Power Plants Used in Today’s Modern Aircraft
The aircraft power plant, otherwise known as the aircraft engine, is the heart of the vehicle that provides for the generation of thrust and propulsion. Without some form of aircraft power plant, planes would not be able to achieve flight. Typically, the size and application of the aircraft determines which type of power plant is optimal, such that small planes are most often fitted with piston engines while larger planes may feature a gas turbine. In this blog, we will provide an overview of a few of the standard types of power plants and how they help aircraft achieve flight.
Gas Turbine:
The gas turbine is the most common airplane engine and may come in various types. To create propulsion, aircraft fuel is mixed with air before being compressed and ignited within a combustion chamber. From this combustion, a great amount of hot, pressurized gasses are generated and harnessed to create thrust by driving turbine blades. The harnessed energy from combustion is also used to actuate pistons, turbine discs, crankshafts, and other components. Gas turbines may come in a variety of combustor types, including can, cannular, and annular type.
Piston Engine:
Piston engines, also known as reciprocating engines, are a common aircraft power plant fitted on smaller aircraft. With piston engines, pistons are used to convert linear motion into rotational motion through the ignition of fuel. Piston engines in aircraft are very similar to those that are found within automobiles, though they have various modifications and components to make them more fit for aviation. Piston engines create propulsion through the use of a four stroke cycle. To begin, fuel is deposited into the combustion chamber and the piston is pushed downwards. As it moves back up, the piston compresses the fuel before it is ignited and the piston is thrusted downwards with great force. This energy from the piston launching downwards is harnessed, creating energy for rotational motion. Finally, the piston pushes back up, forcing out the exhaust and spent gasses before repeating the process again.
Electric Propulsion:
Despite current fascination and experimentation with electric propulsion for passenger flights and future vehicles such as VTOLS, there have been electric engine aircraft since the 1970’s. Currently, electric engine aircraft mostly include those such as recreational unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), light aircraft and gliders, and some test rotorcraft. With some of these aircraft, the engine does not provide for all of the flying capability, as aerodynamic design provides for ample gliding ability to keep an aircraft airborne. Currently, tests of light aircraft with battery powered engines have provided for a few hours of sustained flight, but nowhere near enough to become a major competitor against fuel across all aircraft types. This is due to the fact that the density of energy within batteries is much lower than that of fuel. Because of this, battery powered flight will most likely not develop beyond recreational and light aircraft until better electric engine technology develops.
No matter the classification of aircraft engines you need parts for, Aviation Axis has you covered. Aviation Axis is owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, and we can help you find aircraft power plant components and more you need, new, used, or obsolete.
Share
