4 ms·
> Jet aircraft were actually flying by the 1940s, and those engines were built using the relatively primitive metallurgical and manufacturing techniques of the
by KineticLensman 8y ago
> Jet aircraft were actually flying by the 1940s, and those engines were built using the relatively primitive metallurgical and manufacturing techniques of the day
Yes, and the Junkers Jumo 004 jet engine used in the ME 262 "only had a service life of some 10–25 hours" (!) after which time it had to be replaced [0]. Admittedly German industry lacked raw materials to do better metallurgy, but in the 1940s there was a long way to go in terms of designing jet engines
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Jumo_004 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Jumo_004
- southern_cross 8y agoJet engines today are also routinely torn down, inspected, and rebuilt if necessary - much more often than piston engines are, I gather. But that's because of the overall materials stress and the necessary safety factors involved, not because of any general mechanical complexity. I mean, I guess you can count having all of those individual blades as being "complex", but in reality these are just the parts that make up mechanically simple fans and compressors and such.
- sunstone 8y agoTrue and jet engines didn't really become viable until the discovery/invention of the inconel alloy that could operate at very high temperatures.