this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2026
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And how much more easily they could survive it. Conventional turbofans get the birds stuck inside and fail. These could effectively bounce them off.
Sure, a few seagulls would survive but that is something that could easily be fixed.
Turbofans are tested by shooting a standardized frozen turkey into them. The engine must survive to be qualified.
I'm sure a bad luck event can have birds stuck inside, but in most cases they go all the way through.
Edit: found this reference: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-33/subpart-E/section-33.76
And this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBHJvSJoX4k Not sure if it's the right thing, some comments say it's a blade separation test, which is much more violent than bird ingestion.
It makes sense, at that altitude birds are frozen solid.
Hehe, I expect they're thawed before the test, but who knows!
The GE9x is shown being tested by launching a block of solid ice at the fan, and it shreds the ice!
NIST frozen turkeys must cost as much as a house.
That's why plane tickets are so expensive...
Makes sense. The peanut butter jar alone is over $1,200. Imagine what a battery of frozen turkeys would cost.