Questions tagged [inlet]

Also known as intake, is an opening that feeds air to an engine, air conditioning system, oil cooler, etc.

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3 answers
325 views

XB-70 inlet duct working method

Jenkins and Landis write in their 2004 book about the XB-70, regarding its inlet duct: "Three movable panels, positioned by two hydraulic actuators, opened or closed the throat area to meet ...
6 votes
1 answer
409 views

Why should the dust protection on the Mi-17 helicopter not be used above 3000m?

The Russian Mil Mi-17 helicopters have a dust protection device fitted at engine intake (see the rounded part in front of the intake): Its checklist gives an altitude limitation from sea level to ...
0 votes
1 answer
64 views

What is the typical drag percentage of air intakes on a commercial airliner

I see several questions on the NACA ducts found on airliners Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 and I was wondering how much drag is normally generated by these inlets? As they take in air, I imagine ...
1 vote
2 answers
216 views

Why are inlet and outlet (exhaust) pressure considered to be the same in a turbojet engine?

Why do we take outlet/exhaust pressure (station 6) as the same as in inlet (station 1) ? In T-S diagram, we see that outlet temperature is much higher than inlet temperature since flow in outlet has ...
2 votes
0 answers
85 views

Why did the dividing wall separating the engine intakes of early twin-engine Westland Wessexes cause difficulties with intake anti-icing?

The Rolls-Royce1 Gnome-engined variants of the Westland Wessex helicopter family (i.e., the twin-engined versions)2 draw air for both engines from a common intake (having been designed prior to the ...
0 votes
0 answers
45 views

How does the air taken from the Gearbox Air Inlet provide the Gearbox cooling? (Also about "Main Gearbox Cooling Air Inlet")

How does the air taken from the Gearbox Air Inlet provide the Gearbox cooling? Is the air taken from the outside transmitted directly to the Gearbox, or is there a separate system? Also, I couldn't ...
1 vote
0 answers
60 views

F-22 air inlet gap [duplicate]

Why does the Raptor have what seems to me to be a significant gap between the air inlets and the body of the aircraft, rather than blending the inlets into the body?
8 votes
2 answers
991 views

What is the purpose of the vertical splitter and the NACA duct at the MQ-9 Reaper engine scoop?

The engine scoop/intake on the MQ-9 features a vertical splitter at the inlet face, as well as another smaller NACA duct on the top cowl surface just aft of the inlet lip. I am guessing the former ...
7 votes
1 answer
3k views

How does inlet spillage drag produce a lip suction effect?

From this page: Spillage drag, as the name implies, occurs when an inlet "spills" air around the outside instead of conducting the air to the compressor face. The amount of air that goes through ...
17 votes
1 answer
8k views

What are the merits of an inlet cone/spike/centerbody vs. a 2D inlet?

And which is better for a scramjet? Is a 2D inlet basically a "2D cone"? Similar to how an aerospike engine is made "2D" in the linear aerospike? What's inside the cone/spike? Or is it just hollow?
0 votes
2 answers
231 views

Why does the P-175 polecat have two separate air intakes instead of 1 like most other UAVs?

I understand that the P-175 polecat has two engines which normally would mean one air intake for each engine, however other aircraft have used 1 air intake structure for two separate engines such as ...
8 votes
1 answer
857 views

Why is the inlet cone on some subsonic engines conical (sharp)?

An inlet cone, as far as I know, is a component on an engine to guide the intake air smoothly into the compressor stage of a jet turbofan engine, it performs as a fairing(aerodynamic covering)of the ...
0 votes
1 answer
198 views

Why don't newer versions of F-16s use DSI inlets but newer Chinese jets prefer DSI?

In the above picture, we see that Chinese J-10 jets incorporated DSI inlets into their "B" and "C" versions. (2) is the purported digital image of an Indonesian F-16 block 70/72. ...
1 vote
0 answers
52 views

Is this part of the engine intake an aerodynamic component? [duplicate]

Just was seeing this image: And found out there is a component that split up the intake into two parts. Is this part of the engine intake an aerodynamic component? if so, how does it work? Edit: I ...
10 votes
1 answer
6k views

Is the nose cone of the MiG-21 adjustable in-flight?

