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Does it look like the exhaust nozzle was polished up in this picture? Did the engine maybe come from a Thunderbirds aircraft? If so, do the thunderbirds get they're engines like the rest of us or do they have a set?

USAF F-16C block 42 #90-0708 of the 57th FW seen on the flightline at London, Ontario in June of 1994.

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As far as I know/remember, the Thunderbirds use "stock" F100-PW-220 engines that go through the same JEIM shop at Nellis as the rest of the engines there.

I'm not sure if they have engines "assigned" to be specifically used for the Thunderbirds.

The ONLY difference on a Thunderbird PW-220 is the polished external nozzle segments (Turkey Feathers)

I've also seen polished feathers on other aircraft at different bases, Typically not an entire set though.

Those parts are a "turn in" item, and must be returned to Depot when new parts are ordered. If a polished feather is worn or damaged, it would be returned to be "reconditioned" then placed back into the supply system if possible.

I've personally assembled a PW-220 nozzle that had 7 or 8 polished feathers. (About half of the 15 total. I thought it was cool and put them all on one side of the nozzle for dramatic effect. Cool

So in the situation shown above there are a few scenarios that may have occurred.

1. A0708 needed an engine and only a "Thunderbird" motor was available.
2. A0708's engine needed a augmentor duct and nozzle module and only "Thunderbird" nozzle was available.
3. An aug/noz module was assembled and only polished feathers were available.
4. An aug/noz module was overhauled at Nellis and when the feathers were ordered, only polished feathers (or a portion of them) were received by the crew assembling the module.

At any rate it makes for one cool jet! Cool

Shame the "new" F100-PW-229 engines of the Thunderbird's Block 52s won't have the "polished look" anymore since they utilize carbon-fiber Turkey Feathers. Sadly they are not interchangeable with the titanium feathers of the PW-220. Having much more thrust at MAX AUG, the PW-229s nozzle is much more robust than the PW-220. If a "down-change" nozzle was placed on a PW-229 it wouldn't last very long, especially in Thunderbird service.

Keep 'em flyin' Thumb

TEG

Or that unit could have a VERY motivated crew chief who put forth the extra effort to polish them?

Lightndattic wrote:

Or that unit could have a VERY motivated crew chief who put forth the extra effort to polish them?

Polishing engine parts is not authroized.

Unless you're doing it for a Thunderbird engine, or just get lucky receiving one, you aren't allowed to do that.

Besides that aircraft and the Thunderbirds have the same JEIM (Jet Engine Intermediate Maintenance) shop, where the polishing would have been done. Nellis is the only shop I know that is authorized to give the feathers that type of surface treatment.

Elite 1K Joined: May 10, 2005 Posts: 1125 Status: Offline

This is 89-2056 from Luke when it was the Wing Kings ride

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 14, 2006 Posts: 505

Similer Thread

What polish to use on exhaust?
http://www.f-16.net/index.php?name=PNph ... 3&post

Elite 1K Joined: Apr 26, 2004 Posts: 1215 Status: Offline

Hey TEG..........at Shaw in the mid 90's when I was a 309th Wild Duck, we had the F110's all those other Shaw guy's had the 100's....and they polished the crap out of them........We had a good laugh on there part.

OOH, SHINY!!!

Remember when jets used to be shiny? In Love

*Trying to imagine an entirely shiny F-16* Drool

StolichnayaStrafer wrote:

OOH, SHINY!!!

Remember when jets used to be shiny? In Love

*Trying to imagine an entirely shiny F-16* Drool

Would be awesome to see a Viper trimmed out in chrome paint... Very Happy

You'd have to use some type of paint/application since so much of the F-16 isn't aluminum.

Examples: http://www.alsacorp.com/products/chrome ... x_show.htm

I remember the people using Never Dull and also car polishing buffers on the Pratt's . GE's were not allowed to be polished. Never was much of a maggot.

StolichnayaStrafer wrote:

OOH, SHINY!!!

Remember when jets used to be shiny? In Love

*Trying to imagine an entirely shiny F-16* Drool

Ahhh, the old days of shiny jets... These are the NYANG's "Boys from Syracuse" and their F-86H's during the mid-60's. By the time I was around (late 60's, early 70's) the last of the Sabres were in three-tone camo.

Mike

A chromed out F-16 would be pretty cool to see, also an F-15 and A-10. Think about that heritage flight.

Enthusiast Joined: Jan 23, 2005 Posts: 68 Status: Offline

Here's some nice ones..

Mmm, shiny Sabres(bums could have kept them shinier though Razz

) and shiny Falcon butts! Very Happy

I guess the last of our shiny planes produced would have been the T-38/F-5 series eh? That is, not including some special or transport types.

Newbie Joined: Sep 25, 2007 Posts: 8 Status: Offline

but its not the first time Ive seen someone "go the extra mile". And just because someone does it, doesnt make them a "maggot". I think Id be more comfortable as a pilot flying in an aircraft with a crew chief that took it as his own, as the DCC program tries to instill, and goes that extra mile. It's ok, its usually the lazier guys calling it out like that. While the "maggots" are staying at work even after being told to go home cleaning, wiping, and shining on their jet. There are a lot of parts we shine up that we "aren't supposed to".

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Nellis jet with polished exhaust