Lessons In Microsoft Flight Simulator / Leçons de vol pour les Flight Simulator de Microsoft. Tutorials. The Turbine Engine

The Turbine Engine

Important! To Read! those tutorials about the night VFR and IFR ratings, and about flying the airliners are not as accurate and reliable than those dedicated to the VFR flights. It's because we really practised the VFR flights, as we didn't ever qualify for the night VFR and the IFR ratings nor any commercial license! Our tutorials about such flights are based on our VFR experience only, and augmented with data and readings taken from the Internet! People who would like to find in those the same level of accuracy and details than in our VFR tutorials, should better turn to further websites or source. People who are just looking for a honest level of realism might be satisfied already with the level of our tutorials about the night VFR, IFR flights, and the ones aboard an airliner

Aviation engines sort into two main types with the reciprocating engine and the turbine engine. As the reciprocating engine mostly are used by GA planes, some advanced twin engine planes included, the turbine engine are featured by commercial planes and airliners. They have increased performance and are easier to use

Turbine engine are mostly known by the general public under their other name of jet engine. The turbine engine brings air into, compresses and ignites it at the exhaust gas are expelled at high speed backwards, which generates thrust. Turbine engines come into three types

turbojet is the most ancient type of jet engine. Air is brought into through a air inlet. The compressor section passes it at a high rate of speed to the combustion chamber. The combustion chamber contains the fuel inlet and igniter for combustion. The expanding air drives a turbine, which is connected by a shaft to the compressor, sustaining engine operation. The accelerated exhaust gases from the engine provide thrust. Turbojets were limited in terms of distance and endurance and they were slow to respond at low compression speeds
the turborprop engine was the following step after the turbojet. A turboprop is a jet engine attached to a propeller as the exhausted gas at the turbin are RPM reduction geared to the propeller. Here was -and still is- a compromise between turbojet engines and reciprocating powerplants. Turboprop engines are much more efficient than turbojets at speeds between 250 and 400 m.p.h. and altitudes between 18,000 and 30,000 feet. By higher speeds, the propellers are loosing efficiency and turbojets and turbofans become the best choice
turbofan is the most recent type of turbine engine as it combines some of the best features of the turbojet and the turboprop. A large diameter turbine located at the engine entrance allows for circulating of large mass of air with a part of the airflow used by the typical jet mechanism as the other is accelerated air bypassing the combustion chambers and generating increased thrust, cooling the engine, and aiding in exhaust noise suppression

Also to know that the turboshaft engine allows, for example, to the work of the rotor of a helicopter on the same basis than the turborprop. The air is not exhausted as it serves to rotate a turbine linked to the rotor. A turboshaft is also the engine which is powering the airliners' auxiliary power unit (APU) which provides electrical power the craft from the tail

Turbine engine controls are simplier than those of a reciprocating engine. For exemple, automatic fuel control system are in charge of mixing the air with fuel in the combustion chambers. The main action, as far as a turbofan is concerned, consists into the gas throttle only. You will keep in mind however that the reaction of a turbine engine is slow and that any additional need in power must be anticipated. A turbine engine, on the other hand, is featuring the following specific features

the EPR, or engine pressure ratio is indicating the power output of a turbojet/turbofan engine in terms of ratio of turbine discharge to compressor inlet pressure
exhaust gas temperature. Here there is a important aspect to the turbine engines, which is that the temperature of a turbine section must be monitored closely to prevent overheating the turbine blades and other exhaust section components and deterioration of the engine. The exhaust gas temperature (EGT) gauge is one of the related gauges, or the interstage turbine temperature (ITT), with further possible gauges
N1, that famed FS value, represents the rotational speed of the first, low pressure compressor as it is presented as a percentage of design RPM
N2 represents the rotational speed of the second, high pressure compressor as it is presented as a percentage of design RPM
the torque, like a force applied to a shaft, is a value specific to turboprop and turboshaft. It is the measurement of the power yielded by the engine as measured like the force applied to the shaft which powers the propeller or rotor

Oil pressure, oil temperature, engine RPM, fuel flow along with vibrations rate come to add to the turbine engine gauge. As far as a turboprop is concerned, a plane obviously features a propeller pitch control as such a propeller works like a GA plane typical adjustable-pitch propeller. Power inversion are too a characteristic of turbine engines with the exhaust gas diverted forwards to slow the plane after landing

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