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Old 21st Nov 2014, 19:33
  #22 (permalink)  
sarn1e
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: UK
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F/A-18A/B/C/D Lot 5 to Lot 14 (1200 hrs over 2.5 years). Failures:

9 radar overheats (same ac 9 times over one weekend), had to recycle it every 15 mins but it worked fine.

1 partial INS failure after t/o, re-aligned in flight

1 generator failure

1 gearbox failure

0 FCS failures

0 Engine failures

Never (not once) climbed out after signing for the jet; you remember the failures because they were that rare.


Tornado F3 (1500 hrs over 15 years - every radar standard from X-list to the end, albeit not very much of the final version). Failures:

Radar c10% complete failure and c10% partial (single TWT, Lock, etc).

MMS: in the early days you were hard pushed to get a rocket off the jet under any circumstances, but that improved significantly.

Fair number (over 10) engine failures - rarely complete, but they did all require changing (on one occasion both at the same time after a double VIB - which wasn't in the FRCs).

Numerous hydraulic (and CSAS) failures, including a utilities failure right out of the factory on pick-up.

And you needed two INSs for the number of times one went walkabout.

I didn't climb out very often (though I knew plenty who did at the drop of a hat) but I climbed out many more times than I wanted to, especially for CSAS - though that also got much better, over time.


Now let's talk about reliability...
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