• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Marine Prowlers

Status
Not open for further replies.

Fly Navy

...Great Job!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
hendogg311 said:
Yeah I forgot VMFA-115 and VMFA-122 still fly the A+ and A models. Anyone know how much different an "A+" is from a "C" model?

From an IUT here... the A+ is an A with bigger engines and all the goodies of a C. The A airframe is lighter than the C airframe. From his mouth... the A+ is a much better aircraft than the C model.
 

Grant

Registered User
Most of the A/A+ are trapped out by now, from what I've heard. I know that before VFA-201 was called up and carrier deployed a few years ago, they had to trade out their aircraft, because most (if not all) werent good to go for the boat.

Thats why they are mainly flown by reserve squadrons nowadays.
 

Clux4

Banned
Grant said:
Most of the A/A+ are trapped out by now, from what I've heard. I know that before VFA-201 was called up and carrier deployed a few years ago, they had to trade out their aircraft, because most (if not all) werent good to go for the boat.

Thats why they are mainly flown by reserve squadrons nowadays.

That is the same thing I am thinking. I thought the airframe was too weak to make the boat, considering the many stresses they have on their airframe. Some of the ones that decommissioned VMFA 321 had are now on sticks, in museums or on some range somewhere.

On the green side, there are only 3 Reserve Squadrons and 1 A.D that use the A's in anycase.
 

squeeze

Retired Harrier Dude
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
im glad you idiots are telling a marine hornet pilot that he's full of bs when he's talking about HIS OWN JOB. i'm pretty sure he's knows just a tad more about which hornets go to the boat or not.
 

skidkid

CAS Czar
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
I love this site. Unfortunately this sillines didnt let Squeeze see my jab at his newly earend platform. Congratulations by the way.
 

Mayday

I thought that was the recline!
I got it, I got it! :idea_125: I just didn't want to chime in with my ignorant non-rating as$ that they couldn't use two bombs or they wouldn't be able to log more than .8hrs per hop without that extra drop tank ... :)
 

jarhead

UAL CA; retired hinge
pilot
hendogg311 said:
Yeah I forgot VMFA-115 and VMFA-122 still fly the A+ and A models. Anyone know how much different an "A+" is from a "C" model?
122 flies F/A-18C's

Fly Navy said:
From an IUT here... the A+ is an A with bigger engines and all the goodies of a C. The A airframe is lighter than the C airframe. From his mouth... the A+ is a much better aircraft than the C model.
i'm 99% sure that the F/A-18A+ did not get the -402 motors ... what they got was the APG-73, a new MU (i don't know what they call it, we call it a "brick" - has all the data loaded onto it from TAMPS), they got AIM-120, GPS ... i think that's all the big stuff they got ... they didn't upgrade to the MPCD and they don't have a color moving map, they still have the analog (steam gauge) IFEI panal (engine instruments), and they still have LOX not OBOGS. A+'s are around 1500# lighter than the C/D which equates to more fuel/bring back at the boat ... and it helps them out in BFM being lighter (more T-W). i've flown A,A+,B,C,D, and in my opinion, i would have to say a Lot 18 F/A-18C is a better Hornet than the A+, but an A+ is better than an early Lot C (small motors & old radar) as well as better than a D (more gas ;))

Grant said:
Most of the A/A+ are trapped out by now, from what I've heard. I know that before VFA-201 was called up and carrier deployed a few years ago, they had to trade out their aircraft, because most (if not all) werent good to go for the boat.
Thats why they are mainly flown by reserve squadrons nowadays.
not really true for the Marine Corps ... our Hornets haven't been to the boat nearly as much as the Navy's. most of the Navy's C's are trapped out, so they have been trading with the Marine Corps for their A/A+'s. as a matter of fact, most of the Corps C's are trapped out because they are hand-me-downs from the Navy.

Clux4 said:
That is the same thing I am thinking. I thought the airframe was too weak to make the boat, considering the many stresses they have on their airframe. Some of the ones that decommissioned VMFA 321 had are now on sticks, in museums or on some range somewhere.

On the green side, there are only 3 Reserve Squadrons and 1 A.D that use the A's in anycase.
though i know of one that went to Quantico for the museum, i'm pretty sure the rest of 321's jets are getting modded to A+ and are being used to replace jets in the fleet that are crashing. also, there are 2 AD Marines A+ squadrons, soon to be more ... Marine reserve A/A+'s have less trap life than any of the Hornets in the fleet.

skidkid said:
I love this site. Unfortunately this sillines didnt let Squeeze see my jab at his newly earend platform. Congratulations by the way.
skid, nice one, i saw it ... i didn't want to say anything though.

congrates Squeeze

S/F
 

squeeze

Retired Harrier Dude
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
haha... ya I saw it.. bunch of comedians. thanks though.

i just figured i'd hold off talking trash till i at least knew some of the basics of the plane :)

/at least im not a F.A.G.
 

Fly Navy

...Great Job!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
jarhead said:
i'm 99% sure that the F/A-18A+ did not get the -402 motors ... what they got was the APG-73, a new MU (i don't know what they call it, we call it a "brick" - has all the data loaded onto it from TAMPS), they got AIM-120, GPS ... i think that's all the big stuff they got ... they didn't upgrade to the MPCD and they don't have a color moving map, they still have the analog (steam gauge) IFEI panal (engine instruments), and they still have LOX not OBOGS. A+'s are around 1500# lighter than the C/D which equates to more fuel/bring back at the boat ... and it helps them out in BFM being lighter (more T-W). i've flown A,A+,B,C,D, and in my opinion, i would have to say a Lot 18 F/A-18C is a better Hornet than the A+, but an A+ is better than an early Lot C (small motors & old radar) as well as better than a D (more gas ;))

Thanks for the info. As for the motors, I've had multiple people experienced in the Hornets (such as yourself) say that A = light plane, small motors and A+ = light plane, big motors.
 

Grant

Registered User
Damn yall, my bad. I said "most", not all. I've been told by an reserve NFO that most A/A+ are trapped out, even the Marine Corps birds. The reason being, that the Navy flew them, then when they'd get to their limit, they would trade out with Marine squadrons for their "good" aircraft. They did this because the Marines dont go to the boat all that often, so they dont really need aircraft that have traps left in them. Particularly the Marine Reserve squadrons, which almost never practice traps.

Granted, this is all second-hand info... but its from an NFO (former Tomcat guy), so who knows... maybe he's not all up on Hornet info? Maybe he must have confused it with the "C" for "A+" trade out that "Jarhead" was talking about.
 

Crowbar

New Member
None
jarhead said:
though i know of one that went to Quantico for the museum, i'm pretty sure the rest of 321's jets are getting modded to A+ and are being used to replace jets in the fleet that are crashing

Don't know if this is the same one you're talking about, but TBS now has one parked on LZ6 (PT field).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top