The internal combustions engine was the fist form of aircraft engine to be used. It was the engine that the Wright Brothers used in Kittyhawk to make the first powered flight. The operation of the internal combustion is very simple to understand.
The first step in the internal combustion process is the injection of the fuel into the cylinder. From here the piston is raised and the fuel and air is compressed. Then a spark is struck in the cylinder and the fuel is ignited and the piston is pushed down. After that the piston rises and the exhaust is pushed out. Then the processes repeats itself. There can be many cylinders in an engine. These cylinders turn a crankshaft which in turn run the propellor. This engine is still in common use today and can move a plane over four hundered miles per hour.
The prop which moves the plane works a lot like a wing. As a prop turns it moves through the air and slices the air and pushes the air backwards. The reason it moves the air back is because of its' angle of attack. The leading edge of the prop is farther forward than the trailing edge. The prop has a large effect on the amount of thrust produced by the engine. The more powerful the engine is the more aggressive the angle of attack on the propeller can be.
Back to the "How They Work" page.
Back to "The Hangar".