NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The F/A-18 and EA-18G program office Finnish Integrated Product Team (IPT) visited Finland in September to participate in the roll out of the Finnish Air Force’s one-of-a kind twin-seat F/A-18 D aircraft.

Also known as the “Frankenplane,” the modified F/A-18D HN-468 Hornet, converted from a single-seat F/A-18C aircraft, was unveiled to representatives from the Finnish government, U.S. government and industry partners responsible for building the aircraft.

The Finnish Parliament approved funding for the modification in November 2005, with the repair/modification order being submitted to Patria Aviation 23 Dec. 2005. The roll-out of the aircraft occurred in September 2009, with a modification time of 3.5 years.

The idea of building the modified aircraft came about after two Finnish F/A-18 aircraft collided during a flight exercise in November 2001. While one aircraft crashed and the pilot ejected safely, the other Hornet was able to land with one engine. However, that aircraft’s front fuselage was damaged beyond repair. After a long search, a compatible front fuselage from a twin-seat F/A-18 B model aircraft was found in Canada and was built with the remaining F/A-18 aircraft that was salvageable.

“Like all the projects, this needed a vision. In this case, the vision was transferred to the great end product, the F-18 D-model aircraft from the combination of F-18 B/C/D-model design and parts,” said Petri Korhonen, former Finnish Air Force HN-468 “Frankenplane” project manager. “The dedication of the project partners was outstanding and exceeded all our expectations.”

The primary partners of the project were the Finnish Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the Finnish government’s partner Patria, the Boeing Company and Canadian Forces.

“The real magic came into this project via direct labor of individual people from all of the partners. These people worked hard for this vision and showed their professional skills and dedication right from the beginning of this project. These people created something special and showed that anything is possible in our F-18 community when there is a will present,” Korhonen said

The Finnish Air Force will now use the modified aircraft for training.

The “Frankenplane” roll out followed a visit by Finnish Air Force officials to NAVAIR. During the visit, Finnish Air Force Maj. Gen. Jarmo (Charles) Lindberg presented a plaque of appreciation embedded with a pair of Finnish pilot’s wings to NAVAIR’s Finland IPT team.

“The Hornet is the main tool of the Finnish Air Force. We are extremely grateful for the cooperation of NAVAIR, PMA265 and the Finland IPT team,” Lindberg said.

Finland’s air force has 63 Hornets in its fleet, including 56 single-seat “C” models and seven “D” dual-seat models.

“It is especially gratifying for the Finland F/A-18 team that General Lindberg came here to visit us and present us with the plaque as a thank-you for all the good work the team has done,” said Bill McDonald, F/A-18 Finland program manager. General Lindberg has been a joy to work with. We look forward to working with his team for continued success in the future,”

As a result of letters of offer and acceptance worth almost $600 million for a mid-life upgrade, the Finnish Air Force’s F/A-18s will be upgraded similar to the Navy’s latest C and D model aircraft.

“Looking back on where we started to where we are now, we had a very good Hornet. But it’s going to be a lot better,” Lindberg said.

Source: NAVAIR