F/A-18 - Hornet for the carrier

[@andersonbowes7065]

The Hornet doesn't get enough credit IMO. It's the blue collar multi-role fighter that can do a lot of things well to very well. It's not the best in anything, but it's reliable, strong and versatile... can't say that about a lot of it's enemies.

[@jakobole]

Same as the F-16. But they also came from the same LFW program.

[@FloridaManMatty]

It’s taken me a long time, but I have really come to love the F-18. It has matured well and has damn sure lived up to the expectations that were sort of dumped in its lap. The -18G has really excelled, and now I’m seeing that DOD is shutting down FIVE squadrons of Growlers soon. Unless the F-35 is making the Growlers redundant, that seems like a bad, BAD idea. Perhaps we can pass those planes along to one or two of our more closely allied nations. Id hate to see that capability just be set aside to rot. Also, having grown up just south of NAS Jax and Mayport (I’m actually in St. Augustine, Florida), I have been watching F-18s my entire life. I’ve seen the Blue Angels more times than I can count, but not since they moved into the newer Super Hornets. Can’t wait to see that next show!

[@Dr.Westside]

@@FloridaManMatty small world . I grew up right just north of NAS Jax . Lived right off 17 .

[@georgethompson1460]

@@FloridaManMatty Pretty sure F-35's have equivalent if not greater EW capabilities.

[@Shadowfax-1980]

All these years, it never occurred to me where the gun is located. You always learn something new from Sky!

[@codered5431]

It only holds 100 bullets

[@slickstrings]

@@codered5431 412 actually.

[@mhauser9457]

@Samuel Callum Melon ok poop

[@smithsanity2727]

Technically speaking, depending on how many enemies they’re fighting, they only need one.

[@justforever96]

No? Well, its an interesting development story. They had to develop special shock absorbing mounts for the cannon and the radar to protect the delicate equipment from the blast and recoil forces.

[@oldfriend327]

Thank you so much for this documentary. The F/A-18 is one of my all-time favorite aircraft. The original Northrop designers and employees in the mid 70's, the McDonnell Douglas engineers and various workers from the late 70's through the 80's and 90's, and later with Boeing must all be very proud of the longevity this aircraft has been able to maintain. It is amazing how much went into converting the YF-17 Cobra into the F/A18 Hornet.

[@Joe-rx7ht]

The F-18 SH is extremely obsolete.

[@the_cheese]

"The Mature Teenager" is one of the best descriptions of the F/A-18 I've ever heard; the F-15 is the science genius older sister, the F-14 the sports-star older brother, the F-16 the misunderstood younger sister. Great video, Sky!!

[@Kevin-fj5oe]

And the F-35 is the special kid with a talent

[@TisLasagnus]

The F22 seems to be the “quiet kid” (quite literally) that always seems to be a danger to students... if you know what I mean

[@svicaj2514]

Swiss kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWXMkJR_q5WVlbM

[@oddhoff4571]

Øi none j m

[@randompheidoleminor3011]

And the X-32 is the guy that everyone avoids just because he has a weird smile, even though the dude is actually a pretty decent guy.

[@robertmosher7418]

I will always have an affinity for the F/A18 as I watched them hold off a determined enemy of several hundred insurgents who had isolated a company outpost using IEDs, keeping us from reinforcing the outpost until we could neutralize a way through the dozens of explosive devices they had laid out for us. The did this first using their 20 mm guns, then their defensive flares, making gun runs until we broke through. That was some heroic flying. They only responded as they were nearby and had already dropped their ordnance on an objective miles away when they heard our net call for CAS and came running. Without their flares any missile locked on them was a death sentence and any air to air fight was impossible with no no more 20mm rounds

[@aaronseet2738]

For decades I was unsure why the final aircraft was designated F/A-18, until finally one of the pilots mentioned that when set to A2G mode, the FCS applies a different flight profile, making it behave like a stable and accurate bomber.

[@alexburke1899]

The A-10C has something cool like that for it’s gun. With a two stage trigger the first trigger pull stabilizes the plane perfectly then the second trigger stage fires the gun. The stabilization overrides the flight controls so if a pilot held down the trigger too long they’d theoretically crash into the ground even if they pulled back on the stick in time. Kind of an cool technology to stabilize such a big gun in mid air.

