Posted on August 27, 2020
The first aircraft to fly with power coming from turbojet engines was the Heinkel He178.
And its first successful flight was on this date in 1939.
Early airplanes were powered by gasoline-fueled piston engines. The engine of an early airplane would spin a propeller, and the wing-shaped blades of the propeller provided thrust in a similar way to wings providing lift. The difference in air pressure between the back of the propeller blade and the front of the propeller blade pushes the plane forward.
Jet engines provide even more thrust - and so jet planes can travel further, faster than prop-planes. Another name for a jet engine is a gas turbine.
The engine sucks in air (gas) with a fan.
The compressor has many blades attached to a shaft; when the shaft is rapidly turned, the air is pressed together.
The compressed air is sprayed with fuel, and an electric spark lights it - and the burning gases expand rapidly and shoot out the nozzle on the back of the engine.
(Along the way, the gases enter a turbine with many, many, many blades attached to a shaft - and the rushing air spins the blades, thus turning the shaft.
(Along the way, the gases enter a turbine with many, many, many blades attached to a shaft - and the rushing air spins the blades, thus turning the shaft.
The air rushing out of the back of the engine prompts "an equal and opposite reaction" - and the plane is thrust forward.
Also on this date:
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