Quick Answer Summary: The Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone is a 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine producing 1,200 horsepower at 2,500 rpm, displacing 29.88 liters, and manufactured under license by Studebaker during World War II . The R-1820 Cyclone began in 1927 at just 575 horsepower, but progressive development pushed later variants past 1,200 hp. The -97 dash … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The Honeywell TPE331-12JR is a turboprop engine producing approximately 1,100 shp, a modern variant of the TPE331 family that has powered regional aircraft since the 1960s. The TPE331 is unusual among turboprops: it uses a single-spool design with the propeller driven through a reduction gearbox rather than a free power turbine. That … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The Mikulin AM-38F is a 46.9-liter supercharged V12 piston engine producing 1,720 horsepower, the powerplant of the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik ground-attack aircraft. The AM-38F was designed for a single purpose: to haul the heavily armored Il-2 through low-altitude attacks while absorbing battle damage. It prioritized low-altitude power and durability over high-altitude performance, … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The Pratt & Whitney PW4000-100 is a high-bypass turbofan producing up to 68,000 lbf thrust, one of three engine options on the Airbus A330. The PW4000-100 was Pratt & Whitney’s entry into the A330 competition, competing directly with the CF6-80E1 and Trent 700. It used a single-stage fan with a 100-inch diameter … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The General Electric T700-GE-701D is a turboshaft engine producing approximately 1,994 shp, the powerplant of the UH-60M Black Hawk and AH-64D/E Apache. The T700 is the most-produced turboshaft in the Western world, and the -701D variant represents its mature military standard. Two T700s give the Black Hawk its lift and the Apache … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The de Havilland Goblin is a centrifugal-flow turbojet producing 3,100 lbf thrust, the engine of the de Havilland Vampire and the second British turbojet to enter service. The Goblin was Frank Halford’s follow-up to the Whittle W.2, and it simplified the centrifugal layout into a single-sided impeller with a single combustion chamber. … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The Lycoming IO-360-L2A is a 361-cubic-inch fuel-injected horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine producing 180 horsepower at 2,700 rpm, the standard powerplant of the Cessna 172S Skyhawk. The IO-360-L2A is the engine that most modern private pilots will fly behind at some point: the Cessna 172S is the world’s most-produced training aircraft, and the … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The Rolls-Royce RB211-524H is a three-spool high-bypass turbofan producing 60,600 lbf thrust, the final and most powerful RB211 variant, powering the Boeing 747-400. The RB211 nearly bankrupted Rolls-Royce in the early 1970s, but its three-spool architecture proved so sound that successive 524 variants powered 747s, 757s, and 767s for decades. The -524H, … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The Junkers Jumo 004 is an 8-stage axial-flow turbojet producing 1,980 lbf thrust, the first turbojet to enter mass production and the engine of the Messerschmitt Me 262. The Jumo 004 was not a good engine by any normal measure—it had a service life measured in tens of hours and demanded careful … Read more
Quick Answer Summary: The Klimov VK-1 is a centrifugal-flow turbojet producing 5,952 lbf thrust, the engine that powered the MiG-15 and shocked Western air forces over Korea. The VK-1 began life as a licensed Rolls-Royce Nene, but Soviet engineers reworked it with their own materials and manufacturing until it outperformed the original. When MiG-15s appeared … Read more