U.S. Navy Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet.
The Boeing F/A-18E (and F) Super Hornet is a fighter aircraft that operates from aircraft carriers. The aircraft is a further development of the F/A-18 Hornet. In 1992, the United States Navy ordered the aircraft from McDonnell Douglas, which has since been acquired by Boeing. The first flight took place in 1996 and the first landing on an aircraft carrier in 1997. It entered service in 1999 to replace the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. The Super Hornet is nicknamed 'Rhino'.
This photo was taken on 18 September 2017 at Naval Air Station Oceana.
For myself personally, this is a special photo. In fact, this plane is flown by Matt Suyderhoud. I met Matt in person in 2015 during the time he was part of the Blue Angels. Matt's grandparents are of Dutch descent and his middle name is Jaap. Since our first meeting, I have stayed in touch with Matt and had the opportunity to visit him at home in 2023.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…