Does flying in rain or humid air affect jet engine performance?

Question

I ask this because I believe that jet engines take in surrounding air then compress it and introduce fuel then ignite it. Wouldn't moist air be harder to compress and ignite?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Not necessarily, but sometimes you can tell a small difference.

Answer 3

Humid air has no noticeable effect. Heavy rain could have an effect if the throttles are at the flight idle setting. If the fuel flow is low enough and the water droplets are large enough, and if those droplets are ingested into the core and not the bypass, then the engine may flameout. In order to avoid this, all jet engines must be subjected to water ingestion testing to demonstrate that their flight idle condition will withstand the worst case expected water ingestion (with design margin) that they can encounter. This is a part of certification testing, which must be accomplished before the engine is approved for flight.

Answer 4

Technically, yes.  But, not in the way you would expect.  Rain, for example, could actually boost engine performance.  In older jets, water used to be injected to cool air mass, thereby making it denser going in the engine.  The more air that goes through the engine, the higher the performance.

Humidity on the other hand, which is usually associated with high temps will make the air mass less dense going to engine, reducing its performance.  

Either of these effects are really negligible in modern jet engines.  It makes more of a difference in reciprocating engined aircraft.

Answer 5

I went through the Garrett school out on PHX years ago.. and they took a firehose, and shot it directly in the inlet of one of their engines sitting on a test stand...  FULL BLAST...  and then STARTED the engine.

That will give you a little confidence the next time you are flying in heavy rain.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

i don't think so,

Answer 8

Not as much as heat and altitude like, say, Amarillo in August, 110º and 3700 feet on the ground.