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F/A-18C - Targeting POD Pylons


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I am building Kinetic's 1/48 F/A-18C for a bird aboard the Conny in 2003.  The kit does not include the AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR, which I believe was the standard ship board pod.  It does include the AAQ-28 (which I believe was for land based birds mostly), AAS-38, and Sniper XR. 

 

First, am I correct that a shipboard bird in 2003 would be using the ATFLIR?  Secondly, would it use the same pylon from the kit as the Litening II and AAS-38?  I'm trying to figure out which of the kit pylons to glue on before painting. 

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The pylon for the ATFLIR is slightly different from the pylon used with the AAS-38 Nitehawk. The LITENING Pod is attached directly to the centerline pylon with lugs similar to those found on bombs, etc. Wolfpack Design makes an ATFLIR with the correct mounting pylon.

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2 hours ago, Dave Roof said:

The pylon for the ATFLIR is slightly different from the pylon used with the AAS-38 Nitehawk. The LITENING Pod is attached directly to the centerline pylon with lugs similar to those found on bombs, etc. Wolfpack Design makes an ATFLIR with the correct mounting pylon.

 

Hmmm. The Wolfpack adapter is meant for the Super Hornet. Will it fit a legacy bug?

 

Mark

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I have the Wolfpack set on the way, so I guess I'll see how the adaptor works on a legacy birds once it arrives.

 

If it doesn't fit, would it be fair to assume the closest way to accurate would be to use the AAS-38 adaptor included in the Kinetic kit since it's only slightly different?

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- The ATFLIR Pod was not cleared for fleet use until 27 Feb 2004.

 

- The Litening Pod is only authorized on USMC F-18A+/A++/C/ C+/D/ D(RC) aircraft only and not authorized for ship board use. Depending on aircraft lot number it can be loaded on the centerline or station 4.

 

- The adapters for the FLIR, Litening and ATFLIR are different, each has their own adapter.

 

- For 2003, the standard targeting pod would the FLIR Pod (Nighthawk Pod).

 

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I see, thank you!  For some reason, I thought ATFLIR and self lasing were part of the Hornets mission loadout and capability for OEF/OIF.  Seems its an easy choice for me now...the kit AAS-38/Nitehawk. 

Edited by ESzczesniak
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1 hour ago, ESzczesniak said:

I see, thank you!  For some reason, I thought ATFLIR and self lasing were part of the Hornets mission loadout and capability for OEF/OIF.  Seems its an easy choice for me now...the kit AAS-38/Nitehawk. 

Both the AAS-38 and ATFLIR provide self lasing, the ATFLIR is basically a Nighthawk pod on steroids though.

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