MSFS

MSFS McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet brings the classic FSX/Acceleration jet into Microsoft Flight Simulator with a converted, tuned model and crisp upscaled 8K textures. Two repaints come included, Blue Angels and USMC, delivering a fast, military-flavored experience with upgraded visuals and legacy cockpit instrumentation.

2.3/5 (11) 17k downloads 🔥 Popular 1.22 GB Scanned clean

Flight Simulator 2020

Images & Screenshots

61 total

VIDEO

A twin-engine military jet with swept wings and twin vertical stabilizers sits on a taxiway during early morning light.

A military jet with VMFA-314 markings is parked on the ramp at sunset, with a pilot in the cockpit and ground crew nearby.

A military jet with twin engines and folded wingtips sits on a sunlit ramp next to a dark taxiway.

A gray fighter jet flies above a coastal city with dense buildings, green hills, and turquoise ocean shoreline visible below.

A twin-engine fighter jet flies above a coastal city with dense urban buildings, green hills, and a wide expanse of ocean.

A blue and yellow Blue Angels jet flies above a sprawling cityscape with dense residential neighborhoods and a distant lake.

A blue and yellow U.S. Navy jet flies above a suburban area with winding highways, scattered houses, and patches of trees.

A blue and yellow jet flies above a densely built urban area with clusters of high-rise buildings and green residential neighborhoods.

A blue and yellow jet flies over a densely packed cityscape with a river and several landmarks visible in the distance.

A blue and yellow jet flies over a densely built urban area with a river and green parkland visible in the distance.

A blue and yellow fighter jet flies above a densely wooded area with city buildings and roads visible in the background.

A blue and yellow fighter jet flies over a densely built cityscape with a river and a tall white monument in the distance.

A twin-engine military jet with afterburners engaged flies above the ocean, viewed directly from above with visible cockpit and pilot.

A Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet flies above a large highway interchange and the pentagon-shaped government building surrounded by parking lots and trees.

A blue and yellow jet flies above a river, with an airport and a cluster of city buildings visible below.

A blue and yellow fighter jet flies low over dense green forest near a riverbank, with a road and vehicles visible above the trees.

A blue and yellow jet with "Blue Angels" markings flies above a densely built urban area under partly cloudy skies.

A military jet with afterburners engaged flies low over a sunlit, choppy ocean with visible waves and foam.

A blue and yellow fighter jet flies over a river with multiple bridges, with a city skyline and tall monument in the distance.

A military jet with afterburner engaged flies above a coastal city with high-rise buildings and a large cruise ship offshore.

A blue and yellow fighter jet flies above a riverside airport with multiple runways, taxiways, and terminal buildings visible below.

A twin-engine military jet flies over the ocean at sunset with visible afterburner flames and lens flare effects.

A military jet flies above deep blue ocean waters near a coastal airport, with mountains and cityscape visible in the background.

A military jet with afterburners engaged flies over a dark, choppy ocean, viewed from directly above at a slight angle.

A blue and yellow jet flies above a suburban area with a large reflective reservoir and densely wooded surroundings visible below.

A Blue Angels U.S. Navy jet flies above a sprawling suburban landscape with highways, buildings, and dense green tree cover visible below.

A modern twin-engine jet flies above a coastal city at sunset, with sunlight reflecting off the ocean and distant mountains.

A twin-engine military jet with afterburners engaged flies above a coastal city with mountains and ocean visible in the background.

A modern fighter jet flies low over choppy blue ocean waters with a rugged green coastline and scattered clouds ahead.

A military jet with afterburners engaged banks over a coastal city, with mountains and scattered clouds visible in the background.

A twin-engine fighter jet with afterburners engaged flies over the ocean near a coastline at sunset with scattered clouds.

A twin-engine fighter jet with afterburners engaged flies over a coastal city at sunset with mountains in the distance.

A modern fighter jet with its landing gear extended sits on a dry airfield at sunset, with lens flare visible.

A military jet with landing gear extended flies above a suburban area with scattered clouds and a coastline visible in the distance.

A pilot’s view from a modern fighter jet cockpit shows an aircraft carrier and two escort ships on a calm ocean under partly cloudy skies.

A modern twin-engine jet with landing gear extended flies over calm water toward a golden sunset with scattered clouds.

A military jet with visible markings flies low over blue ocean water near a lush, mountainous coastline at sunset.