[@DavidRichardson153]

Speaking for myself, the F/A-18 is my favorite plane. Yes, I like plenty of others, but to me, the F/A-18 stands above them all. It was the first plane I saw flying at the first air show I can remember being taken to (great job winning me over, Blue Angels). I also had a classmate whose godfather was an F/A-18 combat instructor, so I sort of always had such a bias for it. I even got taken up on a quick flight in one (back seat, of course). I have gotten to fly in plenty of planes (mostly historical ones and always as just a passenger), but the F/A-18 will always be the highlight for me.

[@z9944x]

Same here ! F18 and f16 are my fav ! f16 bcoz its wayyyy cheaper

[@AndrewTubbiolo]

"The Final Countdown" The best Tomcat cinematography of them all.

[@derptank3308]

HELL YEAH!

[@sinkkpable]

@@derptank3308 I

[@blakelowrey9620]

The sheer anticlimacticness of that move still makes me angry years later

[@AndrewTubbiolo]

@@blakelowrey9620 Well to go the other way would mean a A-6 dropping B-61's on Japanese cities......

[@anthonysaponaro6318]

Yupp ya know it is gonna be good when right at the very start you're lookin at full afterburner takeoff of a Tomcat

[@kellywilson8440]

I was assigned to the very first F-18 squadron on the east coast at NAS Cecil Field fla 1984/1988 , VFA-131 Wildcats and was also the first squadron to see combat in Libya in 1986 operation el-dorado canyon .

[@TheGlitch93]

A quote that fits to the F/A-18 and the F-14: legends never die

[@سیدمحمدمیرباقری-ظ9د]

سلام. پادشاه ما. با پول و وام شرکت گرومن را برای ساخت اف14 راه اندازی کرد🇮🇷♥️

[@ADPeguero]

This is why I like your channel Sky. I never knew the F18 was derived off of the F5. I've been following fighter jets since my childhood in the early 80's and this is the first time I hear this. Now that you mention it, I can see the resemblance :-)

[@damianketcham]

Me too. Had no idea!!!!

[@TheNismo777]

Hi from FInland, those planes can be pushed to the insane levels ^^ Our airforce has been showing in the airshows how that plane can be taken beyond its max :)

[@ananthropomorphictalkinggo6641]

I just watched a video of a Finnish pilot doing things that I didn't even know the FA-18 could do, you guys have some incredibly skilled pilots.

[@aaronsanborn4291]

Not to mention the Super Hornets are compatible with U.S. Carriers if needed.

[@CaptCaveman7570]

Yes

[@stevensutton7959]

@@ananthropomorphictalkinggo6641 )lqS,,,2,esaaaa,,,,x ,z

[@zyuraidebinabdulaziz6950]

F/A18d hornet is the superior,..

[@smithsanity2727]

The F-18 is such an underrated fighter. This aircraft is genuinely a beast in the air and will give ANY opposing fighter aircraft a run for it’s money.

[@donnyboon2896]

I was in VMFA-115 Silver Eagles in 1986 as we did final 210 day inspections on the seats before sending them to long term storage in the Arizona desert. They pulled Gunnery Sergeant Coppi from Mag-31 station to oversee it. That man is a legend. Semper Fidelis Gunny Coppi!

[@ronclarke8546]

Well done - very good documentary. Thanks. People are overly attracted to speed. However, the FA18 has very good systems and weaponry along with great slow speed/high AOA. It's so good - even though it has extra pounds on it because it was designed for carriers - it has been bought as a land fighter. The FA18EF are even better at both BVR and weapons delivery than even an F-16 IMHO. And I still think the F-16 is also a great multipurpose lightweight jet.

[@mimimimeow]

even Malaysia prefers buying more Hornets than adding more Flankers/Fulcrums to their fleet; that's how good it is.

[@fluffly3606]

To my understanding one of the main reasons for the speed drop between gen 3 and gen 4 was that Mach 2 capability turned out to be almost useless in practice; aircraft in real combat conditions basically never had a reason or a chance to go that fast. There is such thing as too much speed.

[@bd5av8r1]

Hornet Number 1 (The blue striped white one in the video) is at the China Lake Ca Navy museum today. I helped in its restoration. :)

[@wicked1172]

I like Sky's light humor that is woven into the very informative story.

