Torque and Stability in Flight: How Airplanes and Helicopters Differ

while airplanes do experience torque due to their engines, they do not have to balance torque in the same way that helicopters do.

In a helicopter, the main rotor generates lift and produces torque that tends to rotate the helicopter in the opposite direction. This is countered by the tail rotor, which produces thrust in the opposite direction to the torque of the main rotor, allowing the helicopter to remain stable and maintain its heading.

In an airplane, the torque produced by the engine tends to cause the airplane to roll to one side, but this is countered by a combination of the design of the wings and the use of ailerons, which allow the pilot to adjust the amount of lift generated by each wing and keep the airplane level.

So while airplanes do experience torque, it is not necessary to balance it in the same way that helicopters do. Instead, airplanes rely on other aerodynamic principles to maintain stability and control.

How Aircraft Engines Work: An Overview of Gas Turbine Engines and Propulsion Systems

An aircraft engine is a type of propulsion system that generates the thrust necessary to propel an aircraft through the air. There are several types of aircraft engines, but the most common type is the gas turbine engine, also known as a jet engine. Here is a brief overview of how a gas turbine engine works:

Intake: The engine starts by taking in air through an intake, which compresses the air and increases its pressure.

Compression: The compressed air is then sent to the combustion chamber, where fuel is added and ignited. The resulting explosion forces the air out of the back of the engine, generating thrust.

Combustion: Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber, where it mixes with the compressed air and is ignited by a spark plug or other ignition source.

Exhaust: The resulting hot, expanding gases are then forced out of the back of the engine through a nozzle, which generates the thrust that propels the aircraft forward.

In summary, an aircraft engine works by taking in air, compressing it, adding fuel and igniting it to create an explosion, and then forcing the resulting gases out the back of the engine to generate thrust. This process is repeated continuously as the engine powers the aircraft through the air.