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RAAF F/A-18 Hornet, ELTA 8222 ECM pod and adaptor.


ericg

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This is my next model built with a subject pilot in mind. I am depicting an aircraft as flown by R.S, callsign `Homer' during a combat mission flown in Operation OKRA in May 2016. I am very pleased to be able to build an aircraft that Homer flew, and look forward to bringing as much detail as I am allowed to about this fine Australian pilot and his exploits. He has an exceptional military service record as well as being awarded an Order of Australia and the Conspicous Service Medal. 

 

Homer was the XO for 3 SQN RAAF during this period and flew a mission which was commemorated by the ground crew in the form of nose art on the side of his Hornet.  A brief run down of the mission was as follows: 

 

A/C: A21-46

21 May 2016 –Time on TGT 1354:11Z

Fired 531 M70LD rounds in one pass (gun pack holds 550rds)

Rocket rails – good effects on target

450KCAS, 18 deg nose down.

Dropped 1 x GBU-38 on enemy fighters in a building after the strafe pass from 2L

 

thumbnail_image1%20(1)-X2.jpg

 

The loadout for this particular sortie was as follows: 

 

STN 1/9 LAU7 only no weapons. STN 2 BRU55 with GBU-38 EACH SIDE, STN 3 fuel tank, STN 4 AIM120, STN 5 – L A/T (litening pod), STN 6 – 8222 (ELTA ECM pod) with adaptor, STN 7 Fuel, STN 8 BRU55, GBU-32 inside store, 550rds 20mm.

 

Here is a pic of an Aussie Hornet with the same loadout fitted.

 

R7PCAW-X2.jpg

 

I started this build a while ago, back in July 2020. After being stood down from work for 4 months due to the pandemic, my company put me through a simulator program over two days and then sent some of us across the other side of the country to do a weeks worth of flying including revalidation to recommence line flying after not being in the air for a while. Due to quarantine issues, we were restricted to our hotel room whilst off duty (probably a good thing for the wallet!). I felt this was the perfect opportunity to get stuck into a new project, so took two along with me, as well as a substantial amount of equipment. With barely enough room to pack anything else, I set off on my trip.

 

IMG_4524_HEIC-4K.jpg 

 

 In the end, the Hornet was the one I chose to work on and I managed to get most of it together whilst in the hotel room. Noticeable is the amount of aftermarket. Aires Exhausts, Cockpit and wheel wells. Gee Factor undercarriage legs, Sierra Hotel Seamless intakes and Eduard Litening pod. I have more coming. 

 

 

IMG_4586-4K.jpg

 

Fast forward six months and back at home, I am back into the project. I have the Hornet on my workbench along with the Special Hobby Tempest and have progressed a little further past this point. More on the model and Homer soon.

 

IMG_6488_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

 

 

 

Edited by ericg
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  • 1 month later...

Thanks guys.

 

One of the things about my builds is that I like to make them as accurate as possible according to what was carried on the aircraft during the mission that I am depicting. Homers jet was equipped with 4 x SAAB BOL ECM dispensers, mounted in pairs on the side of each of the outer pylons. I was keen to try my hand at scratchbuilding them, but decided to design them using CAD and 3D print them on my brand new 3D resin printer.

 

I am making the ECM dispensers available for purchase and have a stack more Hornet specific stuff on the way.

 

Screenshots of my design:

 

BOL%201-X2.jpg

 

BOL%202-XL.jpg

 

And printed.

 

IMG_6756_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

 

I mounted them on one of the excellent Flying Leathernecks pylons, Dry fitted with Reskit BRU-55 adaptor hanging 2 x FLying Leathernecks GBU-38's. 

 

IMG_6759_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

IMG_6762_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

IMG_6794_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

IMG_6796_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

 

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  • ericg changed the title to RAAF F/A-18 Hornet, Pylons, bombs and BOL ECM dispensers.

Thanks guys.

 

Some more work.

 

A guy called Fancharello has made a stack of files available to download and print, including an excellent APU exhaust. These along with lots of other parts for the Hornet can be found here: https://cults3d.com/en/users/Fancherello/creations

 

I printed the exhaust using my Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K. It has some really cool weld detail inside the hole.

 

IMG_6615_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

Here it is compared to the kit unit. Unfortunatley, I only discovered these parts after I had the fuselage together.

 

IMG_6616_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

IMG_6628_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

Using a toothpick to get the new part into position.

 

IMG_6629_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

Fitted:

 

IMG_6630_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

Our Hornets have a large raised circle on the panel aft of the canopy. I believe this is a GPS antenna. I used a circle cutter to scribe the inner line, followed by cutting it out using the same tool. Screw detail was made using a beading tool.

 

 IMG_6526_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

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Some more work.

 

A small detail that is not featured in the kit or AIRES cockpit is the JHCMS magnetic sensor that sits on the left side of the canopy sill. This is a small cube mounted on a stand that measures where the pilots helmet is looking for missile tracking purposes.

 

I set about designing one in in Fusion 360. This was a cool little project where I felt I learnt a lot about the design process. I am happy to make these available at a small cost for those interested.

 

jhcms%20mount-XL.jpg

 

This design was then 3D printed.

 

IMG_6902_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

Fitted to the AIRES canopy sill, which has had some modification as it had a cockpit light in that position. I designed the small connector on the cable coming from the cube to accept .3mm copper or lead wire so that it could be plumbed in to the sill.

 

IMG_6910_HEIC-4K.jpg

 

I also designed the part with a 5 degree slant so that it fit underneath the canopy, as per the real item

 

IMG_6907_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

IMG_6920_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

IMG_6935_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

Whilst I was there, I fitted a couple to the Trumpeter Super Hornet sill to replace the very poor single unit that was moulded onto it. These were pre production versions to check for fit and you can see the difference that the 5 degree slant makes as the upper portion of the stalk is smooth whereas the bottom part has some small lines. This is a function of the angle vs the pixels of the screen and I subsequently tilted it out of plane a bit to reduce these.

 

IMG_6912_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by ericg
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  • ericg changed the title to RAAF F/A-18 Hornet, APU exhaust, JHCMS sensor
8 hours ago, ericg said:

I set about designing one in in Fusion 360.

Just a small question re this, as I too am about to embark on learning 3D printing and practising with CAD sofware.  When you design these things in the softward, do you design the size as for the real thing (i.e. scale 1:1) then when printing determing the printing size, or do you design the component scaled down and then print 1:1?

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2 minutes ago, Landrotten Highlander said:

Just a small question re this, as I too am about to embark on learning 3D printing and practising with CAD sofware.  When you design these things in the softward, do you design the size as for the real thing (i.e. scale 1:1) then when printing determing the printing size, or do you design the component scaled down and then print 1:1?

I design it scaled to 1/32 in mm and then print it directly as an STL file. I guess you could probably do what you said as there is a scale function in the program.

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18 minutes ago, Michael931080 said:

Eric, love these 3D Parts your doing for the AUSSIE Hornet!  Any chance you might want to make some of these bits and sell them?  I have a AUSSIE Hornet I'm planning on building.

 

Thanks

G'day Michael,

 

Yes, the whole lot will be available for sale. Planned list is: BOL ECM dispensers (ready), ELTA 8222 ECM pod (70% done), ELTA pylon adapter (90% done), JHCMS Sensor (ready) and I will also do pre cut plastic card parts for the strengthening straps on the left side of each tail.

 

Cheers,

 

Eric.

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