Calling All Hornet Drivers...

[LegacyDriver]

Here's a question that has been gnawing at me for awhile...


How do you start the engines on an F/A-18? Is it a push button, toggle, or a spring-loaded rotary selector button that you have to pull out (a la, "STOP / RUN / START" ?

Also, how do you shut the engine down on a Hornet? Is it another press of the button and if so is there an idle stop safety switch in the thrust lever to keep you from accidentally hitting the button and shutting down an engine by mistake?

 

[LegacyDriver]

Man, NOBODY can help me here?

Come on guys someone step up to the plate for me as I'm up against a deadline and I can't find a decent answer online anywhere else.

HELP ME OBI WAN!

 

[SleepyF18]

In this day and age, I'm not sure that it is too wise to be telling someone how to start and shut down the engines of an airplane that they aren't flying.

 

[LegacyDriver]

I am not asking anyone how to actually *DO* it. I am simply asking what type of SWITCH it is. I'm writing a novel and wanted to use the Hornet cockpit start process as a basis for procedures nothing more.

PM me if you are uncomfortable discussing publically. I assure you I am not with AQ.

 

[9GClub]

I agree, but quite frankly, if an unauthorized person gets to the point where they can actually climb into a Hornet and start running through the startup sequence, they deserve to be able to do whatever the heck they want with it.

 

[Ill Mitch]

In this day and age, I'm not sure that it is too wise to be telling someone how to start and shut down the engines of an airplane that they aren't flying.

I can vouch (not that that means much ) for Legacy and the novel he is writing.

Hey LD, when are you gonna swing thru SFO for that beer?

 

[SIG600]

I agree, but quite frankly, if an unauthorized person gets to the point where they can actually climb into a Hornet and start running through the startup sequence, they deserve to be able to do whatever the heck they want with it.

So anyone with some flight sim time and access to a general aviation ramp has free reign to fly off with whatever they can climb into? Brilliant. Didn't some dude in St. Augustine recently get nabbed for stealing a Citation VII and taking some friends to ATL with it? Was that you?

 

[9GClub]

So anyone with some flight sim time and access to a general aviation ramp has free reign to fly off with whatever they can climb into? Brilliant. Didn't some dude in St. Augustine recently get nabbed for stealing a Citation VII and taking some friends to ATL with it? Was that you?

I recall saying 'Hornet'-- not 'any GA aircraft.' You may, however, take 'Hornet' and extrapolate to include all military aircraft. The desired inference, of course, is that if we don't have the wherewithal to effectively protect our military assets from John Q Terrorist, we're more stupid than we look.

Tell him how to arm the ordnance, it shouldn't matter.





That Citation was me as a matter of fact. That thing can fly.

 

[AdlerDriver]

Somebody help this guy out and tell him what the xxxxing switch looks like for his book. Good grief. Last time I was on a Navy base, they didn't have the fighters parked outside the main gate with a "Free Ride" sign in the canopy.

LegacyDriver,
Change the fighter in your book to the ultimate air-to-air killing machine and I'll help you out.

 

[GulfstreamSDL]

I agree, but quite frankly, if an unauthorized person gets to the point where they can actually climb into a Hornet and start running through the startup sequence, they deserve to be able to do whatever the heck they want with it.

Correct, but still, where is he asking about the procedure to start-up??
Its not like just the engine start switches will get him far anyway...or else he would be asking for otherwise. Get real. The guy's gonna go out on the ramp and open the canopy, jump in, and not make any noise while starting up, and escape....Reminds me of the movie, Ocean's Eleven where the 3 robbers are trying to escape the casino with bags of money and they get canned before making 2 steps.

LD, if it means anything, a close friend of mine works on F-15's and A-10's and both use toggle switches, and him and I looked for F-18 panel pictures and concluded that the hornet probably is not much different. Dont hold your breath on that, but thats what we think. The pictures were either blurry in that portion of the picture, or the picture was taken too far away.

In any case, hope it helps.