I'm an EA6B and E/F maintainer and I have to say that the Hornet will never be as good as the EA6B. The E/F is a great aircraft from the maintainer stand point compared to the pig but compromises must be made to use one platform for many missions. The un-refueled range of a G loaded with pods is much less that of the Prowler. Talk to any E/F driver and they will tell you having tanks on the outboard stations makes it a pig to fly. We load our birds 5 wet (ARS and 4 480 gal drops) quite often and the pilots make comments about how slow it is. Fact is a pig with a standard load of 3 pods and two drops will fly faster than an A-D (not in burner) with one drop. I have seen it with my own two eyes from the back seat. For some reason that I don't understand station 4 and 8 on the E/F are cantered outward from the airframe. With most loads this makes little difference in drag but with a big-old drop it makes a huge difference. I loved the EA6B for the 11+ years I have worked on it but I admit that having one aircraft that can do the job of 3 or 4 old platforms (although not as well) is better for everyone and saves the Navy money. Add to this the fact that a good portion of the EA6B fleet is now G limited because of wing problems it just makes sense to replace it.
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The Great Growler Gallery
- Thread starter woodman
- Start date
How come there aren't conformal fuel cells developed, like the F-15 has?
Do you mean the F14 external tanks? As far as I know the F15 has the same cylindrical tank design as the E/F. I had a Boeing engineer tell me in class that a 480 gal E/F tank made of composite was lighter than the A-D 330 gal metal and fiberglass tank. Just another perfect example of a engineer that never actually had to work on something he designed. Maybe that’s a contributing factor to the E/F being over design weight?
VetteMuscle427 said:
Actually they are just some kind of stickers, I saw them putting them on a few weeks ago in preperation for a ceremony at Whidbey a few weeks ago. Looked pretty funny, grown middle aged men putting temp stickers on a plane like it was a model.
I think she is one of Boeings test planes, maybe given back after being one of the test birds for the Navy?
F414Guy said:
F-15E's have conformal external tanks on the sides of the plane next to the engines. They help give the E's damn good range. They have also developed them for the UAE's F-16E/F's, they are on the top of the fuselage next to the engine. A potential problem for carrier airplanes is that they cannot be jettisoned in flight and there is only so much weight you can put on carrier airplanes. Though it is something the Navy should at least look at, if they have not already (anyone heard of that?).
Flash said:
Now that makes perfect sense! bringback weight.
F414Guy said:
I believe that the 18E/F actually came in UNDER the specified weight. It is the JSF that is heavy....
Super Hornet 88
New Member
You mean the F/A-18F? 
You mean the F/A-18F?
I don't understand.
It's the F/A-18F airframe with new electronics/pods to carry. No real structural changes. So basically it's an "F" with new pods and a few more gadgets.
Oh, ok I got ya.
And what, exactly, was the point of your post?? Other than trying to be cute??
The whole point of the post was to show that the EA-18G rolled off the line and is ready to go. Period. Dot. End of story. I fail to understand what you were trying to add to the story by saying "You mean the F/A-18F??
"
My point is why "roll out" something that's been "rolled out" before.
It's not technically ready for service either, as it's the first of the "full-up G" test aircraft. Was the F/A-18E/F ready to go when E-1 or F-1 rolled off? It was the first of many test aircraft, too.
Whever the 5 wet program is finished, are they going to roll out a "KF-18"?
It's not technically ready for service either, as it's the first of the "full-up G" test aircraft. Was the F/A-18E/F ready to go when E-1 or F-1 rolled off? It was the first of many test aircraft, too.
Whever the 5 wet program is finished, are they going to roll out a "KF-18"?
