Don't you wonder? How do airplanes fly? What do they use as fuel?

[Anonymous]

[MrOracle]

No, I understand how planes fly and what they use as fuel.

Smaller planes often use standard, piston, internal-combustion engines not much different from a car, other than being air cooled instead of water-cooled, and being built to withstand running at high RPMs most of the time. They use aviation gasoline, which is a higher-octane fuel and with more care taken to ensure its purity and lack of contamination.

Turbojet engine

Larger planes and even helicopters tend to use jet turbines, and they use what is essentially kerosene, which is less refined than gasoline and is closer to diesel fuel. Jet engines work by spinning fans compressing the incoming air, then spraying fuel into the compressed air mix and burning it, which expands the gasses and increases the rear-ward pressures, which pushes the plane forward.

And planes are able to fly because of the shape of their wings. The curved top causes the air that goes over the top of the wing to have to move farther, and thus move faster, than the air that goes under the wing, which has a straighter path. This speed difference causes pressure on the top of the wing to fall, creating "lift". Of course, this only works above a certain speed threshold, so we have to use some kind of propulsion to reach and maintain those speeds. Thus, some kind of engine and either a propeller or jet thrust.

[DamnSam]

Is there a possibility you could extend that for me to solid fuel rocket engines, like the orange srb with the space shuttle?

[MrOracle]

@DamnSam The solid rocket boosters (SRBs) are the smaller white rockets that are strapped to the sides of the big orange fuel tank. I don't know if you've ever launched a model rocket (I used to build and launch them as a kid), but those engines are also a solid propellant. Once a solid propellant rocket is lit, there's no way to shut it off until it burns out. The SRBs provide most of the initial thrust to get the shuttle moving and get it to altitude, though the shuttle's main engines add boost and provide steering. The big orange tank is the liquid fuel that the shuttle burns on launch - it's just a huge gas tank because there's no internal gas tank in the shuttle.

One of my good friends, who I grew up with, is a MASSIVE space/NASA enthusiast, model builder, artist, sculptor, model airplane pilot, and now drone pilot. He has an extensive library of space program-related books that I was able to borrow and read, and something like 20+ years ago, I helped set up an 8-computer render farm to help render some of his 3D animations - which are extremely crude by today's standards in quality, but if rendered at the higher resolutions and qualities available today would be impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EkdBWY7hic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37RHPnpnGjc
These videos were posted to YouTube 12 years ago but were actually made at least 5 years earlier, and took 8 computers 6 or 7 days to render a 30 or 40 second sequence - CPU-only because GPU rendering didn't exist outside of hyper-expensive proprietary hardware at the time. I did the video editing and added the real NASA audio and some of the other "camera" effects, and over about a six month period we created a whole 10 minute or so video of an entire launch from pad to orbit.

[sensible27]

They use aviation grade kerosine but depends on the plane, some are electric and some use biofuel. It's not so much about the fuels themselves, yes they make them efficient but you could probably build a plane that runs on diesel. What matters is propulsion and lift and control. The reason they fly is newtons third law and BernoullianBernoullian lift. All you have to do is just generate more (or equal) force upwards than the weight of the plane. There's a book by the name the simple science of flight, you can read it if you like.

[CrazyGirl2]

No, I’m Pretty familiar with Bernoulli’s principle. The wing of any plane is an airfoil, meaning the bottom is flat and the top is curved. As the air passes over the airfoil, the air on top moves faster than the air underneath because it traveled further in the same time, this causes low pressure above the wing that basically “sucks” the plane into the sky. This is called “Lift”. As far as fuel, it depends on the plane. Small single engine propeller planes use gasoline, similar to the gas we put in our cars, only of a much higher octane. As for jets, jet fuel (Jet-A) is basically the same as kerosene, paraffin, or even diesel fuel. Except Jet-A contains no moisture from water in the air, and is treated with a chemical that separates out any moisture that might get it and reduce the jet’s performance.

[HeartBreaker007]

Become an engineer to find out if you are interested in that

[ChrisMaster69]

Nope not at all.

My Grandfather was in Royal Air Force, I knew about aircraft early in life.

i did aerodynamics in school.

i then spent most of life in the Royal Air Force, as an Aircraft Engineer.

It sort of went with the job.

basically never.

[Interestingfacts]

Fuel used for airplanes is petroleum-based fuels or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends used to power airplanes. They have more requirements than fuels used for ground use, such as road transport, and contain additives to enhance or maintain properties critical to fuel performance or handling. They are kerosene-based (JP-8 and Jet A-1) for gas turbine-powered aircraft. Piston-engined aircraft use gasoline, and those with diesel engines may use jet fuel.
If you want to read details of what this fuel contains, this fuel operating system etc. visit given site;
www. bharatpetroleum. in/.../about-aviation. aspx
www. bharatpetroleum. in/.../... ts-and-services. aspx

[Citizenkirk]

Plains have a curved wing geometry that gives them lift from negative air pressure on top, positive air pressure on the bottom. Their engines use a type of fuel that burns especially hot. This gives turbines or propellers faster rotation. This means more forward momentum.

[exitseven]

No, the the cross section of the wing would show that the top section has more surface area than the bottom which causes a difference in pressure , creating lift.

Airplane wing

Airplanes use high octane gasoline for fuel. Jets use a fuel similar to diesel fuel.

[AndrésC64]

Jets run on a type of kerosene.

Plains can fly because of the shape of the wing. The air over the top of the wing gets "stretched out" and creates a lower pressure than the air on the bottom of the wing. This difference in air pressure between the top and the bottom of the wing give the plane lift. This is the Bernoulli effect. That's the very very short version.

[IMuser]

Refined petroleum i guess..
Basically the more potent form of the petrol we use in our everyday lives.

[Kaneki05]

That's like wondering how a car works. no... no I do not it's fairly obvious.

[bolverk]

Nope, do not wonder how planes fly - basic physics, and the fuel they use is the same as what is used in oil fired heating boilers and oil lamps - Kerosene - the formula is tweaked slightly.

[ibodi]

probably know it, it is not so difficult as what we image

[skyeee_]

that's like studying about why is mitochondria the powerhouse of cell.

[jahaims]

No, I understand basic physics and know what jet fuel is.

[SnakeBoop]

no. because google is a thing.

[HeartBreaker007]

Why so rude?

[SnakeBoop]

@HeartBreaker007 none of that was rude. but if you want to be over sensitive over a sentence, you do you boo.
now you see, that one was kind of rude. see the difference?

[HeartBreaker007]

I get a condescending vibe from you.

[SnakeBoop]

@HeartBreaker007 then thats a you problem :)

[Andres77]

It's magic. Didn't you know?

[Redstang88]

Basic physics and jet fuel

[Wise4myage]

They use fuel that is very high in octane.