10/27/2020 Why do airplanes with turbofan engines have to fly higher than the ones with turboprop?

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Why do airplanes with turbofan engines have to fly higher Why do some big planes still use propeller
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6 Answers What is the difference between propellers and

turboprops in military aircraft?
Anas Maaz, Airline pilot. Airbus A320/A321.
What is the most powerful propeller-driven
Updated June 26, 2020 · Author has 1.5K answers and 14.6M answer views
aircraft currently in service around the world?
The propulsive efficiency of turboprops are way higher than turbofans and a lot more than
turbojets at low speeds. As the speed of turboprops go beyond 300 knots, the efficiency
falls very steeply. This happens because propellers start creating significant amounts of
wave drag as the blades start rotating at supersonic speeds. The drag increase drops the
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If we take a look at the propulsive efficiency equation:
now
np =
2ue

where,
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ue +ua

np = Propulsive efficiency,

ue = Jet exit velocity,

ua = Jet inlet velocity.

The equations say, to get the best propulsive efficiency, the exit velocity of the engine
should be a closer value to that of the inlet velocity. If both of these velocities are equal,
the efficiency will be 100%. But this is practically impossible. As an aircraft with a turbofan
engine climbs, its True Air Speed increases. This increases the inlet velocity, reducing the
difference between the exit and inlet speeds in the engine and thus increasing the
efficiency of propulsion.

Turbofans unlike pure turbojets have a bypass. That is, not all the air that enters the engine
actually makes it thorough the core, but a large portion of it is directly sent around the
core. The principle of working is that a large mass of air is given a little acceleration. This
will produce the same amount of thrust as an engine giving a small amount of air a large
acceleration. The former is a lot more efficient as the speed of exhaust is very much
reduced. A turbojet on the hand, will start showing a huge increase of propulsive efficiency
as it goes above around 800 knots. Unlike a turbofan, a turbojet suffers a little loss of
thrust with speed. The efficiency of turbojets at high speeds can be as high as 90%!

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10/27/2020 Why do airplanes with turbofan engines have to fly higher than the ones with turboprop? - Quora
Related Questions More Answers Below
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Why do some big planes still use propeller engines rather than jets (e.g. military aircraft
such as the AC130 gunship, or commercial ones like the Bombardier Q400)?

Why do jet engines on newer airliners have the wavy teeth pattern on the rear and why did
it take so long for high-bypass turbofan engine manufacturers to discover that feature?

Why is a turbofan engine preferred for passenger aircraft?

What are the fastest modern turboprops?

What is the difference between propellers and turboprops in military aircraft?

Manish Kumar Mishra, Aerospace Engineering student at IIST, Aviation lover!

Answered June 1, 2016

Lets us understand it with no maths, only physics!

Okay, turbofan does not have to fly at high altitudes but it does, because of the
advantage it gets flying at high altitudes.

When we go higher up in atmosphere, density reduces, resistance to move through air

(drag) reduces and thus we can move at high speed without spending much energy
(showing high efficiency). Now, it is quite interesting to note that, at that altitude, aircraft
has to move at high speeds in order Continue
to generate enough lift to stay up there (why?
Reading
because density is low, and lift is proportional to density and square of vel, so

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Tim Morgan, Commercial pilot: ASEL, AMEL, ASES, G, IA

Answered May 30, 2016 · Author has 2.1K answers and 10.9M answer views

Turbofan engines are more efficient at higher altitudes. Turbofan engine performance is
more susceptible to the ratio between inlet pressure and exhaust pressure (EPR or exhaust
pressure ratio), which is a function of altitude and temperature. Turbofan engine blades are
designed to be more efficient at higher altitudes, whereas turboprops have adjustable
blade pitch for maximum efficiency at all stages of flight.
1.1K views · View 7 Upvoters

Paul Tomblin, Licensed private pilot. PP-ASEL-IA with high performance and
complex endorsements.
Answered May 30, 2016 · Author has 2.5K answers and 7.5M answer views

They fly higher because they *can* fly higher. The higher you go, the less drag you have to
deal with because the air is thinner, and so the less fuel you burn. A bit of an over
simplification, but turboprops don't fly that high because their propellers aren't as efficient
in the thinner air as jets. So they're stuck down in the thick air and the weather and
turbulence and ice producing clouds.
647 views · View 2 Upvoters

Related Questions More Answers Below

What is the most powerful propeller-driven aircraft currently in service around the world?

Why do turbofan engine jet aircraft fly so much faster than propeller aircraft even though
the vast majority of a turbofan engine's thrust comes from the ducted fan that pushes…

Why do large aircraft used by the US Air Force, such as the AC-130 use propellers over jet

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10/27/2020 Why do airplanes with turbofan engines have to fly higher than the ones with turboprop? - Quora
engines?
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Why are the engines of older jet aircraft (e.g. B-52, 707) mounted on a long pylon, whereas
newer jets (e.g. 777) have their engines almost directly mounted on the wings?

Why does the US Air Force's B-52 use inefficient turbojet engines instead of turbofan
engines like an airliner?

Patrick Bindner, pilot, fluid dynamics engineering research, 100+ R&D papers
Answered May 31, 2016 · Author has 10.1K answers and 4.7M answer views

They don’t, but they do if ATC permits them to do so. They are most fuel efficient at high
altitudes. The same can be said for turboprops as well, but they are more limited in power
& generally speaking would either be at unfavorably high power settings, or unable to
achieve the cruising altitudes of many turbo-fans.
320 views · Answer requested by Davide Leotta

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Jock McTavish, retired avionics tech. private pilot.

Answered May 30, 2016 · Author has 3.8K answers and 3.1M answer views

top notch answer earlier Quora Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering: What are the
differences between Turbofan and Turbojet?
382 views · Answer requested by Davide Leotta

Related Questions

Why do some big planes still use propeller engines rather than jets (e.g. military aircraft
such as the AC130 gunship, or commercial ones like the Bombardier Q400)?

Why do jet engines on newer airliners have the wavy teeth pattern on the rear and why did
it take so long for high-bypass turbofan engine manufacturers to discover that feature?

Why is a turbofan engine preferred for passenger aircraft?

What are the fastest modern turboprops?

What is the difference between propellers and turboprops in military aircraft?

What is the most powerful propeller-driven aircraft currently in service around the world?

Why do turbofan engine jet aircraft fly so much faster than propeller aircraft even though
the vast majority of a turbofan engine's thrust comes from the ducted fan that pushes…

Why do large aircraft used by the US Air Force, such as the AC-130 use propellers over jet
engines?

Why are the engines of older jet aircraft (e.g. B-52, 707) mounted on a long pylon, whereas
newer jets (e.g. 777) have their engines almost directly mounted on the wings?

Why does the US Air Force's B-52 use inefficient turbojet engines instead of turbofan
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