In some of the photos I saw of the MiG-21, the nose cone was extended and in others it was shortened. So, is the nose cone of the MiG-21 adjustable in-flight to allow for increased/decreased air flow? ...
4 votes
1 answer
338 views

What is the tapered cone on the B747 CF6 engine inlet cowling?

B747 and B767s are supposed to be using exact same GE CF6 engine, and as such their components are interchangeable including inlet cowl as they show to be effective in the IPC. However some of the 747 ...
2 votes
0 answers
210 views

What are these holes on the intake of Progress D-18T which are mounted on AN-225?

I was seeing a Progress D-18T of AN-225 and saw these holes on the intake of them. What are they for?
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

What is a ram recovery point?

As aircraft speed increases, thrust tends to decrease somewhat; as the aircraft speed reaches a certain point, ram recovery compensates for the losses caused by the increases in speed. The inlet must ...
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the purpose of a movable inlet on a jet engine?

I was reading that aircraft like the F-15 and SR-71 have movable inlets. What's the purpose of this? I was also reading aircraft like the F-22 doesn't have a movable inlet. Why?
4 votes
1 answer
298 views

Why is there an intake in front of the landing gear on this C-160?

I went to a aircraft museum and saw this C-160, it has intake in front of the landing gear which is now blocked with the orange thing as you can see below in the picture below. Why is there an intake ...
15 votes
1 answer
3k views

What are those half-vanes in the engine inlet of a 707-328?

I just saw this: Source They look like IGVs but I'm not sure. What could those be? Do you know the engine?
1 vote
0 answers
46 views

Does an increase in Mach number lead to a decrease in Total Pressure Recovery (TPR) for supersonic inlets?

I am curious if the total pressure recover for supersonic inlets, in general, decrease for an increase in Mach number.
9 votes
1 answer
569 views

What are these four tubes for in the intake for an Extra 300?

The fuel-injected engine has six cylinders, so it's not a "per-cylinder" thing nor is it related to a carburetor. P.S. That screen is the entirety of the air filter. Apparently it's meant ...
2 votes
3 answers
262 views

Are there aircraft with multiple inlets for a turbojet engine?

Are there aerial vehicles which have multiple inlets with air ducts (shaped in S-forn) , which all lead the air to one single turbojet engine? I have not enough space to put just one inlet area on my ...
17 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why do the 737-100's JT8Ds, and no others, have suck-in doors?

Of the various use cases of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D (the most-produced low-bypass turbofan in history, and the second-most-produced turbofan of any description1), those installed on the 737-100 ...
1 vote
1 answer
665 views

What is a typical range of air temperature used for engine inlet cowl anti icing?

So i was searching the internet for engine inlet cowl anti icing and found that usually compressor bleed air is used to prevent the ice formation in several parts of the aircraft. I am mainly ...
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why is an air intake located on the root of the tail on some aircraft?

There is a small air intake on the root of the tail of some aircraft, especially those with engines near the end of the aircraft. What is it and why is it located there?
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why do the intake of some helicopters have a bump body?

Not all but the intake of many helicopters have a bump body. Why? e.g.
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to find capture area of an engine inlet?

I tried to relate intake pressure recovery in terms which do not involve efficiency of an inlet and capture area, i was able to formulate pressure recovery without intake efficiency but now i need to ...
17 votes
2 answers
3k views

If the intake of a running jet engine is blocked for some short duration what would be the sequence of events following it?

If the intake of a running jet engine is blocked for some short duration what would be the sequence of events following it? Will it cause any damage to the engine parts?
4 votes
1 answer
446 views

How is the flow of air through a NACA submerged inlet determined?

This question pertains to the design and/or selection of NACA submerged inlets. I am trying to understand what kind of airflow would enter a NACA submerged inlet/scoop and am looking for a good ...
0 votes
0 answers
64 views

What would an inlet look like on a hypersonic aircraft? Would it be fixed or movable?

What would an inlet look like on a hypersonic aircraft? Would it be rectangular or like a cone (assymetric). Would it move and if so how?
4 votes
2 answers
619 views

Do nose cones work well at high angles of attack?

On a lot of fighter jets, I see a heavily slanted intake, such as the F-15. I always thought this is to help ingest air at high angles of attack. However, what about something like the MiG-21? There'...
0 votes
1 answer
248 views

Why are inlet vanes used instead of variable geometry inlets to prevent compressor surge/stall?

