of the past when aircraft could be loaded with the local base's training stores. Now there are fewer bases, and aircraft come in with fuel tanks and a travel pod at most. I would simply go through the weapons you have in the stash and pick out the best detailed and most interesting.

That being said, here is an actual F/A-18D load that's probably more for show than for practical purposes:

533gbu12smr5.jpg

You also used to see Hornets with Sparrow missiles on pylons 2 and 8 when they wanted to be a little showy. But you need the right adapter for that. You might also consider 4 fuel tanks or a single empty Multiple Ejector Rack on the outermost port pylon and nothing on the opposite pylon. These ferry and bomb practice loads are not for looks, but are a bit unusual.

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Well, it's certainly possible to do without burnout. Exhibit "A", Shawn "Phantom" who has built seemingly every F-4 Phantom airframe ever flown.... :salute:

That being said, a true "Airshow Loadout" would be a full load of external fuel tanks, with a sign for the airshow-going civilians stating "NO, these are NOT bombs!!!!"

Edited by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy
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533gbu12smr5.jpg

Why load live ordy unless it for live fire training, if that's so why load that much...that would be seemingly a waste of good mud movers; load training?, but I've never seen or heard of live ordy ever being used for munitions load training...:hmmm: could that be an actual loadout in the 'stan or Iraq. It's plausible, but no pic I've seen has ever shown that much on a Hornet loadout. It would be very interesting to know the purpose of that particular loadout; that leaves room only for a C/L gasbag, unless it's a Goofy gas configio. We need a pic of the right wing loading to get the whole story. That's a lot of bad news for somebody.

After giving it some thought, this is probably a publicity shot, maybe for an airshow static display (is that allowed?), the reason is known only to those who ordered it.

Edited by #1 Greywolf
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After giving it some thought, this is probably a publicity shot, maybe for an airshow static display (is that allowed?), the reason is known only to those who ordered it.

Publicity, possibly, in the fact that it was taken during an actual live fire situation. Airshow display? Absolutely not, under any circumstances.

As for being double ugly, yes it is. Look at the shadow on the ground.

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Matt that's an awesome plan :woot.gif: sooo many Hornets. I actually have a very similar idea - at least one Hornet per squadron. Hope when You're done You'll still like them ;) I for one will definetly want to see some pics :)

I guess an airshow loadout would be what You want it to be. With Hornets there are a multitude of options. Hell I guess You could load every store with something different! For me an airshow loadout would be about showing the capability of an airframe. You could try mixing some trainig Sidewinders on a dual launcher with Sparrows and add some bombs to this :)

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Publicity, possibly, in the fact that it was taken during an actual live fire situation. Airshow display? Absolutely not, under any circumstances.

As for being double ugly, yes it is. Look at the shadow on the ground.

Thanx Spook, I know things have changed since I was active, but I didn't think they'd changed that much!!!.

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