[@Willaev]

The Navy went from “F-14s are too expensive and too complex, give us simpler, cheaper Hornets” to “Hornets are too simple and cheap, give us expensive and complex F-35s” in the space of 3 decades.

[@TisLasagnus]

A stealth naval fighter is a good idea, but the F35 is a horrid piece of machinery.

[@elimalinsky7069]

@@TisLasagnus The F-35 gets a lot of flak (no pun intended) for no reason IMHO. Sure its R&D costs skyrocketed to one trillion dollars, and it costs 120 million dollars a piece, only behind the F-22 (which costs a whopping 350 million dollars a piece). But it's nonetheless an incredibly capable fighter and an essential fighter for 21st century warfare. The problem is, it's over engineered. It relies too heavily on computers and software (which is both a good and a bad thing), it is frankensteined into three variants, each tailored to the USAF, US Navy and US Marine Corps. Lockheed Martin wanted to have a fighter that can do everything at once, in land and at sea, air-to-air and air-to-ground. They wanted it to be agile, maneuvreable, capable of electronic warfware, with full stealth capabilities, easy too fly, capable of carrying more armaments than standard, and a diverse array of them as well, all the while being relatively economic with only a single engine. Early designs even demanded supercruise capabilities, with one engine no less (!). Lockheed Martin tried to make a be-all-end-all aircraft for every type of mission and all missions, and to be sold internationally. Lockheed already had the F-22 as the ultimate fighter, but they were trying to aim even higher (again, no pun intended) and it seems that even one trillion dollars are not enough when it comes to bending the laws of physics.

[@TisLasagnus]

Eli Malinsky Going to have to disagree with “supercruise” and “more than standard ordinance”. The Lightning II holds less AMRAAMS than a super hornet, which is approximately 6-8, depending on your objective, while the Lightning could carry 4, assuming they aren’t carrying sidewinders. And I’ll bring that up here in a bit. As we all know the B variant has VTOL features meaning it can land wherever and re-arm, and this could just be for the B variant as many features for the engines were substituted, and once more, an exact max-speed is classified. However, the Lightning can hardly reach Mach 1 even with afterburner. But then again, that could be only the B variants problem. Now stealth on a craft works because the radar can’t get any right angles, which is where fuselage ordinance comes in handy. I’ll make exceptions for the gun pod but a Air-to-Surface missile would completely ruin the objective, of a stealth fighter. While it is possible to load maybe 2 250 lb. bombs inside a Lightning, considering its payload size, that wouldn’t be enough to declare a sink. While many of the same craft would come very handy, that just tanks our tax dollars into this dreaded circle. Also you can’t have sidewinders on the side of the wings due to stealth, so you have to choose wisely.

[@masterofpuppets7295]

Lasagnus, if you think the f35 is a 'horrid piece of machinery' then you clearly are an ignorant idiot. That jet would rip shit over all the teen series and in a lot of ways is better than the f22

[@TisLasagnus]

Master of Puppets Explain how it’s better than the F22. Also sorry, youtube didn’t give me a notification for your reply. Here’s why, in my opinion, the Raptor is the best craft known to man. While it’s speed is currently classified, it is estimated that, without after burner, can go an approximate 1200 knots, almost twice the speed of sound. It’s super cruise abilities amass all others. It has a heavy, concealed ordinance. The raptor has the ability to carry 2-4 1000 pound bombs, which one is enough to *almost* sink a ship, it’s a definite sign of scuttling. It has the capability to carry air-to-surface missiles/rockets, and some AGMs. If it truly wanted, it could carry an approximate 14 AMRAAMS, however that would remove its stealth capability. With stealth, it could carry the following: 6 AMRAAMS, 2 Sidewinders 2 sidewinders, 2 1000 pound bombs 2 sidewinders, 4 GBU 32’s and other GBU variants 2 sidewinders, 4 air to ship/ground rockets, most likely AGMS It has twin engines, meaning if one engine fails, it can still fly, at a relatively fast speed as well, while the Lightning II can’t. It also has thrust vectoring, which means it can turn much sharper by tiny ailerons over and under each engine which turn any way that helps the direction it pulls. This opens up a *completely* new field of combat. The main goal of U.S aviators is to get far away and blast from a distance. The raptor would do so well in this position, but if needed, can get itself out of any combat scenario. The raptor has the best radar ever put on a flying machine. While it’s debated the tomcat had a better radar due to its range, the radar on the Raptor helps conceal itself (as if it wasn’t concealed enough already). While it does limit its seeing ability quite a bit, it can see whatever is truly necessary. Besides, AWACS has the range under control, as it is a Air Force craft. I had high hopes for the Lightning, I truly did. But it’s not worth it’s cost. Obama made the right decision to cancel the raptor program at the right time. We have enough as is, it’s definitely an expensive fighter and should be treated as such. The raptor is truly the most dominant fighter in the sky. See my comment above as to why the F-35 is not worth its cost.

