ST. LOUIS, Dec. 10, 1996 -- Air Force representatives from the Czech Republic have concluded a 12-day, eight-flight evaluation of the F/A-18 Hornet at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis and at industry and U.S. Marine Corps sites in California.
Two Czech air force pilots (Lt. Col. Ficenec and Lt. Col. Bittner) flew the F/A-18 simulator, toured the F/A-18 production line and attended F/A-18 program briefings Nov. 14-20 at McDonnell Douglas.
After that, they flew a two-seat U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D aircraft from Hornet squadron VMFA-242 Nov. 21-25 at the Naval Air Warfare Center-China Lake, Calif. At the same time, another team from the Czech Republic conducted a maintenance and logistics evaluation at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., and at contractors Northrop Grumman and Hughes.
The flights at China Lake included two familiarization flights, two air-to-air intercept flights, two air-to-ground intercept flights and two flights for handling qualities and performance. The first and last flights of the evaluation concluded with arrested landings.
These flights covered the full spectrum of F/A-18 air-to-air and air-to-ground maneuvers. The Czech pilots evaluated the F/A-18's handling qualities, high angle-of-attack capabilities, and the onboard electronic and weapon systems.
The Czech pilots said they were impressed with several of the F/A-18's features and capabilities. These include the F/A-18's ability to fly at high angles-of-attack, the ease with which pilots can handle the aircraft (particularly at low speeds), its maneuverability, its digital moving map and its ability to accurately target and deliver weapons.
"This flight evaluation went very smoothly, and the F/A-18 put in an excellent performance," said Gary R. (Bud) Mitchell, vice president-general manager for international F/A-18 programs at McDonnell Douglas. "It demonstrated the versatility and rugged durability that have become the trademark of the Hornet's excellent value and service."
He praised the efforts of a combined F/A-18 team from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, prime contractor McDonnell Douglas, principal subcontractor Northrop Grumman, radar supplier Hughes and targeting FLIR supplier Loral.
The Czech Republic is evaluating the F/A-18 Hornet as a possible solution to modernize its air force. It is looking to purchase about 30 aircraft between fiscal year 1997 and fiscal year 1999.
The F/A-18 also is being evaluated by Poland, Hungary, Austria and the Philippines.
Pilots from the Philippines completed a seven-flight evaluation of the F/A-18 at China Lake just before the Czech flight evaluation began. Austria concluded a 10-flight evaluation of the Hornet in October in the United States and plans a second evaluation of the F/A-18 between May and October 1997 in Austria.
Current Hornet customers are the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, as well as the air forces of Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Finland, Switzerland, Malaysia and Thailand. More than 1,320 of these aircraft have been delivered worldwide.
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