Finnish Air Force  F-18 Hornet

These photos were taken by Vesa Halme except for the ejection seat photos, which are official Finnish Air Force photos. They are used with permission from FinnAF.

The pictures have been taken at various roll-out ceremonies and airshows in Finland in 1995 - 2003, and at IPMS Finland's field trip to Fighter Squadron 21 in Pirkkala AB, Finland in August 2003. There are some photos of the Swiss Air Force F-18 Hornet mixed in as well to show details of the plane, since the Finnish and Swiss Hornets are externally very similar.

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Top of nose. Note the no-step marking on air refueling receptacle door.
Gun bay mesh screens and front gear doors.	Front gear of Swiss F-18.
	Registration (12cm high) and roundel (24cm diameter), right side.		Single-point refueling receptacle.
	Fuselage underside, note raked back center pylon.
Front gear showing holdback attachment point at rear.
Auxiliary door at front of wing fold.
			Intake trunk, note color demarcation inside
Intake trunk details		AN/ALE-47 chaff/flare dispenser humps.	Wing pylon attachment point.
	Text on intakes: IMUVAARA (danger, intake).	F-18 at Lusi road base, June 2002.
	Wing pylon rear attachment.		AN/ALE-47 chaff/flare dispensers.
		Larger dispensers necessitate humps flaring into gear doors.
	Text on outer portion of inner flap: ASTU TÄHÄN VAIN SIIVEKE LUKITTUNA (step here only with flap locked) was added in 1998.
		Notched wing flap to clear missile fins.
Note color demarcation in rear fuselage.		Text on horizontal stabilizers, within the line: ASTU (step) or ASTU TÄHÄN (step here) depending on the individual plane, outside the line: ÄLÄ ASTU (no step).
Text under horizontal stabilizers: VAARA PYSÄYTYSKOUKKU (danger, arresting hook).
APU intake.	APU exhaust.
Pristine exhaust of GE F404-402EPE engine.
		Formation strip light is not even with fuselage side.
	Auxiliary door at rear of wing fold.	Text on outer portion of inner flap: ASTU TÄHÄN VAIN SIIVEKE LUKITTUNA (step here only with flap locked) was added in 1998.	The "No Step" markings are mostly represented by "footprints" with a cross drawn over them. The footprints are 12,5 cm long and 6 cm wide. The cross is slightly wider.
	F-18 at Lusi road base, June 2002.	Swiss AF inert Sidewinder.
		Rear attachment point of wing pylon
			Left intake with warning text in Finnish.
		AN/ALE-47 chaff/flare dispensers.
			Text on canopy sill: VARO RÄJÄHTEITÄ ÄLÄ LEIKKAA TÄSTÄ (warning, explosives, don't cut here).
Text in Finnish on the wing leading edge extension: TIKKAAT (ladder).	Under the canopy, text inside the warning triangle: VAARA (danger) HEITTOISTUIN JA KUOMU (ejection seat and canopy).
	The planes all have a searchlight, just like the Canadian and Kuwaiti planes.
	Searchlight assembly / cannon reloading door open.
		Texts beside boarding ladder under the wing leading edge extension: ETULUKKO, TIKKAIDEN ALASOTTO, 1. AVAA ETU- JA TAKALUKOT, 2. AVAA TURVALUKKO, 3. LASKE TIKKAAT ALAS, 4. KIINNITÄ TUENTA (front lock, To open the ladder, 1. open the front and rear locks, 2. open the security lock, 3. lower the ladder, 4. attach the support).
Texts beside boarding ladder under the wing leading edge extension: TIKKAIDEN YLÖSNOSTO, 1. IRROTA SIVUTUKI, 2. VAPAUTA VINOTUKI, 3. NOSTA TIKKAAT, 4. SULJE LUKOT, TAKALUKKO (To raise the ladder, 1. detach the side support, 2. release the angled support, 3. raise the ladder, 4. close the locks, rear lock).
		Martin-Baker Mk. SF14 NACES ejection seat as found in the FinnAF F-18's. This is a practice seat.
	A Swedish Count, Eric von Rosen, donated the first plane to the Finnish Air Force on March 6, 1918. To commemorate this, there is always one fighter plane named after him. This is the test style found on the bottom of the vertical stabilizers on HN-457, the last F-18C built.

Hornetology - F-18 Hornet in Finnish Air Force service

External details

• The biggest visible difference is the doubling of chaff/flare dispenser capability under the intakes. This necessitated the prominent "humps", and their fairings continue all the way back to the main gear doors. The same double-capacity dispensers are also in the new Swiss AF Hornets. These AN/ALE-47 humps are 110 cm long (total) and 29 cm wide (max).
• The planes all have a searchlight, just like the Canadian and Kuwaiti planes.
• The blade antennas are raked back, as with the latest American Hornets.
• There are mesh screens instead of louvers for gun vents, as with the latest American Hornets.
• The strengthening structure of the vertical stabilizers is internal, with no cleats on the outside (as with older Hornets).
• The centerline pylon is of the later type, with raked back front. It is rarely used.
• Inboard wing pylons with fuel tanks are commonly used.