[@mansonfd7835]

F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet will always be my no. 1 favourite Aircraft ever after Typhoon, Rafale, Viper, and Raptor.

[@justforever96]

Interesting fact most people don't know about; the missiles on the F-18E/F are not only canted nose down, but they are also toed outwards by a few degrees. Apparently they had issues with missile launching in trials, and the cheapest, easiest way to fix it was to simply angle all the missiles outwards a little. It increases drag and fuel consumption, but they decided it was worth it rather than accept the loss of time and added expense during development (they were already trying to stay low under Congress' radar as much as possible). So this super advanced, high tech aircraft, the mainstay of our Naval Aviation, is actually partly bodged together with quick fixes.

[@reaality3860]

This F-18 is still the backbone of the US Navy in 2020. With its 'Pack III' updates, it can compete with any foe flown by adversaries.

[@hedgehog3180]

I hope you cover the Eurofigther, Dassault Rafale and Gripen in the future.

[@najmicreativetv9491]

Gripen already done, but surely love for a remake

[@ildarg8449]

These videos are available on the channel in Russian. Maybe they will be transferred in the future.

[@norcal9168]

so all the pos jets basically

[@thundercactus]

Funny story about Boeing clashing with Bombardier over the C series: their suggested tariff for the plane got blown WAY out of proportion to a ridiculous number, making it insane for anyone to try to import them. And the C series isn't really competition for the 737, other than the fact Boeing doesn't make any aircraft in that smaller size and was filling that gap with 737s that were too big. So Bombardier GAVE 51% of the project to airbus, who then offered it in the US (and subsequently worldwide, making the venture worth it for bombardier) as the A220, AND even started manufacturing most of the plane in Alabama to make it pretty well impervious to retaliation from Boeing claiming it's a foreign airplane. This then forced Boeing to make a deal to purchase 80% of Embraer's commercial aircraft division in order to sell Embraer E-jets to compete with the A220. Then COVID19 hit and Boeing was forced to cancel the deal. Leaving them good and properly fucked out of a size of aircraft that's likely going to be REALLY popular for a while.

[@D_2_M]

Karma went to visit Boeing and say hi lol. From the max to the virus and now the deal is off oh plus many ordered cancelled too. Time for Boeing to use tax payer money so Airbus can ask EU to out tarrif on all Boeing planes sold in Europe because all it's planes "subsidized" by tax payer money hahahaha

[@gelinrefira]

Boeing blocking Bombardier is the hypocrisy of the century. Free market my foot. The fact that they can even use the US government to do their dirty work also showed who is really in charge of the country.

[@evil993]

@@gelinrefira yeah im so sick of overriding market forces and factors for some dick measuring. It's why so many industries like healthcare are so fucked price wise. If markets could actually be open and more free, government subsidization wouldn't be nearly as required as it is across the board just to live normally these days. Keep pricing more and more of society out of basic necessities. Only to then give people the rest of the cash they need to afford shit.

[@jerryrichards8172]

Didnt know the f-18 came from the f-5. Different topic but when I see these types of video I can't help but think someone should of picked up the blackwidow yf-23 Thanks for sharing.

[@tom95521]

The F-18 looks like it was the child of an engineer and artist. TG2 is going to be awesome.

[@Mark36912]

The F-14 Clips from the final countdown were perfect.

[@semco72057]

I am learning some things which is part of the program for the F/A-18 Hornet and I remember seeing some at Miramar MCAS (NAS at the time) and loved it even though I loved the F-14 Tomcat. I remember the intakes on the F/A-18 intake changes and it had the other changes also and the more powerful engines.

