Maintainability very much guided the design of the F/A-18 Hornet, with squadron maintenance personnel able to change out engines in just 20 minutes and sophisticated radar equipment positioned on a track that allowed it to rolled out quickly for inspection and repairs. Additionally, critical switches used in combat actions were all located either on the throttle or the control stick. Instead, designers reduced conventional instrumentation in favor of a heads up display (HUD) displaying critical information so that the pilot would not be distracted by repeatedly having to look down at various controls. When introduced, the Hornet brought significant changes for naval aviators accustomed to climbing into cockpits with an array of gauges and dials. The Navy eventually selected the YF-17, which was more adaptable to the rigorous structural requirements for carrier operations, with McDonnell Douglas and Northrop teaming up to develop it as a strike-fighter that was eventually designated the F/A-18 Hornet. Air Force, which ultimately selected the YF-16 design that in production was called the F-16 Falcon. Before development of a new aircraft could commence, Congress directed the Navy to investigate two aircraft designs then competing to be a the new lightweight fighter for the U.S. In 1974, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the Navy sought development of a lightweight, low coast multi-mission aircraft capable of performing air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. OriginsĪ number of aircraft in naval aviation history have possessed the versatility to provide true multi-mission capabilities, among them the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsairs of World War II and the venerable F-4 Phantom II. It was accessioned into the National Naval Aviation Museum Collection in 2011 and is displayed in the markings of Blue Angels, whose home base is NAS Pensacola. It flew with the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron until 2010. The airplane flew with the “Blue Dolphins,” until 1997 when it was assigned to the Blue Angels. In 1989, Bureau Number 161959 was reassigned to VFA-203, a Naval Reserve squadron based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Cecil Field, Florida. During a subsequent cruise, VFA-113 patrolled the skies over the Strait of Hormuz during Operation Earnest Will, the escort of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers through the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. During the airplane’s service with the “Stingers,” the squadron joined VFA-25 in making the first operational deployment of the F/A-18 Hornet during a cruise in the carrier Constellation (CV 64). In October 1984, it joined Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113. The Museum’s Aircraftį/A-18A Hornet (Bureau Number 161959) entered service in August 1984, with initial assignment to Air Evaluation Squadrons (VX) 4 and 5 for operational evaluation. Otherwise, the aircraft that the squadron flies are the same as those in the fleet. The Blue Angel F/A-18s have the nose cannon removed, a smoke-oil tank installed and a spring installed on the stick which applies pressure for better formation and inverted flying. To this end, the airplanes that thrill air show audiences around the nation each year are among the longest-serving F/A-18s in the Navy’s inventory, each with extensive history. The Hornets assigned to the Blue Angels have reached their limit when it comes to operational flying from aircraft carriers.
The F/A-18 Hornet has served the Blue Angels since 1987, the longest tenure of any airplane types assigned to the U.S Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. This F/A-18A Hornet (Bureau Number 161959) is in the markings of the Blue Angels Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron to which it was assigned before acquisition by the Museum.
Equally at home in air-to-air or air-to-ground missions, the aircraft is highly maneuverable and instrumented to optimize single pilot control of numerous weapons systems. A multi-mission aircraft designed to replace the F-4 Phantom II and A-7 Corsair II, the F/A-18 Hornet became the front line naval strike fighter shortly after fleet introduction in the mid-1980s.
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