Question:
What are the pros and cons of a jet engine compared to other engines? I need answers, please help?
lyssa l
2008-03-19 17:14:13 UTC
What are the pros and cons of a jet engine compared to other engines? I need answers, please help?
Ten answers:
Jim
2008-03-20 13:47:21 UTC
Pro #1: High thrust output. Airplanes burn A LOT less fuel at higher altitudes. The problem is that all engines produce less power as altitude is increased - most piston engines just don't have the power to lift a large aircraft to 31,000 feet or higher. A jet does. (Other advantages of high thrust are that the airplane can be larger, carry more people, go faster, and earn more money).



Pro #2: Lower weight compared to a similarly powerful piston engine.



Pro #3: Good reliability. A piston engine is much more complex. Reciprocating motion must be translated into rotational motion via a crankshaft. There are valves, camshafts, superchargers, etc that increase complexity and reduce reliability. Additionally, the propeller system of a high-performance airplane is quite complicated. A jet engine simply spins. (Contrary to what someone else said, one little pebble won't destroy a jet. They can swallow rocks, ice, birds, and/or turbine blades and still keep spinning - you'll have a large repair bill but the engine will most likely continue to operate).



Pro #4: The fuel for a jet engine is less refined and less expensive than aviation gasoline.



Con #1: Longer "spool up" time. Although they're getting better the power of a jet engine is not immediately available. (You move the thrust lever and it takes several seconds for the engine to accelerate). This isn't usually a problem unless you encounter windshear or have to execute a go-around. Power in a piston comes much more quickly.



Con #2: The prop provides a lot of airflow over the wing (assuming a multi-engined aircraft). If you get too slow in a prop as soon as power is applied the prop provides an immediate increase in airflow over the wing which is extra insurance against stalling. In a jet the entire aircraft must be accelerated before any benefit is realized. This takes much longer.
richard b
2008-03-19 18:37:12 UTC
piston engines are inexpensive to build, maintain, and operate. they have low fuel consumption compared to jet or rocket engines.



piston engine however dont make the power a jet or a rocket engine does, and it has a shorter time between overhaul than a jet engine does.



jets and rockets use more fuel, but can push aircraft to faster speeds, and higher altitudes than a piston engine can.



each engine has its place in the overall scheme of things, for instance in a light aircraft like a cessna 152 or 172 a piston engine is the best choice. however for a 747, or other commercial airliner, the jet engine is the way to go. same with military aircraft for the most part, jets are the way to go.



for experimental purposes, such as high speed, high altitude, or both, or flying into space, the rocket engine is the best choice right now, though new technologies are starting to change the for the future.
aviophage
2008-03-19 18:17:29 UTC
It isn't really a matter of pros and cons. Various types of engines are designed for different purposes, and optimized for the application.



Jet engines are suitable for aircraft designs in which efficient operation at high speeds and altitudes is desired. They are also suitable for commercial applications because they are simple, durable, and easy to keep operating--after you have spent the tens of millions of dollars required to set up the shop equipment for maintaining each specific type.



I suppose you could say that compared to other types of engines, turbojet engines are costly to develop and manufacture, simple and easy to operate and maintain, relatively simple to design an airframe around, and rugged and durable.



By the way, the answer about horsepower is completely wrong. Turbojet engines are rated in pounds of thrust, rather than horsepower. Some high school teacher may have found a conversion factor from thrust to horsepower, but it really does not work in practical terms. The power of jet engines is expressed in pounds of thrust, and only a person who does not know anything about the subject would try to explain it in horsepower terms. And certainly you cannot discuss efficiency of a jet engine in terms of horsepower.



Thrust is the term.
?
2016-10-14 07:47:56 UTC
the biggest layout situation with a unmarried engine jet is the place to place the engine - it must be on the middle line, and has to have unobstructed airflow. in case you bury it interior the fuselage so the thrust is on the vertical center-line you would be able to desire to apply duct-artwork to feed the engine, you finally end up with means losses via pull. in case you mount it above or under the fuselage you get pitch differences each and every time you adjust the throttle placing. the alternative utilized by skill of early jet combatants (Mig15, F86,and so on) of utilising the whole nostril of the airplane via fact the intake leaves little indoors area, and contained on the subject of a fighter, no nostril to mount a radar in. A airplane with a good form of engines skill you in common terms stick the engines on pylons, ether on the wing or rear fuselage. The certification rules are different for unmarried and multi-engine planes - a unmarried engine airplane is had to have a stall speed of no better than 61kts to be qualified interior the conventional type. That effectively limits the fee and length of a unmarried engine airplane, it extremely is complicated to create a intense speed wing that stalls at 61kts. Multi-engine planes don't have this rule, so they are in a position to have take off and landing speeds lots greater, yet they'd desire to fulfill engine out overall performance criteria the disadvantage of a twin is money: there isn't that lots distinction in fee between a small jet engine and one with two times or three times the thrust, so one enormous engine is greater low priced than 2 small ones.
ericbryce2
2008-03-20 00:05:05 UTC
Jet engines burn a type of kerosene while piston engines require highly refined and expensive special aviation fuel which is a type of gasoline. Jet engines require much less maintenance than conventional piston engined airliners and modern jets can be run for many many hours without servicing. Jets can achieved higher speeds and altitude.



.
strech
2008-03-20 07:01:10 UTC
After WWII, everyone thought commercial jet engine aircraft wouldn't be financially viable, because of the larger amount of fuel it burns, compared to the piston engined prop jobs.

But they found out it was actually cheaper, because it used a less refined (thus cheaper) grade of fuel than the piston engines.
simpsonna
2008-03-19 19:43:56 UTC
One other thing:



Propeller driven piston engines are much more reliable than a jet engine because of the number of moving parts.



All it takes is one little pebble to get sucked into the many blades of a jet engine and they shred.



But yes Jet engines produce much more thrust.
oneemazingplace
2008-03-19 17:35:54 UTC
pro: jet engines are capable of very high horsepower. the engines on the Concorde were "Rolls Royce" output equal to 60,000 horsepower each (no typo, yes sixty thousand) i don't know the thrust though.



con: inefficiencient, it took 120,000 hp to produce the 60,000 hp output. so the gross hp (generated) is 180,000. much of the energy is lost in the form of heat.





my favorite aspect of the jet engine is the sound and feel of full thrust, AWESOME!



as far as other kinds of engines, NOTHING!!! COMPARES!!!

only a jet engine can make pate' out of a flock of geese in under 2 seconds. salad shooter, you've met your match!
2008-03-19 17:57:20 UTC
They all gave you pros.

1 con is that it is limited to air intake.

A rocket doesn't need an air intake and it propels you faster and goes faster. For example, Bell X ! was a rocket powered aircraft that went higher, almost into outer space.

Limitations was the amount of fuel it could carry.
bushes
2008-03-19 17:45:15 UTC
my experience with aircraft engines juorneyman in scope, will not answer your question with current technology

comprehensive information at website below


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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