[@ped2028221]

I remember MCAS Miramar and NAS North Island.... Stationed there back in '01 to 05'... Hornet was a wonderful Bird.

[@Mr_Plop1]

Great content as usual. I'd like to hear about the Sukhoi Su-25, it's been in service for 40 years.

[@gaittr]

It is crazy how many over-the-top spectacular military fighter jets were designed in the 70s. The F-14,15,16,18, SU--27, MIG-29, Saab ?, and French POS😅

[@bekimgraicevci8744]

CRAZYYYYY beautifuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul

[@philipbacani9400]

Tomcat in Top Gun 1 to Hornet in Maverick. 👏👏👏

[@julienvauxion4037]

Skyships Eng, all versions of rafale are motorised by two Snecma (now Safran) M88. Only part of test flight were performed with the F404.

[@Archlegan]

My favorite plane and I'm not even a Boeing guy. I live in Jacksonville right across from NAS Jax, where the Blue Angels train and I believe were founded. I saw them all the time as a kid above the skies of urban Duval. I know two former crewmember mechanics. Kind of tight knit, but it's really a cool thing. We had airshows every year at that base before covid.

[@Facundoviscarra34]

Love this marathon so far! I cannot wait for the 5th generation

[@TheRibbonRed]

5th? You mean 6th? Or just the 5th Gen of other countries? Because the US Military already has their 5th Gens.

[@lfox02]

@@TheRibbonRed The videos on 5th gen.

[@Facundoviscarra34]

@@TheRibbonRed i mention it because of the next US fighter jet that follows in this series

[@viruspter1dactl]

There are only 2 5th gen airplanes in the world f22 and f35 -_-

[@viruspter1dactl]

@@TheRibbonRed no other country has a tth gen fighter

[@TheRiskyBrothers]

I've got family up in Traverse City, Michigan where the Blue Angels do shows/practice. It's always a cool sight to see, and occasionally the Canadians will send down one of their guys to do some maneuvers as well.

[@chriscarrete5303]

I love how similar the F/A-18 and T-65B X-Wing are, since they are both a multipurpose fighter.

[@sarjim4381]

In case you run into a Marine, Corps is pronounced "core". No P and no S.

[@wgcdrelliot8989]

Sar Jim he is russian, soo...

[@pyrho1]

I was going to post this. I'm sure it's driving many Marines bonkers hearing him mispronounce "corps". Thank you.

[@Yama00]

YEAH, THAT'S WEIRD. IT DENOTES NOT A FULL BRANCH. LET'S MAKE IT MARINES AMPHIBIOUS COMBINED ARMS FORCE (MACAF), AND SHIFT ALL TIER 1 AND 2 SPECIAL FORCES/OPERATIONS UNITS, SUCH AS SEALS, GREEN BERETS, ETC. OVER HERE TO ONE UNIFIED SOC FOR MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT COMMAND AND CONTROL. SINCE THE (FORMER) MC IS THE NATION'S ADVANCED INFANTRY FORCE. IT SHOULD BE THE ONE TO RUN MOST SOFTIES AND SUCH UNCONVENTIONAL CRAP. OF COURSE, THE OTHER BRANCHES WOULD STILL NEED A LIMITED, INDEPENDENT SF CAPABILITY OF THEIR OWN ON HAND. TOO MANY EGGS IN ONE BASKET AND ALL THAT. ALSO IMPORTANT TO WEED OUT ALL DUAL LOYALTY CIA SLEEPER TROLLS.

[@Yama00]

IS ANYONE SUGGESTING WE ARE AN IMMATURE IDIOT? THAT IS TREASON! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

[@Yama00]

F-15X/EX FOR CARRIERS!

[@donjaeger2149]

I worked on the Hornet since fleet introduction 34 years total. Great airplane. I had to laugh at all the reversed video though. A carrier with the island on the port side??? The RADAR components were accessed from the left side not the right. Good presentation overall...

[@michaelpatrick6840]

I lived on that hornets nest, USS America CV-66, from 87-90, and the tomcat was king at that time. Not saying the hornets are not bad ass jets. MM3 Pup.

