Propulsion

Propulsion Reuben, Garrick, Collin

Standard Engine used in small aircraft

Piston torque and horsepower are decided by bore and stroke

Generally powers a propeller Can be found in most

transportation vehicles Supercharges and Turbos

can be added to increase power output

Piston Engine

A radial engine has 1 or more rows of cylinders arranged in a circle around the crankcase.

Every row must have an odd number of cylinders, in order to operate smoothly.

Radial Engine

The incorporation of Ethanol into the production of airplane engines is a big breakthrough in the fight for supporting nature and reducing the amount of fossil fuels used in everyday flying. 

Fagen Inc. has taken Ethanol to a new level. It is now used for high performance stunts in air shows, instead of having low HP.

For Example: The Ethanol-Powered Fagen MX2 has a whopping 400+ HP and top speed of 275 mph.

Ethanol Power

Internal Combustion engine; uses a rotary design

4 Stroke Cycle Developed in the 1950’s

and only recently was perfected by Mazda

Simpler, Lighter, and have less moving parts than piston powered engines of the same power output

Wankle Engine

Uses updraft from the props to store energy

Able to use solar power to help fly

Some have a battery for takeoff. After takeoff, it runs completely on solar power.

Generally glider shaped, for maximum lift with minimum power

Electric Engine

Very inefficient design for an aircraft engine Drives a compressor which fires into the jet

engine Very fuel inefficient and produces less or

equal power as a conventional jet engine

Motorjet

Low fuel economy, however, cheap and easy to build.

Not very fast Pulse jet diagram: First part of the cycle: air flows

through the intake (1), and mixed with fuel (2). Second part: the valve (3) is closed and the ignited fuel-air mix (4) propels the craft.

Used in a few German planes

Pulse Jet Engine

BMW 803 – one of the most powerful attempts at a hyper engine.

28-Cylinders, 3950 Horsepower

Crankshaft was too weak, so they used direct connected props.

HP/LB ratio is about 0.6

Hyper Engine

Uses direct cycle jet engines powered by a nuclear reactor

Soviets were putting in great effort into developing the engine

Very unsafe, however very powerful if successful

Nuclear Engine