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Seems the exhaust from a KC-46A jet runs about 1170 degrees Fahrenheit, Fairbanks (AK) International airport can attest to this.<\/p>\n
Last summer a KC-46A reported problems after refueling, and landed at the Fairbanks airport after the crew reported “unusual engine vibrations” during flight.<\/p>\n
\nThe vibrations were severe enough that the jet could not fly, and a special team of maintenance experts was dispatched from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, arriving two days later. The crew waited two more days for favorable weather to begin work on the engines.<\/p>\n
In each of the 10 engine tests, the report said, maintenance specialists ran both of the plane\u2019s engines at up to 83% power for between 20 and 30 minutes. Each test evaluated a single engine, the report said, but crews run both during tests to avoid damaging the plane with unequal, or non-symmetric, force from only one side.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I can see that – you can assume that having a tied-down plane running an engine at high power would stress the airframe more than flying on one engine, right?<\/p>\n
\nThe tests ran the engines at the same power levels used during take-offs, according to investigators, during which the engines produce exhaust at \u201capproximately 1,170 degrees Fahrenheit. The high temperature of an operating engine can be felt more than one hundred feet behind the exhaust.\u201d<\/p>\n
The repeated tests, investigators found, created \u201cpersistent high temperatures in combination with repeated high engine exhaust\u201d that melted the sealant used on the asphalt.<\/p>\n