Definition
A maintenance procedure used to repair small defects, pinholes, or thin spots in the ceramic thermal-barrier coating inside the combustion chamber and turbine section of a gas turbine engine. A specially formulated ceramic slurry is sprayed or applied into the hot section so that, when the engine is run, the heat of combustion fuses the material in place and restores the protective coating.
Plain English
A way of patching tiny worn spots inside the hot part of a jet engine by applying a special heat-resistant material that bakes itself into place when the engine runs.
Context Anchor
Seen in turbine engine maintenance, especially during inspections for heat damage on turbine parts.
Derivation
Called 'hot streaking' because the repair material is applied as a streak or coating that is then cured by the engine's own heat. The 'hot' refers to the operating temperature doing the curing, not to the application being done while the engine is running.
Why Pilots Care
Uncorrected hot streaking can burn turbine blades or vanes, leading to engine damage, power loss, or in-flight shutdown.
Intuition Check
Hot streaking does not mean the airplane is moving fast or leaving a visible trail behind it. It means uneven, concentrated heat inside a turbine engine.
Example Sentence 1
During overhaul, the technician identified worn areas on the combustion liner that could be restored using hot streaking rather than replacing the part.
Example Sentence 2
The high EGT spike was traced to a clogged fuel nozzle that had been producing hot streaking.