Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet Nose
This aircraft is with the U.S. Navy F/A-18 West Coast Super Hornet Demonstration Team. The team is part of Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122). The squadron’s nickname is the “Flying Eagles”, hence the graphic on the intake covers.
The raised area on the top of the nose (marked with a note on the photo) led to the Super Hornet being nicknamed “Rhino”. That raised area houses an AN/APX-111 identification, friend or foe antenna.
I think it’s interesting how all of the slanted pieces appear to have a similar angle from vertical—the vertical stabilizers, exterior sides of the intakes, main landing gear struts, and main landing gear doors. I expect that the vertical stabilizers and intakes are designed to reduce radar cross section. What about the other slanted pieces? Coincidence or some attention to aesthetics in the design of this highly optimized machine?
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet Nose
This aircraft is with the U.S. Navy F/A-18 West Coast Super Hornet Demonstration Team. The team is part of Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122). The squadron’s nickname is the “Flying Eagles”, hence the graphic on the intake covers.
The raised area on the top of the nose (marked with a note on the photo) led to the Super Hornet being nicknamed “Rhino”. That raised area houses an AN/APX-111 identification, friend or foe antenna.
I think it’s interesting how all of the slanted pieces appear to have a similar angle from vertical—the vertical stabilizers, exterior sides of the intakes, main landing gear struts, and main landing gear doors. I expect that the vertical stabilizers and intakes are designed to reduce radar cross section. What about the other slanted pieces? Coincidence or some attention to aesthetics in the design of this highly optimized machine?
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI