Tamjets F-18 Super Hornet

F-18 Super Hornet vide
Video footage provided by Mitch Weiss
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F-18 Super Hornet.mpeg (25.0mb)

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FREE - New DVD F-18 Inflight DVD - FREE
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Call 407-327-6333 to order.

The Tamjets Super Hornet Advantages

WINGS

(2) 14 mm diameter Carbon Fiber tubes (with brass sleeves) engage 3 ribs inside the wing allowing for graduated distribution of the flight loads over the entire wing structure. The wing tubes are secured to two primary bulkheads (one is 14-ply and the other is 28-ply) in the fuse by CNC machined aluminum sleeve collar clamps.
The all composite lay-up of the flying surfaces is a glass/balsa/glass laminate with Carbon Fiber cloth reinforcement.

The flap and aileron hinges and control horns are injection molded specifically for the Hornet to look and function in a scale like manner.

Each stab is built around a 12 mm diameter Titanium tube. This critical component of any modern jet fighter, just has to be designed right and built strong. The Tamjets stab has endured exhaustive high speed and high "G" loads, proving that it can take it.

The Titanium pivot tube is supported by 2 ball bearings mounted in a CNC machined aluminum bracket. Securely bolted to a 14-ply former, this mechanism not only clamps the pivot tube, but has a steel pin (arrows) that engages a slot in the tube. This absolutely assures that the stab and its aluminum drive arm will not accidentally disengage.
Carbon Fiber pushrods with threaded steel ends provide a solid, push-pull actuation from each servo. JR 8611's are recommended.

THE FINS

Each fin is similarly built around an 8 mm carbon shaft and primarily retained to the fuse with machined aluminum brackets. For added security, there is a threaded aluminum pin that keys the front of each fin and is bolted to the fuse.
As you compare the Tamjets F-18 to others, you can't help but be impressed with its advanced engineering and strength. Titanium tubes, Carbon Fiber rods and ball bearing pivots are definitely state-of-the-art and what our modern high performance jets deserve.

THE LANDING GEAR AND MOUNTS
The Tamjets struts are scale in appearance and reliable in function. Lots of pre-production test flying is evident in their ability to absorb carrier style landings.

The retract units are of BVM manufacture and evolved from the KingCat's 2+ years of in-the-field use.

The main gear bolt to factory installed mounts that are a sandwich of Carbon Fiber and plywood and have proven to be quite durable.

The nose gear unit, that which usually takes the brunt of off the runway excursions, is a carbon fiber flex plate that "gives" when it needs to.
Undercarriage that can handle fairly rough landings are a nice feature of any jet model.

An F-18 just isn't complete without gear doors and the Tamjets model includes match molded doors (10 in all) and specifically designed and injection molded door hinges.

The extremely complete hardware package even includes injection molded servo mounts that speed up the servo mounting process.

The bifurcated Stainless Steel tailpipe is of course, made in the U.S.A. by the "Tailpipe Master" himself, Tam Nguyen. Tam's pipes enjoy a great reputation for efficient operation and durability.

The 50 page instruction package is a combined effort of Tamjets and BVM and guides the modeler through every step of assembly, gearing-up, finishing, final check out and flying his new Super Hornet.
With Tamjets and BVM always available for technical assistance, parts and service, we are certain that a Tamjets Super Hornet customer will be successful.
When you compare this F-18 to any others on the market, we are certain you will appreciate the value.

Available now at Tamjets, BVM, JetCat USA and Cermark.

COCKPIT KIT

BVM #5030 Scale cockpit kit (painted & assembled) for Tamjets F-18. $395.00

Hornet Fans - This is a great one!

IN-THE-FIELD UPDATE

We have flown the F-18F at numerous events and in crosswind conditions on some model size (not wide or long) runways.
It is proving to be a model that can handle the crosswind. This is great news for Hornet enthusiasts.
Guest pilots like Larry Kramer and Tommy Woods have kind words for how stable the Tamjets Super Hornet is after flying it at Jets Over the Heartland '05.
Of course, all of our landings have not been perfect. The good news is that the Tamjets Hornet has proven how strong it and its undercarriage system are. And, since you are dealing with BVM or TAM, you can get parts and repair service when needed.
The "Match Molded" gear doors are proving to be very durable and because they are so stiff and hold their shape, they close reliably for smooth, low drag flight.
The ball bearing stab mounts show their value in flight, especially in the landing pattern. You are rewarded with smooth pitch control.
Again, we think that this is a lot of model and accessories for the money. The customer satisfaction level seems to be confirming this.

Hornet ordinance coming soon.

NAVY Squadron VFA-2 is based in Lemoore, California and deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Markings for this aircraft and some other Super Hornets are available from Pro-Mark Graphics.
Color chips for the 2-tone blue/grey finish are now available from BVM ($10 - includes postage within the U.S.A.). This Detail & Scale publication (#8274) offers many different paint schemes for your F-18 and is available from Squadron.com - or just click on the image below.

It's a great looking fighter and all of the info to make your Super Hornet look this good or better will be in the instructions package, stay tuned!

The Tamjets F-18F Super Hornet represents some very impressive engineering and tooling that brings to you a model that is 90% structurally complete.
As you see, the size is just right for single turbine power. The Super Hornet kit is a super complete package that includes some very unique injection molded control surface hinges and horns. Since the real Hornet has nine landing gear doors, so does this scale model rendition and Tamjets supplies the specially molded hinges and gear door cylinders to make them easy to install and functional.

F-18 Landing Gear Package

Tamjets F-18 complete landing gear package (main wheels not shown). All items are part of the kit, including - BVM main and nose retracts with integrated cylinders, scale F-18 struts, gear door cylinders, door hinges, BVM Hi-Flow Retract Valve, BVM Fill Valve, T-fittings, air line and all necessary hardware.

F-18 Bypass & Tailpipe

Tamjets turbine bypass and bifurcated double-wall tailpipe (included in kit).

F-18 Fuel Cells

The fuel system that is included in the kit contains these molded Kevlar fuel tanks (3) with all necessary hardware and a BVM U.A.T.

Tamjets F-18 Super Hornet
Airframe Directive (A.D.)
And other helpful notes

F-18 Aileron Servo Mounting
November 2005

At a recent fly-in, one of our pilots pushed the F-18 past the recommended 190mph limit. An aileron flutter resulted, but the very strong Super Hornet survived.

The Fix:
Any control surface servo that has experienced flutter should have the gear set changed. Then, scuff the side of the servo and apply a dab of thixotropic Epoxy to the servo case and reinstall it in the wing mounting bracket. This will remove any posibility that the servo can move relative to the control surface.

F-18 Take Off - Full flap setting
November 2005

After logging many flights on our demo Tamjets F-18, we learned that using full flaps (the same as the landing pattern), the Super Hornet rotates and gets airborne much quicker.

F-18 Instruction Updates
for kits shipped prior to 7/8/05
click here to download pdf (1.3 mb)