(An F/A-18F approaches the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for an arrested recovery under way in the Mediterranean Sea, March 14, 2013. The Dwight D. Eisenhower is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Andrew Schneider)
The Squadron boss Super Hornet always paints up well. I have seen many good ones over the years.
USMC colors could look good on this two-seat jet as well.
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3 comments:
Interesting in that photo also perhaps, is the total absence of the inner wing-pylon typically utilized for External Fuel Tanks, and apparent reliance on the centerline EFT alone.
One guess would be that with heavy use and heavy deployment cycles + the seemingly heavily vibrating wings during maneuvering + stressful carrier landings + heavy weights and additional drag from the external Wing fuel tanks, could possibly shorten the expected hours of operational Life the jet was designed for vis-a-vis possible premature wing cracks, etc.
It might also be as simple as a fuel-consumption and cruise-speed penalty to mount said out-ward toed wing EFT, vs the centerline tank alone, for a majority of sorties?
Regardless, it's conceivable that a highly valuable (and game-changing) future modification for this USN (potential USMC?) platform could include CFT. That single mod could free up considerable operational flexibility as well as enhance various tactical advantages, relative to the current config.
The CFT just makes sense for the longer sortie range, even with a bit of a penalty for transonic performance.
I would dump the inboard pylon altogether and shift the remainder so they're straight after adding CFT... Dump the outer and shift all outboard to make them straight...
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