The right jet engine on the aircraft wasn't spinning...was that right?

Question

I was on a flight on an MD-80 airplane (the engines are at the rear of the plane) and before takeoff I turned to look back at the right engine and it wasn't spinning around, and it didn't for the rest of the flight when I kept checking. It sounded like it was working though, but I'm not sure.

Should that actually happen?

Answer 1

it must of been turning so fast that it looked like it wasn't    you need the fan blades to turn to run the compressor to mix compressed with the fuel for thrust. that's what i think,maybe....

Answer 2

You were luckier than that 150 people who died in the plane crash of Madrid, and that plane was a MD-82

Answer 3

Don't be an idiot.

Answer 4

The Pratt and Whitney JT8D engine on the MD-80 is different. In front of the engine, there are stator vanes, which are stationary. Their job is to smooth the airflow to the engine compressor section so it burns more efficiently.  The turbine and compressor section are behind there. They do all the spinning and produce the power. You can't see this on an MD-80 or DC-9.

Most engines you see now have a large fan out (Example B-737) front that you can see spinning. Just a newer and more efficient design that can also produce more power(thrust).

The engine was running. They haven't figured out a way to take-off on one engine. Although with fuel prices, they'd like to ;)

Answer 5

MD80s and Dc9s have rather turbojet like engines.

nowadays, airplanes have turbofan engines in which case there is a huge fan-like thing in the front that you can see spinning either because of the blur or the spiral on the cone

in this case, the turbojet-ish engines of the MD-80 have vanes in the front that smooth and stabilize the air going into the engines. You cannot see the compressor turning on those kinds of engines. The left engine probably wasn't visibly spinning either.

a good way to tell if these turbojet-like engines are running is by looking at the exhaust. Those engines emit quit a bit of smoke.

Answer 6

Because it spins frigging fast and your eye can't see it.

Answer 7

Did you look at the left engine?  It probably wasn't spinning either.  Did you ask the pilots before you exited the aircraft?  This is the kind of thing we live for, someone who doesn't know what they are talking about, telling us something is wrong that couldn't possibly be wrong.  I'm sure the pilots would have gotten a really good laugh if you had asked them about the non-spinning engine.  If you wanted to be correct and ask a question fitting your experience, you should have said that the aircraft engine looked like it wasn't spinning.  Then you would have made a lot more sense.  And, you should have said it a lot sooner.  I can't believe you sat there through the entire flight and didn't say a word.  Next time, please alert the flight attendant!  You've seen a lot of engines, that's great.

Answer 8

You were probably looking at the stator vanes.

The rotating part of the engine that you can see is the compressor.  Stator vanes look similar to the compressor blades, but they are stationary.  They are there to make sure the air enters the next compressor section properly.  The compressor spins so fast, it's barely visible... but, as I think you noticed, the stator vanes are clearly visible through the spinning compressor.

Answer 9

You can't see the engine from the outside. The only way you can know if it is working is by the exhaust. What you were most likely looking at was the protection grill that sets in front of the front turbine.

Answer 10

Nobody takes off and flies to a destination in a twin-jet aircraft with one engine inoperative.

British Airways will cross the ocean with one engine broken in a four-engine aircraft, though.

Answer 11

Many years ago I flew in a DC-9 that had problems with the left engine. After takeoff, the pilots were cycling the engine up and down in RPM [clunk-clunk-clunk], then they shut it down. We did the rest of the trip on one engine. There was no announcement, but it was obvious to me what was going on. As we landed in Boston, I turned to my neighbor and mentioned the incident; he was not aware of anything wrong.

No, you can't see it spinning, but you can sure hear it on a DC-9 or later derivative.