Aircraft Engines (5088-AE)

  

Overview of Aircraft Engines (5088-AE)

— An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines, except for small multicopter UAVs which are almost always electric aircraft. As of 2012, the size of the aircraft engine manufacturing market was almost $40 billion. There are over 350 manufacturing companies in the United States employing over 70 thousand people. These engines come in a variety of types including; reciprocating engines, v-type engines, horizontally opposed, radial, rotary, and turbine powered engines such as; turboprop and turboshaft engines. The most common commercial aircraft engines are reaction engines such as turbojet and turbofan engines. Professional Plastics supplies materials used in critical engine components such as Vespel®, Meldin®, Torlon® and PEEK.