McDonnnell-Douglas F-18A-D (Legacy) Hornet

[KJ_Lesnick]

The F-18 flaps and flaperons... I know the flaps and elevons both droop equally at least at high settings and they seem to have a slot. What I am curious about is what you call the part of the flap in front of the slot (it pivots/droops somewhat with the flap), does anybody know what you call that?

Also, I've heard the F-18's flaps use boundary-layer control...
- Does it cover the only the trailing edge (like the F-104) or does it cover both the leading and trailing edges (like the F-4)?
- Does this work only at high flap-deflections only?


KJ Lesnick

 

[CammNut]

No boundary-layer control on the F-18. sorry

 

[KJ_Lesnick]

CammNut,

No boundary-layer control on the F-18. sorry

Oh I thought it did. Never mind


KJ Lesnick
BTW: Out of curiousity, why didn't any other airplane incorporate such a variable-camber flap set-up?

 

[CammNut]

The F-18 needs high-lift devices to operate from an aircraft carrier, hence the single-slotted Fowler flaps. The F-16 does not, so has simple leading- and trailing-edge flaps to vary camber.

 

[AeroFranz]

What I am curious about is what you call the part of the flap in front of the slot (it pivots/droops somewhat with the flap), does anybody know what you call that?

I don't remember the flap geometry in question, but what you describe is usually referred to as a vane.

 

[KJ_Lesnick]

Okay, so the structure I'm talking about is a flap-vane?

 

[B.J.]

I don't know what they call them in the fleet, but on the actual engineering they're called flap shrouds and aileron shrouds.

 

[KJ_Lesnick]

B.J.

I don't know what they call them in the fleet, but on the actual engineering they're called flap shrouds and aileron shrouds.

Thanks -- it's nice to actually have a technical-term for them.


KJ Lesnick

 

[CammNut]

I don't remember the flap geometry in question, but what you describe is usually referred to as a vane.

AeroFranz is correct, in a conventional double-slotted flap the small aerodynamic surface between the wing and the flap is called a vane. But on the F-18, the main flap (and deploys backwards and downwards, in a Fowler motion, opening a slot between the flap and a smaller surface attached to the rear edge of the wing that also deflects, but without opening a second slot. That may indeed qualify as being a shroud. The aileron has one as well.

 

[KJ_Lesnick]

Did McDonnell Douglas patent this design concept?

If so, when?


KJ

 

[KJ_Lesnick]

Also, I forgot to ask, but out of curiousity, are the flaps ever operated manually by the pilot, or are they completely automatic like the F-16's?

 

[perttime]

Right now, Finnish media is reporting that all Finnish air force single-seater Hornets are grounded.
The reason is that Martin-Baker has reported a problem with a batch of explosive cartridges for the MK14 ejection seat.

Finnish two-seater Hornets have cartridges from a different batch, so a handful remain for readiness duties.

sources:
Finnish Broadcasting Company (in Finnish):
http://yle.fi/uutiset/heittoistuimissa_vikaa_valtaosa_horneteista_kayttokieltoon/6589853

Newspapers (also in Finnish)
http://www.aamulehti.fi/Kotimaa/1194809214936/artikkeli/ilmavoimat+laittoi+paaosan+horneteistaan+kayttokieltoon.html
http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/Hornet-h%C3%A4vitt%C3%A4jien+heittoistuimissa+vikaa++osa+k%C3%A4ytt%C3%B6kieltoon/a1366596027427

 

[TsrJoe]

hoping the Hornet's are back in operation by the time of Lappenranta's air show I recall the first time i saw them there a few years ago buzzing the town in preperation for the show

 

[perttime]

I suppose the possibly faulty ejection systems don't actually prevent flying - - - They just make survival less likely if something goes wrong.

 

[perttime]

I saw enough Hornets on Friday to think they cannot all be unaffected two-seaters, and tipped the local newspaper. They got a response from the Air Force:
They got new cartridges for the seats in the evening on Monday 06 May, and installed them on Tuesday. So it took 2 weeks to get the parts from Martin-Baker.

... in good time for an Aerial Refueling exercise that they have next week.

 

[Triton]

Published on Jan 10, 2014

Naval aviation was changed forever 35 years ago when the F/A-18 Hornet completed its first flight Nov. 18, 1978. On Dec. 9, 2013, the Navy honored the F/A-18 and EA-18G for a job well done.

http://youtu.be/aAjlr9fIvio

 

[yasotay]

I remember when YF17 lost to YF16, and a very young Yasotay wondered if we saw the last of the Northrop aircraft. Well done Navy! Future aviation aficicianados will wake and wane on this site of the Hellcat of the late twentith, and twenty first century.

 

[Triton]

Video of Boeing F-18 carrier qualifications aboard FS Charles de Gaulle.

