LESSON 1.3 — AIRPLANE FUNDAMENTALS
[ 1.3.2] Aircraft Engines
BEFORE WE FLY — QUICK QUESTION
Two engine families powered all of aviation. Which?
Piston engines (driving propellers via reciprocating pistons) and jet engines (compress, combust, expel).
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The two fundamental types: piston engines — used in smaller and historical aircraft, driving propellers — and jet engines, dominant in modern aviation.
- In a piston engine, each piston connects to the crankshaft via a connecting rod, translating linear motion into rotation; radial engines arrange the cylinders in a circle around the crankshaft — like the 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney.
- Inside a jet engine: air is drawn in, compressed, mixed with fuel and ignited in the combustor; the hot gases drive the turbine — keeping the compressor spinning — and exit through the nozzle.