Types Of Aircraft Engines

The piston engines were used to rotate the fans at high speeds which provide the thrust for the aircraft to move forward. Since the thrust that could be developed by the piston engine is limited, they cannot be used in aircrafts that need high speed and thrust. Hence, piston engines are mostly restricted to training flights and slow flights. There were many modifications like the supercharger that were added to the piston engine which provided extras thrust to the existing engines. The supercharger pumped in more air into the cylinder for better compression and burn ratios. Many experiments with water cooled engines, air cooled engines, four stroke and two stroke engines were made before they fell out of favor with the authorities who were exposed to the explosive power of the Jet engines. Piston engines are less costly, easier to maintain and consumes lesser fuel. They are a favorite with hobbyists and recreational users who use such engines to power hand gliders and miniature aircrafts. They are limited by the altitude and speed to which they can climb because as the sir gets thinner, lesser air enters the cylinder thereby chocking their efficiency to burn fuel.

Rocket Engines

Rocket engines produce the most power in the class of aircraft engines. They need so much of power in order to push the aircraft outside the gravitational pull of the earth. Rocket engines use a mixture of oxygen and a very combustible material to produce the thrust. The uniqueness of the rocket engine is that it carries its own oxygen to ignite its fuel. This is very different from the working of the jet engine, which takes air from the surroundings to ignite the fuel. Hence, a rocket engine can go into space where there is no air. Rocket engines use mainly two types of fluids. In a liquid fluid rocket engine, liquid fluid and an oxidizer are maintained in different chambers and they are mixed in a combustion chamber when the need arises.