[@allans7281]

Terrific video love all the detailed info. F-18 Hornet awesome looking fighter. USA🇺🇸 Freedom is not free

[@caseyjfromli3240]

I grew up watching the Blue Angels at Jones Beach. I still see them from the deck of my parents house in Farmingdale. amazing planes

[@altonwilliams7117]

The F18 was the perfect fit for the US Navy and Marines. 👍

[@nexpro6118]

The F35s are now much less expensive since larger numbers have been ordered and now the factory lines have been able to adapt new ways and new tooling to build the F35s. An F35A, B and even C variants is actually cheaper than the New F15EX and almost the same price as the Block 3 F18 Variant. It's just the F35s are more expensive per flight hour to operate, but that's because of the stealth material and coating.

[@ryansta]

F-16 becoming known as'The Viper' has nothing at all to do with snakes. It's in reference to Battlestar Galactica. Originally the F-16 was titled the Fighting Falcon. So you had Eagles and Falcons no snakes.

[@colinw7205]

Great overview of the F/A-18, Sky. One thing that always bothered about the F/A-18 is how do the Navy pilots and other operators like the RCAF deal with the fact this though great in high AOA maneuvers doesn't have the 1:1 trust ratio of its other 4th Generation brethren like the F-14 (the B and D version anyway), the F-15 and F-16 ?????

[@densealloy]

18:31 which the T-38 is a member of the Northrop F-5 variant, which brings it all back around. Also the F-20 Tigershark was a super cool jet and there is a promotional video with Chuck Yeager here on YT. It was a very capable aircraft it's too bad it didn't catch on because it improved on the strengths of the F5 as well as providing affordability for foreign customers. I thought the ability to start the engines without external power in remote fields really cool.

[@D_2_M]

Sadly that F-20 it's too powerful and affordable that other companies scared they might not make those big bucks. If you allies have a cheaper faster and more agile planes than what you have of course it's a bad news. Poor Northrop though..at least I m glad that F-17 was one of their plane. That company do made a lot of affordable planes compare to other companies like MD, Boeing or LM.

[@TinyKrimple]

Fear holds you prisoner, hope sets you free, it takes a strong man to save himself, a great man to save another. Remember, hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies. Busy, or waiting to die. -- The Shawshank Redemption

[@SpiritHawk7]

17:57 - 18:02 Very cool takeoff! Love it!

[@NormanconEVE]

Hah, That's a happy pilot

[@airworthy777]

F/A-18 A/B Hornet and F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet is one of the coolest fighter aircraft and its role is more cooler as an Fighter and attack aircraft role and very important to the navy due to its multi-role mission, it can be a Fighter, Attack, Electronic Warfare, and the most cool aircraft role as a Tanker (a tanker fighter aircraft is quite rare).

[@sixaout1982]

Just a small mistake, but the Rafale uses the SNECMA M-88 engines, the F-404 were only used during the initial flights of the Rafale A demonstrator, while waiting for the M-88 development to be completed

[@strudders2112]

Really good video again. Cheers for making them.

[@Spacebaryonyx]

At the bug interview: “so what do you guys do” hornet: “i like to hurt people”

[@Mysucculentchinesemeal]

Those are Canadian planes are gorgeous.

[@generaljemssmjem437]

i loved the F-18, its a good video to watch and listen too, its also my favorite thanks to Top Gun 2 trailers, and a side note, the super hornet has more angled or squared look air intakes, than the hornet's rounded intakes

[@garpikemike1]

Great video...also thanks for the little blurb about the Canadian use of this great American plane. The red one actually does look pretty cool. Cheers!

[@darkknight1340]

The F/A 18 E looks almost exactly like the Mig 29 especially from the front,obviously the angle of the vertical stabilizers are more pronounced on the 18,but I bet there would be some close potential friendly fire calls if they met in combat!.

[@f.n.schlub]

A beautiful essay.

[@Wpns175]

@13:57 a lot of that footage comes from NAS Patuxent River NAS. Those a lot of the trees are gone now, because a F-35 hit a deer. @ 25:19 you see an F-35 landing, that is CF-05 and I worked on that jet. Good jet!

[@Max_Mustermann_]

The F-16 looks like a sports car while the F/A-18 looks like a daily driver for bringing home groceries. I love the look of the fictional F/A-181 Black Wasp II from Arma 3 thou.

[@eljuanchosf]

This is really good quality material. Love it!