Published on Mar 12, 2015

March 10, 2015, in the Persian Gulf, Some U.S. Navy F18 Hornet fighters perform a series of "touch and go" landings and catapult-launchings on board the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle for qualification.
Credits: French Navy

https://youtu.be/qOIhKtvWQYU

 

[Triton]

C-2A Greyhound COD FS Charles de Gaulle Trap and Catapult Shot VRC-30 Providers

Published on Mar 9, 2015

This video shows the break, approach, arrested landing, and catapult shot of a US Navy C-2A Greyhound from VRC-30 DET 1 onboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91). It is a rare opportunity/occurrence for US and French Naval Aviators to operate off the decks of their counterpart aircraft carriers. VRC-30 utilizes the C-2A Greyhound to provide logistical support to aircraft carriers at sea (including the French from time to time).

https://youtu.be/0ORDe_5I-JE

 

[seruriermarshal]

A New Angle On This Shadowy Stealth F/A-18 Hornet Concept Is Intriguing

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/a-new-angle-on-this-shadowy-stealth-f-a-18-hornet-conce-1727910676

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Nice find!

 

[Triton]

 

[quellish]

For those who are interested, it's at:


32.151215, -110.843388

 

[Steve Pace]

Two Skyhawks, a Mohawk and the YF-24? That's a weird family gathering in that portrait. -SP

 

[quellish]

Two Skyhawks, a Mohawk and the YF-24? That's a weird family gathering in that portrait. -SP

You should have seen it when it was with the MiGs. Talk about awkward!

 

[Steve Pace]

MiGs didn't stand a chance when it came to agility and maneuverability. -SP

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Perhaps relevant (via Joe Cherrie).

 

[CiTrus90]

Two Skyhawks, a Mohawk and the YF-24? That's a weird family gathering in that portrait. -SP

Ok, as no one has asked it yet, i'll be the one to bite...

Are you calling it YF-24 with sarcasm or is there a deeper meaning to it...?

Regards.

 

[CiTrus90]

Perhaps relevant (via Joe Cherrie).

Seems to be just fanart though:

Regards.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Could well be.

 

[fightingirish]

Here the AW&ST article posted in an older topic.
Link:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,20938.msg209035.html#msg209035


But I don't see the necessity to merged these two topics.

 

[LowObservable]

I await promised further images with bated breath. (Not "baited" since I have not been eating minnows.)


It's been moved since 2014 and it looks as if it's been shrink-wrapped. But it still looks like a Super that's missing everything forward of the aft cockpit bulkhead. Google Earth sez it's about 46 feet long.

 

[starviking]

As Tritons superposition shows to my opinion (thanks for that effort !), it's just a derelict
F-18, with nose, wings and tailplanes removed.

Or perhaps a perfectly good mainbody of an F-18 awaiting the time when it may be needed.


I guess the cones at the back are plugs to ensure the nozzle petals are not overstressed by the cocoon.

 

[crusader97]

Any possibility it's the remains of a program whose goal was to provide a semi-stealthy UCAV with high commonality with the existing fleet? Or maybe an unmanned version of the Growler?

 

[flateric]

I wonder how much BS can be sucked off the partial elements RCS test model and what weird conclusions Foxtrot can extract say from this F-22 horizontals/exhaust model.

Incompetence and unwillingness to make a bit of hard research seems to be a hymn of current aerospace journalism.

 

[LowObservable]

Gawker's not journalism.

 

[Sundog]

IIRC, the cones at the back are there for part of the LO tests. As was stated in the original AW&ST article, the F/A-18 could be made to be a lot stealthier and the center fuselage is already constructed as such. It's just a freaking LO model.


From an aerodynamic and stability and control stand point, you can't just chop the entire forward fuselage off of an aircraft and make it fly. Not to mention, the forward fuselage is where a lot of the computers are that make it fly. How the hell do you chop the entire forward fuselage off and have room to put all of the computers you need to make a UCAV? If anything, you would just change the windscreen and canopy to allow room for the satellite uplink where the cockpit was located. Apparently, they don't realize the fuselage isn't there just to look pretty, but the designers actually put "stuff" in it.

 

[Sundog]

Two Skyhawks, a Mohawk and the YF-24? That's a weird family gathering in that portrait. -SP

You should have seen it when it was with the MiGs. Talk about awkward!

I'm almost positive that's what's left of Aurora in the crates next to it.

 

[sferrin]

Gawker's not journalism.

I just about fell out of my chair. We agree on something.

 

[Steve Pace]

Two Skyhawks, a Mohawk and the YF-24? That's a weird family gathering in that portrait. -SP

Ok, as no one has asked it yet, i'll be the one to bite...

Are you calling it YF-24 with sarcasm or is there a deeper meaning to it...?

Regards.

I jest - wishful thinking rather than sarcasm on my part (note question mark after YF-24). Those appear to be agressor A-4s parked next to it though. -SP