Internal details

• The planes have been outfitted in the same way as the latest American and foreign F-18s, with the only major differences being inside the cockpit.
• The seats are of the new type - Martin-Baker Mk. SF14 NACES (equivalent to SJU-17).
• The seatbelts have been changed for compatibility with FinnAF BAe Hawks - with all belts in the seat instead of the American style of the pilot having a harness to connect into clips in the seat.
• Due to a new pressure breathing system, the life support system connections in the left side panel have been slightly altered. There are no pictures publicly available of these at this time.
• The radios have been changed for Finnish AF standard ones.
• The gauges have been changed to metric ones.

Painting and markings

Painting

• The planes are painted in standard US Navy colors, i.e., top FS 36320 Compass Grey and bottom FS 36375 Light Ghost Grey.
• The only significant difference when compared to the standard US scheme is that the vertical stabilizers are painted FS36320 inside and out, while the American planes usually only have the insides painted in the darker color.

Markings

• The national insignia roundels are 24 cm in diameter (instead of the usual Finnish AF 20 cm).
• The plane numbers, HN-401 - 457 for single-seaters and HN-461 - 467 for duals, are 12 cm high, black, and in the USAF style 45 degree lettering. There are no wing or squadron markings on the planes. The only exception was the brief application of the osprey emblem of Fighter Squadron 21to the tail of HN-461 for its rollout ceremony at the McDonnell Douglas factory in St. Louis.
• The only special markings are blue "Kreivi von Rosen" texts on the bottom of the vertical stabilizers of HN-457.
• Starting in Spring 2004, all planes will have the last two numbers painted to the tip of the vertical stabilizers on the outside. Blue Grey FS 35237 is used, with 30 degree/90 degree US Navy style of lettering.

Stencilling

• The stencilling is painted on with contrasting greys (light on dark, and dark on light), or with FS 35237 Blue Grey.
• Most stencilling is in English, and in same positions as in the American Hornets.
• The "No Step" markings are mostly represented by "footprints" with a cross drawn over them. The footprints are 12,5 cm long and 6 cm wide. The cross is slightly wider.
• Some stencilling and markings, such as those for the boarding ladder, arresting hook and intakes, are in Finnish.
• Texts on the flight data recorder hatch between the tails, a warning triangle with text on three sides: VAARA (danger), and inside the triangle: RÄJÄHTÄVÄ LUUKKU (explosive hatch).
• Text on intakes: IMUVAARA (danger, intake). Text is 5 cm high.
• Text under horizontal stabilizers: VAARA PYSÄYTYSKOUKKU (danger, arresting hook). Text is 2,5 cm high, and the box is 10 x 33 cm.
• Under the canopy, text inside the warning triangle: VAARA (danger) HEITTOISTUIN JA KUOMU (ejection seat and canopy)
• Text on canopy sill: VARO RÄJÄHTEITÄ ÄLÄ LEIKKAA TÄSTÄ (warning, explosives, don't cut here).
• Text in Finnish on the wing leading edge extension: TIKKAAT (ladder).
• Texts beside boarding ladder under the wing leading edge extension: ETULUKKO, TIKKAIDEN ALASOTTO, 1. AVAA ETU- JA TAKALUKOT, 2. AVAA TURVALUKKO, 3. LASKE TIKKAAT ALAS, 4. KIINNITÄ TUENTA (front lock, To open the ladder, 1. open the front and rear locks, 2. open the security lock, 3. lower the ladder, 4. attach the support); TIKKAIDEN YLÖSNOSTO, 1. IRROTA SIVUTUKI, 2. VAPAUTA VINOTUKI, 3. NOSTA TIKKAAT, 4. SULJE LUKOT, TAKALUKKO (To raise the ladder, 1. detach the side support, 2. release the angled support, 3. raise the ladder, 4. close the locks, rear lock).
• Text on outer portion of inner flap: ASTU TÄHÄN VAIN SIIVEKE LUKITTUNA (step here only with flap locked). NB. this text was added in 1998. Text is 2,5 cm high, and is positioned 95 cm from outer edge of the flap.
• Text on horizontal stabilizers, within the line: ASTU (step) or ASTU TÄHÄN (step here) depending on the individual plane, outside the line: ÄLÄ ASTU (no step)

Other notable items

• Finnish Air Force calls the Hornet F-18 instead of F/A-18, as their mission is primarily air defense.
• HN-457 is the last F-18C assembled anywhere in the world.

Accessories for building a model

F-4Dable Models has made decals for the Finnish Hornets in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32. You can get them from at least T:mi Kuivalainen in Finland and Twobobs Aviation Graphics in USA.

V.M.D. Studios in USA has made an exterior detail set in 1/32 containing the AN/ALE-47 double capacity flare/chaff dispensers.

Photos and text © 1995-2005 by Vesa Halme and Finnish Air Force