2007-01-17 05:15:47 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
There are a couple of different ways that reverse thrust works. For jet engines, the principle is the same. Some have "buckets" which was mentioned previously. These "buckets" fold back behind the engine exhaust and redirect the exhaust air forward. Instead of thrust being used to move the aircraft forward, it is redirected to slow the aircraft down.
Another type involves redirecting bypass air. A lot of the air that enters a jet intake is used for cooling. A relatively smaller percentage of intake air is actually used for combustion. The bypass air can be redirected forward using the same principle as stated above. The difference is that the air never makes it to the back (aft) side of the engine. There are "blocking doors" that close off the path that the air would follow toward the back of the engine. It is then redirected out of the side of the engine cowling and projected forward.
Propeller driven aircraft (turboprops) use reverse thrust as well. The propeller is essentially a small wing. A wing produces lift which is projected upward. A propeller creates "lift" that is projected forward, which we call thrust. The propeller blades actually twist to change the angle that the blade meets the air as it spins. This is done to increase efficiency. When a tuboprop uses reverse thrust, the propeller blade is twisted in such a manner that it creates thrust that is projected aft.
Hope this helps!
2007-01-17 07:29:20 · answer #1 · answered by jrc 3 · 8⤊ 0⤋
The person before me has a very informative answer, I actually learned something from it. In case you didn't understand anything, read this.
Contrary to popular belief, the air is not forced out the front of the turbine rather than the back. Instead, large panels on the outside of the engine casing usually reffered to as buckets move to a position behind of the engine to deflect the thrust forward.
On a prop plane, the tines of the prop are feathered, or change angle, to produced thrust in the opposite direction.
In neither case does the engine change direction.
Of course there is also VTOL(vertical take-off and landing) aircraft which I believe change the angle of thrust to slow down, along with air brakes, which all aircraft normally use to slow down.
Reverse thrust is normally only used in training and as a last resort.
I hope this helps, you should be able to explain all this to your friends after reading this.
2007-01-17 11:31:41 · answer #2 · answered by magykman03 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Like samisam says. And, contrary to some rubbish, reverse thrust is almost always used after landing to start slowing the aircraft to a point where the brakes can be used without undue stress on the brakes,wheels/tyres.
2007-01-17 21:41:11 · answer #3 · answered by champer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In normal flight for forward motion a jet engine's thrust flows out of the rear of the engine. To retard and aircraft on landing hydraulic rams push deflectors into the jet stream which push the engin exhaust forwards thus slowing the aircraft.
Deployment (which happened on a Boeing 767) in flight is fatal and causes disintegration of the engine and attachments
2007-01-18 21:39:56 · answer #4 · answered by andy b 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
JRC had a really good answer.
Here is a link to Wikipedia that gives a good explanation and includes pictures of the thrust reversers or "buckets".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrust_reverser
2007-01-17 14:43:14 · answer #5 · answered by MIPilot 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Works real well when you need to stop. It deflects the trust from the rear of the engine forward. No it does not shoot the air out of the front of the engine
2007-01-18 11:04:18 · answer #6 · answered by Michael L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The air is not forced out of the front of the engines. Deflectors (sometimes called buckets)at the rear of the engine deflect the thrust forward for deceleration.
2007-01-17 05:27:59 · answer #7 · answered by mark t 7 · 4⤊ 2⤋
The engine doesn't actually work backwards, but rather some cowling flaps and spoilers change the direction and path of thrust to close to forward. but the efficiency is only about %30 of the engine power.
2007-01-17 12:04:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
you pull the power lever right back once the wheels are on the runway, then you lift them up and back again, I reckon they would work in flight too to slow you down.........to the stall.. then you could practice stall and spin recovery.
Try it on flight sim first.......incase you die.
2007-01-20 21:48:33 · answer #9 · answered by ktbaron 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yeah there are things just like big tin buckets which swing out and direct the thrust in the opposite direction.
2007-01-17 05:32:02 · answer #10 · answered by Not Ecky Boy 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