[@BeKindToBirds]

0:45 that is a sick shot right there

[@TheWizardGamez]

A great example of a “proto-hornet” would be the F-8 crusader and A-7 Corsair. An extremely related pair of aircraft(and the F-8 could do the bombing stuff but was more expensive and the navy top brass was still WW2 vets). When the F-8 was made it could’ve made for the first of the “strike-fighters” that were purpose built for the carrier. The move to a truly multi role aircraft was in the works for decades.

[@steven2212]

You do a fabulous job. Great post.

[@762rk95tp]

Land based F-18L offering from Northrop was on the paper from day one when they started to cooperate with McDonnell-Douglas. They just failed to market it and failed the same way they failed when selling F-17 to joint European fighter deal with Dutch, Belgians, Danes and Norwegians. Basically they failed in licensing deals by offering almost no local manufacturing. That is how McDonnell-Douglas managed to sell heavier and less suitable for clients naval version to so many countries. They were simply better at selling things and considering clients interests.

[@jacobstallcup8648]

I’ve hated the f18 for so long becuase it replaced the f14 but I’ve started to love the f18 but the f14 will always be my favorite

[@JMLippert]

When it comes to weapons and state's defense, price is irrelevant. The 14 beats the 18 on every spec but the price. Tells a lot about how the US deepstate appreciate the priorities about national security. The 14s are the only plane with the 15 who could still bury the new upgraded Russian jets. 35s are already irrelevant as "stealth" jets against S-400 and S-500. And their pure dogfight performances are barely average, without turning canons + their computer assisted aiming and their nose diving capabilities (1 time but if you fail = no energy => make your prayers). Update a 14 with the same canons and a dogfight would become a massacre with any of the US 5th gens. I hate the 18 because its designed to bully other countries at a cheap price and not as defense diamonds that everyone fears.

[@andrekuhr8036]

Yep, keep these new super hornets flying . I just love them . Good looking stream line battle axes.

[@ElTurbandito]

man this is an awesome compliation of footage if nothing else

[@flightmaster999]

Great video again! Keep them coming.

[@wanchikibrahim3647]

US should continue with the production of stealth F18...

[@RoodeMenon]

Here's to hoping Top Gun Maverick will make them cool for todays kids.

[@MilitaryVehicleReviews]

Good info. Thanks for posting this! I love the Hornet

[@Discokid715]

The F-14 Tomcat is my favorite looking plane. It has that classic dorito shape. I think Russia's SU-57 is very similar. Like a cross between a F-14 and a F-22.

[@TheBostonranger1]

Another great video thank you Sky keep up the great work.

[@utley]

really loved this video, thanks! i pretty much fly the hornet in DCS nonstop.

[@cuajvue1798]

"Why do we even need this jet when there is a perfectly crafted F/A-18 fighter" The same thing said about the F-22 when they still had the F-15

[@bobthompson4319]

the reason why the tail rudders where tilted was because the root extentions blocked the air flow at high aoa like when landing on a carrier and not haveing control then means death.

[@richardcarr6493]

l ve seen CF18 doing an air show in Manitoba in 92 ,very impressive abilities !! EVEN tho we have the infrastructure for newer F18s to replace our old ones ,l would like to see the EURO fighter tried out along with other overseas options :)

[@chops0075]

The only prototype of the YF-17 Cobra is on display at the Western Museum of Flight in Torrance, California. Worth a stop to check it out.

[@MisteriosGloriosos922]

Thanks for letting us know!!!

[@wanchikibrahim3647]

US should continue with the Production of F18

[@tomi_9212]

Here in Finland we dont have carriers, but we do use hooks on road base with movable line system.

[@flyerkiller5073]

Yeah, the most badass jet!

[@raptor1672]

Err no that's the Blackbird....

[@aaronseet2738]

26:23 were they seriously considering fitting in a 30" monitor in the cockpit :D

[@4rct1c9Ic3m4n]

I bet it's now 55" curved QLEDS in 8K

[@aaronseet2738]

@@4rct1c9Ic3m4n So pilots can play *Call of Duty* while on autopilot

[@chaff5]

The irony of the Air Force going with the F16 is that the F18 is fully capable of doing what the F16 does. Some unification could have been had if the USAF had gone with the YF17.

