F-18 Hornet low-pressure turbine blade in nickel superalloy
Get your hands on a piece of aviation history with this authentic turbine blade from the General Electric F404, the turbofan that has powered the F/A-18 Hornet since the early 1980s. It belongs to the engine's low-pressure turbine, the single-stage rotor that drives the fan, and was recovered from retired Spanish Air Force F-18 components.
By the time the gas reaches this stage it has already passed through the high-pressure turbine, but it is still hot enough to soften ordinary steel. That's why this blade is cast in a nickel-based superalloy, the family of metals engineered to keep their strength at extreme temperatures. The inside matters too: the blade is hollow, and cooling air enters through the openings in its root to flow through internal passages. The darker surface is the mark of the heat it has endured.
The airfoil, the fir-tree root and the worn surface are all original. On a desk, a shelf or in a collection, it's an object with a real story behind it, and one that few people get to see up close.
Specifications
- Aircraft: F/A-18 Hornet
- Engine: General Electric F404
- Position: low-pressure turbine rotor (single stage)
- Material: nickel-based superalloy
- Provenance: Retired Spanish Air Force F-18 Hornet components
- Length: 114 mm · Weight: 115 g