4 Types of Aircraft Jet Engines
Aircraft maintenance technicians are equipped to maintain aircraft engines. An aircraft engine is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Maintaining these engines ensures the safety of millions of flight passengers every year. Let’s review the 4 main types of aircraft engines.
What types of engines do aircraft maintenance technicians maintain?
The engine types are different depending on the type of aircraft. An aircraft maintenance technician working on a commercial aircraft may maintain engines on a Boeing 777 while a technician working on a military aircraft may maintain a Pratt and Whitney F-15 eagle.
How do you feel about space?
The aircraft maintenance technicians who work for SpaceX keep their feet on the ground while working on the Raptor rocket engine.
Regardless of where an aircraft maintenance technician lands within the world of aviation, they are prepared to work on many types of aircraft jet engines.
4 Types of Aircraft Jet Engines
Turbojet – A turbojet engine is a jet engine that incorporates a turbine-driven compressor to take in and compress air for the combustion of fuel. The exhaust from the combustion drives the turbine and creates the thrust-producing jet.
A turbojet engine powered the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. > Read More
Turboprop – A turboprop engine is a turbojet engine in which a portion of the exhaust energy is used to drive a propeller. The engine’s thrust is therefore generated by a combination of the propeller’s thrust and the jet exhaust from the engine.
A turbo prop engine powers the Beechcraft King Air 350. > Read More
Turbofan – A turbofan engine is a turbojet engine in which additional thrust is gained by extending a portion of the compressor or turbine blades outside the inner engine casing. These extended blades propel bypass air around the engine core, between the inner and outer engine casings. This air is not combusted but does provide additional thrust since it is compressed by the blades.
Ramjet – A ramjet engine is the simplest type of jet engine since it has no moving parts. The engine is a specially shaped duct open at both ends, with the air necessary for combustion being compressed by the forward motion of the engine. Fuel is sprayed into the air stream and the mixture is ignited. The high-pressure air coming into the combustion chamber keeps the reaction from going back toward the inlet. Ramjet engines cannot operate under static conditions. In order to function, they have to already be traveling through the air at slightly over the speed of sound (somewhat over 740 miles per hour at sea level). This means that the aircraft using them must first get up to the required speed using some other type of propulsion, then start the ramjets. They can operate at up to five times the speed of sound.
Ramjet engines help power the Lockheed SR-71 (Blackbird) > Read More
