Originally Posted by dat581
Originally Posted by LowObservable
No. IIRC it was beaten by the YF-16 in terms of both range potential and transonic acceleration, and both the Classic and Super, in turn, delivered less range than the brochures had promised.
More like it had a common engine with the F-15. The YF-17s were also using development engines while the YF-16 had the benift of fully developed F100s.
Maybe someone with the figures to hand can compare the F-16 to the F-18L, ie the F/A-18A with all the extra navalised bits and heavier structure removed...
The issue is indeed mainly with the engines (although there was a small amount of extra drag in the Hornet, it was only of minor importance).
The F100 (turbofan) has a specific fuel consumption of .76 lb fuel/lb thrust/hour (take-off).
The F404 (turbofan) has a SFC of .80 (t.o.).
The SFC of the F404, which was developed for the F/A-18 (from the J101
turbojet of the YF-17, itself an experimental engine), was represented by General Electric to be lower than the F100... despite having just started full-scale development.
Accordingly, the fuel tankage of the Hornet was designed for sufficient fuel to meet the required range with the expected fuel usage. When the engine never got near the SFC GE had promised, it was too late to increase internal fuel tankage, leaving the aircraft with a shorter-than-planned range.
The F414, despite being a slightly improved F404 (mainly through increasing the inlet size, to increase air-mass flow through the engine, to increase thrust), actually has a worse SFC... .853 (t.o.)!
Add in the added drag caused by having to cant the inner wing weapons pylons a few degrees outboard to correct a problem with release clearances for some weapons, and the Super Hornet is also shorter-ranged than planned (although still longer-ranged than the Hornet due to much larger internal tanks).
Compare the above SFCs with those of the Spey/TF-41... with virtually identical non-reheated thrust, the Spey & TF-41 (up-powered Spey for the A-7D/E) both had a SFC around .65 (t.o.)... far better than the F404/414 (or the F100, for that matter).
Yes, the Spey is heavier & of larger diameter, but still...