[@manuairborne]

'The F-14 was so expensive and complex that the military refused to purchase new units'... Did you miss the part during the 90's where the Navy opted for further F-14 Super Tomcat developments but was forced by Dick Cheney administration to go for the Super Hornet instead?

[@Paul-kw1og]

Amazing story Really enjoyed it Sky.

[@terryfreeman1018]

Good analysis. I learned quite a bit.

[@justforever96]

The plane is really the F-18. The only reason it ended up being called the F/A-18 is because originally it was to be built as both F-18 and A-18 versions, based on the same jet, so it was called the 'F/A-18 program'. In the end with better avionics, it was decided it was better just to make them all fighters with a built in strike capability instead. But the term F/A-18 had become so widely known by then that people just continued to use it, and the Navy ended up more or less adopting it, to advertise that they got their money's worth this time (this was not long after the A-12 debacle, and they were long overdue for a new attack jet by then). But it always grates on me. F/A-18 is too awkward to say, and it is totally out of keeping with the naming conventions for all other US jets. The F-16 is also a strike jet, but it is just the F-16. The F-15E wasn't renamed the F/A-15E. The F-4 spent most of its career as a bomber. And even if you did feel it necessary to give a dual designation, what is wrong with 'FA-18' (or AF-18)? That is how we named the RF-4, the QF-106, the TF-8, the NF-104, the RB-47, the EA-6B, etc. Why is the F-18 the _only_ plane in the US inventory to get a slash in the name? Rant complete.

[@nyareyes9828]

The F-14 inspired me to join the military. The F-16 just looks no nonsense bad ass.

[@mrpicky1868]

last hoora of reasonably priced but very capable planes with no real major issues

[@justforever96]

The F-18 didn't get AMRAAM until later in development. The original weapons were the AIM-7 and AIM-9. And the only part that is shared between the F-18C/D and F-18E/F is the nose ahead of the intakes. The rest is a completely new aircraft. It was only called an F-18 to convince Congress to agree to pay for it, because they thought it would be too expensive to develop a whole _new_ plane when the F-18 just went into service. So the Navy just went and developed a new plane anyway, but made it look just like the old one, and kept the same designation so they could call it an 'upgrade'. And the new intakes only look different because it was supposed to reduce the radar signature slightly. The more powerful engines needed larger intakes, but they could have easily kept the same old shape if they wanted too, and with the larger airframe, the larger intakes would have looked pretty much identical to those on the C/D.

[@brendancross2767]

Apparently, the Royal Canadian Air Force recently had to go on Amazon or eBay or something to get blank floppy disks to be able to work on their CF-18s Also, something other than paint that can identify a CF18 from an FA18 is on the left side just under the canopy, there's a light there

[@mikegrazick684]

Very informative!! What a truly remarkable aircraft that has found a shadow in all of our hearts!

[@AH6man]

“It might not be the coolest” oh it’s the coolest.

[@Knightfire66]

25:20 from all those videos funny that you use the f35 jet of turkey in this video XD which got cancelled

[@Knightfire66]

@CR i think s400 are much better choice for turkey. so there is no rush for f35 or a new jet. and f35 go only to nato allies. so turkey doesnt need to fight f35. their f16 are already good and with domestically updates on 70+ niveau. and they have tons of drones. with s400 however they can stop incomming missiles from iraq or syria. usa doesnt like that but that was a good tactical decision. and that deal also opened the way for more deals with russia. maybe they can get a deal on russian jet engine for their drones or a jet in future. every independant country would decide s400 instead of f35. maybe you dont know but turkey is also part of nclear deal. so in case of war (agaisnt russia) turkey could use nuclear missiles if russia does. so in case of offensive turkey is well prepaired. turkey needed more defence.

[@MultiCconway]

Concerning the GE F404 turbine engine . . . the engine went through two development efforts to increase durability/efficiency/performance. This engine is the father of the GE F414 turbine Engine with significant performance improvements and found a home in the Super Hornet.

[@hansenkho3835]

Would like to know where Sky living now. Your review on aircraft is nice to learn

[@timmansour6004]

Hey Sky, when are you going to do F-111?

[@wanjevi]

I just bump into you sky. Your vids are eloquent, educative and funny at the some time. I am going to press the bell button ding ding 👍

[@davidtharp1591]

Always looking UP