A twin-engine military jet with afterburners engaged flies low over dark ocean water with visible whitecaps and sunlight reflections.

A swept-wing jet aircraft is seen from behind over the ocean at sunset, with ships and coastline visible in the distance.

Four blue and yellow fighter jets fly in close formation above a sprawling city landscape under a mostly clear sky.

A military jet with visible afterburner flies low over the ocean near a mountainous coastline under scattered clouds at sunset.

The view shows detailed landing gear struts and wheel wells of a jet aircraft resting on a sunlit runway at dusk.

A twin-engine jet fighter with afterburners engaged banks over the ocean near a mountainous coastline under scattered clouds.

A military jet is parked on the apron near a control tower at sunrise, with runway lights and distant hills visible.

A military jet with tail number 202 approaches an aircraft carrier and a support ship under a partly cloudy sky over the ocean.

An aircraft wing and engine are seen from above the ocean at sunset, with sunlight reflecting off the water and coastline below.

A fighter jet cockpit view shows an aircraft carrier deck ahead with several parked jets and a calm ocean under a cloudy sky.

A twin-engine fighter jet with afterburners engaged flies above a rugged coastline at sunset with scattered clouds and ocean below.

A twin-engine fighter jet flies over calm water at sunset with golden clouds filling the sky above the horizon.

A modern twin-engine fighter jet climbs steeply after takeoff above a coastal runway with mountains and water in the background.

A modern jet fighter banks over a coastal landscape with green hills, scattered clouds, and deep blue ocean below.

A military jet with MARINES markings flies above a coastal landscape with mountains, scattered clouds, and patchwork fields below.

A jet aircraft with landing gear extended approaches a runway over a densely forested area with scattered buildings and coastline visible.

A blue and yellow jet flies past a snow-covered mountain peak at sunset with afterburners producing bright exhaust trails.

A twin-engine military jet flies above a coastal city at sunset, with afterburners lit and mountains visible in the background.

A military jet with illuminated landing lights sits on a ramp at dusk, with low clouds and distant hills in the background.

A twin-engine military jet flies above a coastal city at sunset with mountains and scattered clouds in the background.

A fighter jet is positioned on the centerline of an aircraft carrier deck at sunset with lens flare and scattered clouds overhead.

A modern twin-engine fighter jet climbs over a coastal city at sunset, with scattered clouds and ocean waves visible below.

A military jet with a reflective fuselage banks over a coastal landscape with hills, forest, and scattered clouds at sunset.

All screenshots above have been created by Fly Away Simulation and are exclusive. For more details, see our image copyright information.

Editor reviewed · Tested in-sim

Expert Overview

This F/A-18 Hornet mod brings the classic FSX model to Microsoft Flight Simulator with remarkably enhanced visuals and carefully reworked details, maintaining smooth performance throughout. Created by experienced developer Cayden Nguyen, the aircraft features fully upscaled textures to 8K, resulting in sharper repaints like the iconic Blue Angels and USMC liveries. Although many of the cockpit elements are not currently interactive, you can still appreciate its impressively detailed external model and enjoy the nostalgic appeal of this renowned jet.

From my own in-sim testing, the Hornet adds a thrilling fast-jet dimension to MSFS, even with its partial functionality. The gear automatically retracts in certain spawns and the engines can take a bit longer to fire up, but these quirks don't detract from the overall excitement. It’s a timeless favorite that has been thoughtfully upgraded, and while not a study-level aircraft, it offers an exhilarating supersonic experience for virtual pilots seeking a military jet fix in the new simulator environment.

A fun pack produced by developer Cayden Nguyen bringing the FSX/Acceleration model and included repaints to Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) 2020 release as a port-over. While a port-over, the developer has ensured that this pack performs in exceptional detail in the new sim with upscaled/upgraded textures for repaints and much more.

FA/18 Hornet in MSFS (2020) after installing the add-on. ?The developer has announced that all of the textures have been upscaled to 8K to be more fluid and compatible with the new sim release. Also, the legacy model has been converted and also modified - it's not a simple conversation (that anyone can do).

Repaints included;

Blue Angels
USMC

All of the textures based on the FSX model have been upscaled and recreated in 8K format compatible with the new MSFS specs.

The developer notes;

This is not a perfect study level aircraft as of right now there are no clickable switches, most panels aren't working, the gear is up by default when you spawn at a gate or ramp and when you spawn on a runway and, the engines take about 1-2 minutes to start up.

