Jet engines are a type of aircraft engine that generates thrust through jet propulsion. While the term can be more general, it is typically used to refer to internal combustion engines that are used for aircraft. While coming in a variety of forms, most jet engines utilize a rotating air compressor that is driven by a turbine while exhaust air and leftover power is used by the propelling nozzle to generate thrust. In this blog, we will provide a brief overview of the common types of jet engines, allowing you to better understand their differences, uses, and applications.
The gas turbine engine is a powerful apparatus that serves a diverse set of aircraft types, and they are well capable of drawing in large amounts of air at high altitudes for compression, fuel mixing, and combustion. Through the process of burning fuel-and-air mixtures, the gas turbine engine produces the propulsive forces necessary for maintaining heavier-than-air flight. While there are numerous gas turbine engine types that may slightly vary in their functionality or included parts, all follow a similar method of operation through the use of common assemblies.
The flight instruments of an aircraft are indispensable for safe operations, allowing pilots to closely monitor a number of flight conditions that affect efficiency and safety. The airspeed indicator, or ASI, is a basic instrument of aircraft, and it is used to measure the forward speed of the vehicle. Airspeed can be important for a number of reasons, ranging from fuel management and flight planning to being aware of speed for conducting a safe turn or landing. In this blog, we will provide a brief overview of the airspeed indicator so you may understand its use and functionality.
In order for most aircraft to fly, they require the combustion of fuel and air mixtures for propulsion generation. For most aircraft engines, this process results in high amounts of heat that can eventually begin to cause issues and damage to surrounding components if left unchecked. To avoid the dangers of engine failures, many aircraft will utilize liquid and air cooling systems in order to manage temperatures. As each method presents its own advantages and disadvantages, it can be useful to familiarize oneself with each to find what is best for a particular aircraft.
The vast majority of large, modern aircraft use turboprops or jet propulsion systems as their primary source of power. However, for owners of smaller aircraft, radial engines can often be the better option. Radial engines have been in use for decades, and prior to the introduction of turbine engines, were the most common option. They were found on all types of aircraft, ranging from crop dusting aircraft to bombers. Despite being an older technology, radial engines are still in use today. In this blog, we will look at six benefits of radial engines, all of which are reasons to consider one for your aircraft....
When discussing aircraft and their standard equipment pieces, most people would recognize the black box. As the term reaches public ears most often during the discussion of aviation accidents, many have strong negative associations with such devices. Despite their grand importance during accident investigations, black boxes serve a great role in improving the safety of flight and aircraft operations. To best understand how black boxes benefit the aviation industry, one first must be aware of their functionality and capabilities...
Tungsten carbide coatings, known for their hardness and resistance to corrosion, high temperatures, and abrasion, are widely used throughout industries such as machinery, metallurgy, oil & gas, and aerospace. For use in other, more general industries throughout the world, protective coatings are formed by the use of raw material tungsten carbide sprayed onto iron-based materials or nickel surfaces...
Aircraft accidents and crashes, while extremely rare, are always tragic occurrences. While weather, damaged hardware, and other such conditions may lead to an accident, one of the most common causes is due to human error. By thoroughly understanding and analyzing the causes of human error and its relation to aviation accidents, the industry can better improve upon the safety of flight. Through such endeavors, the risk of accidents in aviation has been steadily declining, and the United States has seen fewer average fatal crashes by the year. Despite this, crashes due to human error still occur, and thus should be well understood.
From the air conditioning system to onboard wifi, aircraft have greatly advanced their capabilities to increase the comfort of passengers throughout a flight. Although many may feel they could never go without such modern amenities, some may take for granted the more conventional features of passenger flight. The aircraft toilet is a robust and advanced apparatus, though not without its fair share of theories and misunderstandings. As an integral facet of passenger aircraft that many may find themselves relying on at some point of a flight, understanding the functionality of the most underrated room of the aircraft can alleviate the longstanding questions that many may have always had.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that more than 16,000 passenger jets around the world are grounded. The number of passenger jets currently in service is the lowest it’s been in more than 25 years, and some airlines have had to slash their flight schedules by as much as 90%. To give you another example of the drastic drop-off in air travel, on January 22, 2020, there were nearly 114,000 passenger flights. Just three months later, on April 20, there were less than 27,000. This has undoubtedly caused a great deal of financial strain on the industry, but has also presented a second problem: where can these aircraft be stored, and how can they be kept airworthy during their downtime?
