Airplane Model*Hobby Master HA3501 1:72 F/A-18C “Sunliners” – Miniature Marvels: Airplane Models & Painted Dice

VFA-81 Sunliners CVW-17, USS Saratoga, (CV-60) 1991 Operation Desert Storm MiG-21 Killer.

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic twin engine all-weathernight fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18s first flew in November 1978 and the firstproduction flight on April 12, 1980. The first 380 aircraft were F/A-18As and in September1987 production switched to the F/A-18C. Variants A and C are single-seat aircraft while Band D are tandem-seats. The Hornet can operate from either aircraft carriers or land baseswith the capability of in flight refueling. A total of 1,480 A-D variants were built.

VFA-81 (Strike Fighter Squadron 81) the Sunliners was VF-81 until 4th February 1988
when they transitioned to the F/A-18C Hornet. The squadron deployed three times on theUSS Saratoga between 1990 and 1994. On 17th January 1991 while flying from USS
Saratoga during Operation Desert Storm F/A-18s from VFA-81 destroyed two Iraqi MiG-21s.The first USN victory of ODS came when Lt. Commander Mark Fox destroyed an Iraqi MiG-21 with a Sidewinder missile. In March 1991 VFA-81 returned to what was then their homeNAS Cecil Field, Florida.