@ Santa Rosa, CA
September 2018
A F/A-18F Super Hornet of the VFA-122 “Flying Eagles”, based at NAS Lemoore, on standby during the 2018 Wings Over Wine Country Airshow. Since February 2016, the Flying Eagles have been solely operating F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets. Designed and initially produced by McDonnell Douglas, the Super Hornet first flew in 1995. Compared to the C/D version of the Hornet, this aircraft’s wing is 25% bigger, carries 33% more fuel, has 41% better mission range, 35% more thrust, and 50% more endurance. More than 630 Super Hornets have been delivered to the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force. As the F-35 began entering service, Boeing announced plans to end Super Hornet production in 2025, later extended to 2027 with additional orders from the U.S. Navy.
