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ENGINE DESIGN


Engines must be:
  • ''lightweight'', as a heavy engine increases the empty weight of the aircraft & reduces its payload.

  • ''small'' and ''easily streamlined''; large engines with substantial surface area, when installed, create too much drag, wasting fuel and reducing power output.

  • ''powerful'', to overcome the weight and drag of the aircraft.

  • ''reliable'', as losing power in an airplane is a substantially greater problem than an automobile engine seizing. Aircraft engines operate at temperature, pressure, and speed extremes, and therefore need to operate reliably and safely under all these conditions.

  • ''repairable'', to keep the cost of replacement down. Minor repairs are relatively inexpensive.



Power


Unlike Automobile engines, aircraft engines run at high Power settings for extended periods of time. In general, the engine runs at maximum power for a few minutes during taking off, then power is slightly reduced for climb, and then spends the majority of its time at a cruise setting—typically 65% to 75% of full power. In contrast, a car engine might spend 20% of its time at 65% power accelerating, followed by 80% of its time at 20% power while cruising.

The power of an Internal Combustion reciprocating or Turbine aircraft engine is rated in units of power delivered to the propeller (typically Horsepower ) which is Torque multiplied by Crankshaft revolutions per minute ( RPM ). The propeller converts the engine power to thrust horsepower or thp in which the Thrust is a function of the Blade Pitch of the propeller relative to the Velocity of the aircraft.
Jet Engine s are rated in terms of thrust.


Reliability


The design of aircraft engines tends to favor reliability over performance. It took many years before the reliability was established to Fly Over The Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean. Engine failure at all stages in flight is a part of flight lessons for student pilots.