The J47 design used experience from the
TG-180/J35 engine which was described by
Flight magazine in 1948 as the most widely used American-conceived turbojet. The
turbojet featured a revolutionary anti-icing system where hollow frame struts allowed heated airflow to pass through from the
compressor, allowing fighter jets equipped with the engine to function at high altitudes, and in cold conditions such as the top of
Mount Washington in New Hampshire's
White Mountains, where the engine was first tested. The engine featured an electronically controlled
afterburner, a system that dumped additional fuel into the
combustor pipe 'behind' the engine, reheating the exhaust and producing significantly more thrust, although with greatly reduced efficiency and high fuel burn rates. The engine production process in the
Lockland facility (renamed to the
Evendale facility) utilized vertical engine assembly to ensure
compressor rotor balance and stability. The technological jump provided by the engine led to it becoming the most produced jet engine in aviation history, and established
GE Aviation as a worldwide leader in jet propulsion. Overhaul life for the J47 ranged from 15 hours (in 1948) to a theoretical 1,200 hours (625 achievable in practice) in 1956. For example, the J47-GE-23 was rated to run 225 hours
time between overhauls. As installed on the F-86F, it experienced one in-flight shutdown every 33,000 hours in 1955 and 1956. ==Variants==