F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

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moriarty
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F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Mon May 12, 2014 2:29 pm

Probably a silly question but something I've been wondering about:

There's often a vertical line painted on the rear fuselage of the F-14, just in front of the horizontal tail plane. Usually red or black and sometimes also visual on top of the fuselage.

What is the purpose of this marking? I've tried to find out about it but my searches have come up short.

The line can be clearly visible in these two shots, for instance. Most individuals seem to have it but not all.


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vzlet
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Mon May 12, 2014 3:50 pm

I would assume it marks the location of the turbine, as a warning to stay clear of that area while the engines are running. Similar markings are used on many (especially older) military jets.
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MD11Bob
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Mon May 12, 2014 6:34 pm

Just guessing, but can it be related to the swing wing? Maybe the "stay clear" line when the wing is fully swung? E.g. on carrier deck parking ops?
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moriarty
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Mon May 12, 2014 6:52 pm

I was thinking in the same direction as you too, vzlet. But the engine contains many rotating parts that you wouldn't want to get in your face - along its length.

Second guess would make more sense I think. It is a rather thick line so it is obviusly important to see it from distance. And it aligns with back of wing tips rather well.

[Edited 2014-05-12 11:55:35]
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Moose135
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Mon May 12, 2014 7:30 pm

It's a turbine disk warning line. On the T-38, they originally had two stripes around the fuselage, as you can see in this photo.


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By the time I got to UPT, they had been removed - rumor was it was noticed that when you were flying formation, the wingman's cockpit lined up nicely with the stripes, and they didn't want people thinking about the reason for the stripes...
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flyingturtle
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Mon May 12, 2014 9:35 pm

I didn't know of these turbine disk warning lines either.

These stripes are more often seen on turboprops. For example, most of the C-130 have them.



David
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moriarty
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Tue May 13, 2014 5:10 am

So you were right, vzlet!

So basically they say: "Bad idea to stand in this line if shit hits the fan"  

I guess the lines are in the same category as the "Danger" markings of the inlets of most jet engines then. However, I still find it interesting that risk of uncontained turbine failure is so high that markings on the aircraft is deemed necessary. The inlet warning I can understand, if the engine is running it's a risk. But how often does turbine failure happen on ground? Just me thinking out loud here, obviously the risk is significant since the lines are there.

Thanks for the info!
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Max Q
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Tue May 13, 2014 6:50 am

I always thought it showed the range of movement for the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer.


Guess I was wrong  
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Jasondn
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Tue May 13, 2014 12:17 pm

Quoting moose135 (Reply 4):
It's a turbine disk warning line

It's quite far behind the turbines if that is the case. From the picture below, the fan blades look like they are right in the centre of the plane between the wings.

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acontador
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Tue May 13, 2014 12:30 pm

Quoting moriarty (Thread starter):
There's often a vertical line painted on the rear fuselage of the F-14, just in front of the horizontal tail plane. Usually red or black and sometimes also visual on top of the fuselage.

What is the purpose of this marking?

It marks where the hot section of the engines starts, since the fuselage skin above may become rather hot, so it is a warning not to touch that part of the skin. If you ever got near a jet a few minutes after shutting down its engines you will understand why these signs are a good idea!

Cheers,

[Edited 2014-05-13 05:30:38]
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vzlet
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Tue May 13, 2014 12:37 pm

"Turbine", in this case, means only the post-combustion turbine stages, of which the TF30 has four, one high-pressure, and three low-pressure. You're correct that the compressor stages are that far forward, but the concern is/was for the much-higher energy turbines.

http://www.aer.ita.br/~bmattos/mundo/cutaway/f14/f-14tomcat.jpg
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Max Q
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Wed May 14, 2014 6:13 am

The F14 is still just the coolest fighter  
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moriarty
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Wed May 14, 2014 7:37 pm

Quoting acontador (Reply 9):
It marks where the hot section of the engines starts, since the fuselage skin above may become rather hot, so it is a warning not to touch that part of the skin. If you ever got near a jet a few minutes after shutting down its engines you will understand why these signs are a good idea!

That makes totally sense! When you mention it, it really sounds obvious.  

Thanks!

And yes. The meanest and best looking plane ever built. A true piece of art. I love it.
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CALTECH
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RE: F-14: Purpose Of Vertical Line On Rear Fuselage?

Sat May 17, 2014 6:26 pm

Quoting moriarty (Thread starter):
There's often a vertical line painted on the rear fuselage of the F-14, just in front of the horizontal tail plane. Usually red or black and sometimes also visual on top of the fuselage.

What is the purpose of this marking? I've tried to find out about it but my searches have come up short.

They are called 'turbine warning stripes' .

Quoting vzlet (Reply 1):
I would assume it marks the location of the turbine, as a warning to stay clear of that area while the engines are running. Similar markings are used on many (especially older) military jets.

Yes, turbines have a habit of coming apart all by themselves much more so than the cooler compressors.

Quoting acontador (Reply 9):
It marks where the hot section of the engines starts, since the fuselage skin above may become rather hot, so it is a warning not to touch that part of the skin. If you ever got near a jet a few minutes after shutting down its engines you will understand why these signs are a good idea!

Not really, it is a warning to stay clear of this area, plane of rotation (where the turbine blades will come out), when engines are running, that's all.
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