Aircraft Engines
Piston vs Turboprop vs Jet
Currently there are 3 major types of engines: piston, turboprop, jet (or Turbofan).
Turboprop is basically a jet engine connected to a propeller.
Both piston and turboprop are propeller driven, however
- piston: low cost, low fuel burn.
- turboprop: simpler, lighter, more powerful, but with a higher cost and higher fuel burn.
Jet Engines
The big 3 engine makers:
- GE Aviation (GE), a subsidiary of General Electric, largest market share
- Rolls-Royce (RR), 2nd largest
- Pratt & Whitney (PW), a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies
And 2 joint-ventures:
- Engine Alliance (EA) is a 50/50 joint venture between GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, and Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies.
- CFM International (CFM) is a 50-50 joint venture between American GE Aviation and French Safran Aircraft Engines. CFM makes LEAP ("Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion") engines
Here's a summary of the current and future airliners (that's why you do not see 757 or 747-400 here):
| GE | EA | PW | RR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A220 | PW1500G | |||
| A319/320/321 | CFM56-5B | IAE V2500A5 | ||
| A319neo/320neo/321neo | LEAP-1A | PW1100G | ||
| A330 | CF6 | PW4000 | Trent 700 | |
| A330neo | Trent 7000 | |||
| A350 | Trent XWB | |||
| A380 | GP7200 | Trent 900 | ||
| B737 NG | CFM56-7B | |||
| B737 MAX | LEAP-1B | |||
| B747-8 | GEnx-2B67 | |||
| B777-200/200ER | GE90 | PW4000 | Trent 800 | |
| B777-300 | PW4000 | Trent 800 | ||
| B777-200LR/300ER/777F | GE90 | |||
| B777X | GE9X | |||
| B787 | GEnx-1B | Trent 1000 | ||
| C919 | LEAP-1C | |||
| Irkut MC-21 | PW1400G |
A few observations:
- EA only makes GP7200 for A380. Once A380 is discontinued in the near future, would this joint venture dissolve?
- Trent engine family covers the most of the wide-bodies: A330, A340, A350, A380, B777, B787.
- LEAP is used in all next generation mainline narrow-bodies: LEAP-1A for A320neo, LEAP-1B for B737 MAX, and LEAP-1C for the future C919
- PW covers smaller jets, except for (soon to be deprecated?) PW4000. PW1000G competes with LEAP.
Regional Jets: the older generations were using GE's CF34, while the newer generations are using PW engines.
| GE | PW | |
|---|---|---|
| ARJ 21 | CF34 | |
| CRJ 700/900/1000 | CF34 | |
| E170/175/190/195 | CF34 | |
| E175-E2 | PW1715G | |
| E190-E2/E195-E2 | PW1919G/21G/22G/23G | |
| Mitsubishi M90/M100 | PW1200G |
PW1000G Family
- Airbus A320neo: PW1100G (alongside the CFM International LEAP-1A)
- Airbus A220: PW1500G
- Embraer E-Jet E2 family : PW1700G E-Jet E2 175 & PW1900G E-Jet E2 190/195 (exclusive)
Turboprop Engines
Almost all still in production turboprop airliners chose Pratt & Whitney (PW).
PW100
PW100: 1,800 to 5,000 shp (shaft horsepower)
| Aircraft | Engine | Power |
|---|---|---|
| ATR 42-600 | PW127M | 1,953 kW |
| ATR 72-600 | PW127M | 1,953 kW |
| Dash 8 Q400 | PW150 | 3,782 kW |
| M60/M600 | PW127J | 2,051 kW |
| M700 | PW150C |
PT6
PT6A turboprop engine covers the power range between 580 and 1,940 shp. Used by smaller turboprops: King Air, Cessna 208, PC-12, TBM, Air Tractor, etc.
- PT6A: turboprop
- PT6B/C are turboshaft variants for helicopters.
- PT6E: the PT6E is a large PT6A derivative equipped with digital engine control. (used on TBM 960)
Piston Engines
Light aircraft: MTOW <= 12,500 lb (5,670 kg)
Light piston aircraft engines can either use AvGas or Jet Fuel (with a Diesel engine). Leaded AvGas will eventually go away, but unleaded gasoline is not widely available. Many brands come up with diesel versions (e.g. Piper Archer DX).
The FAA recently estimated that nearly 170,000 aircraft operate today on 100 low lead (LL) fuel, burning 150 to 175 million gallons annually.
The most common engines are Lycoming and Continental. Both have AvGas and Diesel engines.
To decode the engine type:
- A: Aerobatic (dry sump)
- AE: Aerobatic (wet sump)
- E: Electronic
- G: Geared (reduction gear)
- H: Helicopter
- I: Fuel Injected
- L: Left Hand Rotation Crankshaft
- M: Designed for unmanned drone
- O: Opposed Cylinders
- R: Radial Cylinders
- S: Supercharged
- T: Turbocharged
- V: Vertical installation (usually for helicopters)
- X: X-type engine
- Y: Experimental
AvGas Engine vs Diesel Engine
Diesel engines are heavier than AvGas engines (~100kg), but have better fuel economy.
Diesel engines and more costly to build, especially the fuel delivery system is much more expensive than fuel injection systems for gasoline pistons, since diesel fuel systems run at a much higher pressure to cause atomization of the fuel for a clean burn.
Lycoming Engines
Powers more than half the world's general aviation fleet, both rotary and fixed wing. A subsidiary of Textron, the parent company of Cessna and Beechcraft.
- Number: displacement (in cubic inches).
- O: Opposed engine.
- I: fuel Injection.
- T: Turbocharged.
- AE: Aerobatic.
Examples:
- IO-360: 361 in³ (5.92 L) displacement, four-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed engine; used by Cessna 172S, Piper Archer LX.
- IO-540: 541.5 in³ (8.9 L) displacement, six-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed engine; used by Cessna 182, Cessna 206.
Continental
Part of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Also owns Centurion engines as the result of Thielert acquisitions.
Builds both AvGas engines and Jet Fuel (Diesle) engines.
Centurion aircraft Diesel engines, used by Diamond D40 and D42.
Rotax
Offer both four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines. Often used in light aircraft.
air cooled or water cooled
Rotax engines are water-cooled