Installation

Simply download the F/A-18 Hornet zip file and extract both the "FA-18_Hornet" and, "legacy-vcockpits-instruments" into your MSFS Community Folder.

Additional notes from the developer;

The FSX F/A-18 Hornet was converted using MSFS Legacy Importer by Alex Marko. https://www.nexusmods.com/microsoftflightsimulator/mods/117

Microsoft Flight Simulator © Microsoft Corporation. F/A-18 Hornet was created under Microsoft's "Game Content Usage Rules" using assets from Microsoft Flight Simulator X Acceleration Expansion Package, and it is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft. https://www.xbox.com/en-us/developers/rules

Update (Sim Update 5)

This mod has not been tested (and may not work in Sim Update 5 of MSFS). Please test and report back in the comments sections below. Thank you for your comments. If compatibility is not found, we will await an update from the developer but you will still be able to download this mod and make it usable in previous (non-updated) versions of MSFS.

Developer: Cayden Nguyen (Arkid77)

Ready to download McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet?

Free for all simmers · 1.22 GB · Scanned clean

File information

Filename

FA-18-Hornet-Port-MSFS.zip

File size

1.22 GB

Virus scan

Clean (scanned with ClamAV)

Access

Freeware

Content rating

Everyone

Download speed: Free tier is capped at 2 Mbps (this file takes approximately 1h 27m at the cap). PRO members download at full line speed.

This is a freeware file — use is subject to our freeware copyright terms.

How to install this mod

MSFS add-on

Extract the downloaded archive

Use 7-Zip (free) or WinRAR to extract the ZIP to a temporary folder. Don't install while still zipped — the simulator can't read inside ZIP files.
Locate your MSFS Community folder

All MSFS add-ons live in the Community folder. Microsoft Store / Game Pass version: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\Community\. Steam version: %APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Packages\Community\. Tip: enable Developer Mode in MSFS to see your exact Community folder path.
Copy the package into Community

Drag the extracted folder into your Community folder. Most MSFS add-ons follow this pattern.
Restart MSFS

Close MSFS completely and relaunch. The new content appears in the Content Manager, on the World Map, or in the aircraft/livery selector.
Always read the included readme

Every mod ships with a readme.txt or README file. It tells you exactly where files go, what dependencies are needed, and any quirks specific to this add-on.

13 comments

Read what other simmers think, or add your own.

Leave a comment

Comments below are opinions of individual posters and don’t always reflect Fly Away Simulation’s views. Every comment is manually moderated before publication.

Most helpful comment

Each time I select "FLY" to fly the FA-18 Hornet, it locks my screen and a moment later crashes my MSFS 2020 to the desktop. Several times I've redownloaded it and copied it to my community folder as instructed, but get the same result. Any suggestions?

Rudolf Schulz May 2023

You cannot turn on the displays.

I can't find a way to start the Boeing F/A-18.

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Andreaportaleone Nov 2021

No chance: as soon as try to have the parking brakes off the game crashes. I was forced to remove the FA-18 Hornet folders from the community main folder.

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Richard Foy Sep 2021

I have tried to run this add-on with update 5, however, it appears to crash the game.

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Kendall Bruce Cargill Sep 2021

I have tried 2 times to get this aircraft to work in MSFS 2020. When I pick the FA 18 the game crashes. I have updated the Sim with the latest mandatory update. Had to remove the aircraft from my community folder. Just thought I would let folks know. I hope I can get it to work at a later date.

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mperryz24 Sep 2021

Crashes to desktop in MSFS2020 ver. 1.18.15.0.

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nismo451 Aug 2021

Doesn't work with the new update CTD.

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Dave Pierce Aug 2021

Hi there. Great looking plane. Unfortunately, it crashes after the latest update. Tried it on the runway and in the air to start but CTD on both tries...Dave...

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badkiller15 Jul 2021

not very well working... e.g.

- park break not working - spawn without gear, so not able to move.

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blau06051972 Jul 2021

Unusable: Agileless, not possible to steer with rudders. Panel-Displays (VC) not working. No HUD.

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blau06051972 Jul 2021

Unfortunately, I have no display views in the VC. The three display panels are white. And I have no HUD.

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John Feltus Jul 2021

When I loaded this aircraft to take off the gear was down, the engine ramped up within seconds and the only issue was the high speed needed for takeoff. Maybe this is an improved version

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gringoal Jul 2021

Crashes MSFS on loading a flight with this aircraft.

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