Science and Technology

What effect did engine evolution have on airplanes?

Link to this answer

CloseClose

Link to this answer

Share this credible answer with others. Simply paste this code into your blog or Web page:

<a href="http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/effect-did-engine-evolution-have-airplanes-111999.html" >What effect did engine evolution have on airplanes?</a>
E-mail this answer Link to this answer

The evolution of the airplane engine has had a major effect upon aircraft design, which is closely associated with the ratio between power load (horsepower) and weight. The Wright brothers' first engine weighed about 12 lb (5.4 kg) per horsepower. The modern piston engine weighs about 1 lb (0.4 kg) or less per horsepower, and jet and gas-turbine engines are much lighter. With the use of jet engines and the resulting higher speeds, airplanes have become less dependent on large values of lift from the wings. Consequently, wings have been shortened and swept back so as to produce less drag, especially at supersonic speeds.

Answer verified with
Get more facts and information about airplane . Or, view the full encyclopedia entry from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Similar questions: How did engines affect the evolution of the airplane? How was airplane design affected by the evolution of the engine? [ Hide these questions ]

Related research questions

Related research articles

QUIETER, FASTER BOEING 747 IS IN THE WORKS IMPROVEMENTS EXPECTED TO CUT NOISE...
Newspaper article from: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA) ...747 will also have more range...continuing evolution of this airplane," Jeff Peace...would allow the airplane to enter service...Droppelman did not say how...market for new airplanes has changed...some airlines have been telling...restrictions may be in effect. ...
Cessna 425 Corsair/Conquest I: more than just a 421 with PT-6 engines, Cessna's...
Magazine article from: The Aviation Consumer ...Piper--must have seemed like...441 was an evolution of the Model...Series turboprop engines. Confusingly...PT6A-112 engines. Before production...single-engine turboprops...700 and -850 have come onto the...maintained airplane, dispatch...400-series airplanes reflect ...
News Briefs.
Newspaper article from: Air Safety Week ...captured the evolution with this succinct...indicate the airplane had been cleared...Airmen) was in effect, advising aircrews...these pilots did not sound the...it should not have been lit. Whether...digger appears to have had its bucket...likely would have been full...sheared ...
Shape Up and Fly Right; How to Build a Better Air Force for Less Money
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post ...Air Force will have shrunk from about 23,000 airplanes in the mid...reserve will have dropped from...large reductions did not generate...taking out the effects of inflation...First, the evolution of ever more...technology engines and electronics...tanker squadrons have ...
Alternative Fuels Flipping the Switch: Tow Tractors.(Product Profile)
Magazine article from: Ground Support Worldwide ...the powerful engines, the wind in...set and the evolution of the baggage...Many changes have occurred in...serious attempts have been made to...gases and its effects on the aviation...to passenger airplanes, electric tow tractors have been available...rather heavy and ...
See all results at HighBeam

HighBeam gives you access to newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles plus press releases, facts, information, and biographies from thousands of sources.