FLIGHT TESTING OF the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18E/F Super Hornet has resumed after engine manufacturer General Electric developed a cure for a compressor failure in the F414 which halted flying in November (Flight International, 4-10 December, 1996, P14).
GE has reverted to an earlier design of fixed stator vane on stages 3 and 6 of the compressor, after discovering that a modification had caused fatigue cracking. The original vane has holes drilled in the trailing edge, but these were eliminated when the vane was redesigned to improve efficiency. Apparently the holes improved fatigue resistance, GE says.
The company is re-installing the original vanes in F414s powering five F-18E/Fs at the Navy's Patuxent River, Maryland, test centre. The remaining two development aircraft are still at MDC and are now scheduled for delivery to Patuxent in January.
The first aircraft to be returned to flight testing is the F1, a two-seater, which will be used for initial sea trials to begin, on schedule, early in 1997, MDC says.
Source: Flight International