Jet engine core axial compressors (that of subsonic turbofans anyway) are designed to keep air flowing the right way at max RPM(or close to it). Below that, the airflow slows more and more, and ...
2 votes
1 answer
248 views

How hot is supersonic intake air?

How hot is the air at the compressor inlet at supersonic speed? For instance the Concorde at mach 2.2 or other jet engines at even higher speeds.
1 vote
1 answer
67 views

Considering a piston engined aircraft, what resistance pressure would be generated within its engine bay against its cooling intake?

Consider a piston engine with all its coolers and components within an aircraft engine bay. To cool this engine, cooling intakes are positioned facing the direction of flight. Now, the condition at ...
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

How is the F-22's nacelle/engine bay ventilated?

How is the aircraft skin around the engine bay in the F-22 cooled? As in the F-35, there are scoops below the wings, which provide ram air around the engine bay, but you don't see any scoop around in ...
15 votes
1 answer
4k views

What are these small engine inlets on the Super Hornet?

Does anyone know what these two small variable inlets on top of the engines are used for on the Super Hornet? Source: navy.mil; cropped
1 vote
1 answer
937 views

Which Inlet Barrier Filter (IBF) is used in Airbus H145?

Inlet barrier filter (IBF) is an optional equipment in H145 / MBB-BK 117 / EC145 helicopters, which company Inlet Barrier Filters are used on them Donaldson, Aerometals etc.. The H145 Helionix / ...
18 votes
2 answers
6k views

Why are the intakes of some fighters not attached to the fuselage?

Look at the photo below. As you can see the intake isn't attached to the fuselage. Why? Other examples include the F-16, F-22, and F/A-18 Hornet. (F/A-18E Super Hornet Walk Around)
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

How do you design a NACA intake?

What are the construction guidelines to geometrically build a NACA intake (submerged intake) for aircrafts? The relationships between the aerodynamic performance parameters (ram recovery, drag, and ...
11 votes
2 answers
4k views

How can an F-22 Raptor reach supersonic speeds without having supersonic inlets?

The F-22 Raptor and some other jets do not have inlet spikes, yet they are able to achieve supersonic speeds. How is that possible?
25 votes
3 answers
4k views

Why are turbofan inlets leaned/angled forward?

(Image Source: Wikipedia) Seeing that everything is radially symmetric (apart from the nacelle mount, naturally), I wonder why the inlet (the front part of the nacelle) is usually skewed?
0 votes
1 answer
334 views

Why is the intake of the 757 (RR) engine slanted? [duplicate]

I'm sitting looking at a 757 with Rolls-Royce engines and just noticed that the intake is slanted forward by 5-10 degrees. Anyone know why? (wikimedia.org)
29 votes
6 answers
9k views

What is this F-18 Hornet "air intake" for?

I think I read once that they served to cool the on-board computer systems, but I'm not sure.
7 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why do the inlet cones on an SR-71 retract at higher speeds while the one on a MiG-21 extends at higher speeds?

As shown by this illustration in the SR-71 flight manual, its inlet cones (spikes) retract as its speed increases: (source) Meanwhile, the Wikipedia page for the MiG-21 describes the opposite ...
19 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why is the S-duct intake on the Tu-154 uniquely oblong?

Is there an advantage to the oval/elliptical shape of the Tu-154's S-duct intake? It appears to be taller and an overall different shape than the side-mounted cowlings. This doesn't appear to be a ...
14 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is this tube in a jet engine's air intake?

I have long been wondering what is the official name of this little air intake tube located in front of the fan blades and its intended functions. I did search it on google but it was in vain. I guess ...
6 votes
1 answer
978 views

Why does a subsonic nacelle inlet have a throat before the diverging section?

Aircraft propulsion 2nd edition by SAEED FAROKHI" p.340 Aircraft propulsion 2nd edition by SAEED FAROKHI" p.123 As we can see from the image, the nacelle slightly converges towards a throat, before ...
0 votes
2 answers
172 views

In turbojet engines, does the fan play a key role in the air intake to the inlet? [closed]

In turbojet engines, does the fan play a key role in the air intake to the inlet?