F/A-18C LANTIRN/FLIR/LTD

[Fishwelding]

Hornet fans, in spite of the poor picture, you no doubt recognize the following from Monogram's old and curiously labeled "A-18" boxing of their legacy Hornet:

kit:

I'm interested in knowing more about these pods, and specifically their usability for a 2003-4 timeframe Hornet. I've perused the Navy's collection of photos from the time (but as always, probably haven't exhausted them as it depends on the search terms), and my own photos taken of Hornets at several airshows, but I haven't found really clear shots of these items. Obviously, both kit pods are crude, but do they represent anything accurate? If needs be, I might modify or scratchbuild my way to something else, if I had a clear idea what I was doing. I've seen on Navy photos something that looks like only one pod, but not two. Do Hornets after, say, 2002 typically fly with only one pod? In my own photo collection, I have a single pod underneath a VMFA-224 "D"'s centerline, but I was planning a two-tank center/wing configuration on the kit.

[graves_09]

Hornet fans, in spite of the poor picture, you no doubt recognize the following from Monogram's old and curiously labeled "A-18" boxing of their legacy Hornet:

I'm interested in knowing more about these pods, and specifically their usability for a 2003-4 timeframe Hornet. I've perused the Navy's collection of photos from the time (but as always, probably haven't exhausted them as it depends on the search terms), and my own photos taken of Hornets at several airshows, but I haven't found really clear shots of these items. Obviously, both kit pods are crude, but do they represent anything accurate? If needs be, I might modify or scratchbuild my way to something else, if I had a clear idea what I was doing. I've seen on Navy photos something that looks like only one pod, but not two. Do Hornets after, say, 2002 typically fly with only one pod? In my own photo collection, I have a single pod underneath a VMFA-224 "D"'s centerline, but I was planning a two-tank center/wing configuration on the kit.

The top pic looks like an AN/AAS-38 FLIR. The only problem is, it is in the "on" position. Unless your doing an in flight display most likely it will be in the "stowed" position. You can fill in the lens portion with putty to make it stowed. It would be appropriate for the 2003 time frame for most hornets. From internet searches it seems the ATFLIR starting entering the fleet 2003, but like everything it takes time to transition. I would search for specific info on the squardon to be sure, but most likely you are safe to use it.

The second pod is the AN/AAR-50 TINS Pod (I think). I doesn't really matter, because I am pretty sure it hasn't been used for a while.

Edited December 6, 2009 by graves_09

[mrvark]

The original Hornet fit was comprised of two pods. The AN/AAR-50 Nav FLIR, more formally called the Thermal Imaging Navigation System (TINS--which, interestingly also means "This is no s***" when a Navy fighter pilot is telling you a war story! :) ), is a wide field of view FLIR that has is imagery displayed on one of the multi-function displays to aid the pilot when flying low level at night, much like the much larger pod used by the A-7E did. It is mounted only on the right fuselage cheek station (6). It is rarely seen and seldom used as low level flying has largely fallen from favor and night vision goggles (NVG) have become the primary "seeing around" tool for night flying. Flight testing began in April 1990 and some were reportedly used during Desert Storm by USMC F/A-18Ds in lieu of AN/AAS-38 pods, although a permanent clearance wasn't granted until October 1992. Once both pods became plentiful, simultaneous carriage of both became common. Dave Roof might be able to shed more light on combat operations with theses pods. Here are a couple of photos of the TINS pod:

The AN/AAS-38 Targeting FLIR, called "Nite Hawk" by its maker, Raytheon contains a narrow field of view FLIR and is only mounted on the left cheek station (4). Again, limited numbers were available for use during Desert Storm and were seen on Navy as well as Marine aircraft. However, it wasn't until after Desert Storm that a laser designator was incorporated and even later that a Laser Detector/Tracker (think PAVE Penny) capability was provided. Until the LDT capability was added, if the pilot needed to locate a laser designation of a target by someone else (e.g., ground based designator) he had to carry a third pod, the AN/ASQ-173 on station 6 that had a PAVE Penny-like sensor in its nose and a 35mm film strike camera in its tail. More widely used than the TINS, the Nite Hawk had a very poor FLIR. This led to the incorporation of the AN/AAS-28 Litening II pod on the centerline station (5) of Marine Hornets during Iraqi Freedom. Efforts continue to qualify this pod for station 4 carriage to free up the centerline for fuel tanks. The ultimate solution is the AN/ASQ-228(V)1 (for F/A-18C/D) Advanced Tactical FLIR (ATFLIR) that combines the functions of the AN/AAS-38, AN/AAR-50, and AN/ASQ-173 in one pod with a much better FLIR. That is what you will see on deployed Hornets today, with the older pods relegated to training. Here are some pictures of the AAS-38:

[Fishwelding]

Many thanks to both of you for your help! Mr. Vark, the pictures are very helpful; it looks like Monogram attempted the -38 equipment, but it might be scaled too big in the kit. With some scribing and careful paint, I might clear it for use anyway. The other pod is a bit of a mystery, however, as it doesn't bear much resemblance to the TINS item. Maybe they just applied "50% Burro", there. In any event, my picture searches don't bear out much use on Navy fighters in the past decade, so I at least feel safe in substituting an empty sparrow rail. The "A-18" instruction sheet bears a copyright date of 1990, so information available to Monogram at the time might have been somewhat limited.

[graves_09]

Many thanks to both of you for your help! Mr. Vark, the pictures are very helpful; it looks like Monogram attempted the -38 equipment, but it might be scaled too big in the kit. With some scribing and careful paint, I might clear it for use anyway. The other pod is a bit of a mystery, however, as it doesn't bear much resemblance to the TINS item. Maybe they just applied "50% Burro", there. In any event, my picture searches don't bear out much use on Navy fighters in the past decade, so I at least feel safe in substituting an empty sparrow rail. The "A-18" instruction sheet bears a copyright date of 1990, so information available to Monogram at the time might have been somewhat limited.

If you interested, MAW decals has a -38 pod for the Monogram kit. http://www.mawdecals.com/resin.html