F/A-18 real world experience (PICTURES)

[skeurton 0]

hey all...my good friend and roommate from college is a real world Super Hornet pilot. right now, he's stationed at NAS Oceana and i'm fortunate enough to live a short distance away. actually, i live closer to Langley AFB and get to see F-22's flying around all the time. i was out on the golf course one time and they flew their final approach right over me, just as i was about to swing. i looked up and they were about 1500-ft. above my head. quite a spectacular sight. personally, i work at Fort Eustis where i get to see helicopters all the time. our hangar has at least one of every rotorcraft in the current Army fleet.anyway, my friend has been flying the Super since the beginning of the year. he's never touched or seen Jane's F/A-18 before. he came over a few days ago and showed me quite a bit. he was amazed at the level of accuracy that it presented. he said the external model was definitely a Super, but the cockpit looked more like a Charlie. things looked out of place and some things were missing, probably due to the age of the program or information-sensitive nature of some of the systems.listening to him talk about flying really is pretty cool. all i can think is, "WOW, that's his JOB!!!" he gets to sit in the cockpit of one of the most kicka$$ planes in the world and fly it every day. his ability to explain things about the plane, its systems, and how they work in a down-to-earth kind of way is what has rekindled my interest in this sim, which is something the manual and tutorials cannot do.the following pictures are from about a month ago. he invited myself, my girlfriend, my brother, and my sister-in-law down to NAS Oceana for an informal guided tour. it was pretty sweet to be that close to the machine. we walked the flight-line and took a tour of the hangar to see what goes on behind the scenes. here you go...http://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300016.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300017.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300020.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300021.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300024.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300025.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300026.JPG

[skeurton 0]

and more...http://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300038.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300041.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300042.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300043.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300044.JPGhttp://imondepression.com/misc/oceana/P9300045.JPG

[Murmur 3,941]

Great story and great photos! Thanks for sharing!Marco

[skeurton 0]

no problem, marco! thanks for taking the time to look and read!

[Donmo 6]

Great shots! Those Supers are a fantastic plane. Thanks for sharing.Don

[jamiee 0]

Last time I was down at NAS Oceana (a good 12yrs now) they were still flying F-14's & A-6's out of there. Was a sight to see for sure, And the sound... pure music to my soul :)Great pic's!Brings back some memorieshttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg

[Guest jbinner]

#### I miss KNBC (Beaufort MCAS) :( I never got to fly them, but even from inside a RADAR room, and the occasional sitting under the FCLP practice.....yeah, it's in my blood. :)