McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet

Background

The F/A-18C is a multirole carrier-capable fighter attack aircraft. Introduced in the early 1980s, it is highly versatile and conducts a wide array of missions including fleet air defence, SEAD and reconnaissance.

Controls

• Group 1 - Speedbrake
• Group 2 - Arrestor Hook
• Group 3 - Fold Wings (ground only)
• Group 5 - Ejection Seat
• Group 7 - Emergency Jettison
• Trim - Roll Trim
• VTOL Down - Flaps (first section for half, second section for full)
• Stick
  Trigger - Fire Weapons
  Button 1 - Next Weapon
  Button 2 - Next Target
• Throttle
  Button 1 - Launch Countermeasures
  Button 2 - Cycle Targeting Mode

Startup

1. Turn on the Battery (Right Instrument Panel)
2. Turn on the APU (Left Instrument Panel)
3. When the APU Light comes on, wait a second and flip the Engine Starter Switch (Below the APU Light)
4. The APU Switch will turn off when both engines are started.
5. Turn on the Master Arm Switch if planning to use weapons (Left of Left MFD)

Takeoff

1. Keep Brake held until ready to go.
2. Set Flaps to Half with VTOL Slider or Switch on Left Upper Console
3. Trim should be in the centre, slowly increase Power, align with runway.
4. Set Power to full for Afterburner, use Yaw to stay centred on runway, nose gear runs out of authority at around 50 Knots
5. Hold Pitch up until the Plane leaves the ground in the 150-180 Knot range.
6. Retract Gear and Flaps before 250 Knots.

Landing

1. Align with runway at at least 3 miles
2. Reduce speed to 250 Knots or less, enter a very shallow dive pointing toward the runway.
   3.Set Flaps to Full.
3. As speed keeps decreasing, extend the Landing Gear, this also turns on the AOA indexer to the left of the HUD.
4. Reduce Power, use small Pitch controls to keep the AOA at the Yellow Circle. If the Green Arrow is showing, you are too slow. If the Red Arrow is showing, you are too fast.
5. If landing on a Carrier extend the Arresting Hook.
6. Keep reducing speed until at 120-130 Knots and then hold that speed.
7. When close to the runway, flare the aircraft upwards to reduce the rate of descent to under 800 Feet/Minute (Above the Altitude on the HUD)
8. When touching down try to correct the direction of the aircraft with the rudder before it runs out of authority.
9. Set throttle to idle and use Brake to slow down.

Cockpit

Weapons

The master arm switch must be in the ON position and the landing gear must be up to fire weapons.

• M61A1 Vulcan - 350 rounds of 20mm ammunition is carried internally. Useful against lightly armoured vehicles and aircraft.
• AIM-9L Sidewinder - All aspect IR-guided dogfight missile. One missile is carried on each wingtip rail. Best used within around 5 nautical miles.
• AIM-7M Sparrow - Semi-active radar guided missile that requires a lock to be maintained for the missile's entire flight. Much longer range than the Sidewinder but less effective against maneuvering targets. Two missiles carried on fuselage stations.
• Mk. 82 Snakeye - 500lb dumb bomb fitted with high drag tail fins. Approach level or in a shallow dive at low altitude and drop just before overflying the target for best accuracy. The targeting reticle is innacurate for this weapon so ignore it. Four bombs carried on the outboard wing rails.
• Mk. 20/CBU-100 Rockeye - Anti-tank cluster bomb. Highly effective against armour and personnel. Best dropped in a dive from above 5000 feet since the bomblets are released 4 seconds after the weapon is fired, a higher launch altitude will lead to the bomblets being more spaced.

Thanks to: PlanariaLab for the HUD, SnoWFLakE0s, edensk and 11qazxc for help with Funky Trees