How Does a Jet Engine Work? (Fighter Aircraft)

Have you ever wondered how fighter jet aircraft are able to travel at speeds greater than the speed of sound? Aircraft have come a long way since the days of WW1 when bi-planes would use piston engines to power propellers, which produced thrust. In 1928 Frank Whittle wrote his first scientific paper on the Jet Engine. The first aircraft to use a jet engine was the Heinkel He 178 in 1939 (although this was designed by a German engineer, Ernst Heinkel). It has since become the standard propulsion system for all military fighter and transport aircraft around the world. But how exactly does a jet engine work?

Air enters the engine through the intake, which can be seen from the front of the aircraft. Air is sucked in through the compressor. The compressor increases the temperature and pressure of the air. Energy is then added to the air in the combustion chamber, where fuel is burnt. The air temperature increases and the pressure increases rapidly. This rapid increase means the air rushes out the back of the engine, propelling the aircraft forward.

Before the air exits through the rear nozzle, it first passes through the turbine, which extracts some of the energy from the fast moving air. The turbine is connected to the compressor at the front, and is what provides the energy to compress the air in the first place.

An afterburner can also be used for an extra thrust boost. This is where even more fuel is added and burnt at the rear of the engine. The air expands again, boosting the aircraft forward at high speed.

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