A few years ago I hear the kitchen door being slammed and my wife came rushing in say there was a giant wasp in there. Old macho me makes light of it, it's only a wasp, don't make a fuss, I'll sort it out. So, rolled newspaper in hand, I advance down hallway with Jane creeping along behind me. Open kitchen door and promptly back pedal, crashing into Jane and thankfully getting door closed again in process. Wasp, I say to her, that's a bloody hornet and a big one. As I'd opened the door it just happened to be heading towards it at eye level, looked like a zeppelin to me! So you've now got two adults crouched in the hallway wondering how they're going to reclaim their kitchen, sad I know.
Re hornets, I've seen them in action, they can devastate a wasps or bees nest in a day no problem. They actually snip them in half in mid air, it's quite fascinating, if you're not too close.