ScoobyDoo

I guess I totally pooched that answer. I was avionics on the Hornet and had asked an aviation squadron mate I served with what those holes were for. He correctly answered they were eng exhaust vents. I thought I read ecs. And honestly, I should have known better. On post flight checks occasionally I did find fluid staining/seepage from those openings. He did say they also served as vent holes for temperature control and reducing condensation build up in the area. Not only for fluid leaks from the top engine bay. From now on I’ll stick to avionics questions. It’s been 20 years since I retired too.

Nailed it! Looks perfect!

I totally misunderstood the door shape question, this image makes it clearer to me, I thought you were talking about the outer edges. I think the differences in the asymmetric shapes is due to the complex retraction sequence and the need for clearance of a mounted sparrow. I also remember there were aerodynamic shape differences due to the need to eliminate vibrations when the gear was closed and locked on the latches. I think the latter is the most likely reason, wind tunnel tests determined that shape created a tighter fit on the port side and eliminated early door vibrations. So it was a design based on early problems. I know the jet definitely had issues in the early days of door chattering. I can’t comment on the Blue Angels. I know we would not retract gear at speeds that would damage the jet. And we have the best Hornet air demo in the business. Our CF-18 show performance is recognized as one of the best jet routines in the world, we push the jet to the max, unlike other performers. I know working alongside US Navy and Marine Hornets we often saw their jets flying with delaminated doors, the reason we didn’t allow it was in case a portion of the door departed the jet and embedded in a tire. We had strict limits.

The Hornet had drain holes in the flaps too, after a wash job we’d physically have to push the flaps up to drain water accumulated in the flaps. It was a good workout to push the flaps up, they’d bleed back down in an hour or so.

Yes, the circular engravings on the avionics doors are definitely the door fasteners. On the pre- flight walk around, we open the avionics panel so the pilot can see certain settings and can check/install a piece of mission equipment. We have a unique tool to open/close the door. when the door is properly latched a silver pin in the middle of the fastener must be flush with the surface. If the pin doesn’t pop out, that fastener is not fastened properly. The tool is really only a fancy Allen key. The gun arm door has the same fasteners. The center circle should be silver. Another painting detail for Chuck.

Thanks Chuck 🙃 Not to nit-pick, but what you labeled as an ECS vent on the port side of door 3 (the gun door), is an ECS system inlet port. The vent is behind it. If the gun door is door 3, what do you suppose door 1 is (starting from the nose)?

The doors probably delaminated and had to be dressed, instead of replaced. Thus the shape change. I’ve seen some nasty doors on Blue Angel jets, a good portion of the door missing, as well as many US Navy jets. We seemed to taken care of ours better in the RCAF.

Answered in a PM but here are the details:

Nice to see you are building another Hornet! I see you found the answer in regards to the panels on the Hornet. That feature was disabled when I worked on them. G-Factor gear do occasionally show up on eBay, I grabbed a pair not to long ago. “Kicked up a Notch” is your identity, keep using it!

A completed large scale build thread by me.

Fantastic build thread, what a beautiful final product! I was fortunate to sit in a Me-163 at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa. Two were in the overflow hanger and I was given a behind the scenes tour. They were captured war trophies by Canadian troops in WWII.

Any idea when he is re-opening for buisness?

Whoops, mixed up the two airframes in my head. The 109s haven’t reached Canada yet. Hornby closing in the US has effected new Airfix kits on the shelves here, it has slowed their arrival.

You could get someone in Canada to send it as a gift under $100 and you won’t pay anything extra. I bought mine at the local shop for $123 USD, although I now see the shop increased the price to $146 USD, that price includes the beer cup.

Drivel about the tariff’s? Companies don’t want to take the risk of dealing with tariffs. Hornby clearly no longer wants the risk of setting up shop in the US and losing business due to the increase in cost of selling to US customers. Simple as that, tarriffs hurt.