Technology Quarterly | Propulsion systems
Smaller planes could soon use electric propulsion
Turbofans for larger craft are improving rapidly, too
JET AIRLINERS are not, in fact, jet airliners. Though the first of the breed, the de Havilland Comet, really was powered only by sleek turbojets that fitted elegantly into its wings, it did not take engineers long to work out that a turbojet works best not by itself but as part of a bigger whole.
This article appeared in the Technology Quarterly section of the print edition under the headline “The jet set”
From the June 1st 2019 edition
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