What are the two basic ways that aircraft propel themselves?

Question

What are the two basic ways that aircraft propel themselves?

Answer 1

I think you do propeller and jet

Those are basic.

Answer 2

there  are jet propulsion---(propeller push) and (propeller pull) type---then experimental planes have rocket propulsion---and J.A.T.O ----(jet assisted take off)---usually on military aircraft---then the turbo propeller---(turbo prop)---then the helicopter which is reffered to as rotary prop---most comin today are jet and prop--

Answer 3

These days it is either the turboprop or jet engine.  

If you don't know the difference, then look it up on Howthingswork.com.....

used to be that propellers pulled airplanes through the air.  Those days are no more.  Too much wasted horsepower.  

Remember the Spitfire and Hurricane.   They saved the world from oblivion...

Answer 4

All airplanes are propelled by a mechanism of thrust acting in accordance with Newton's Third Law of Motion, which states that every action produces an equal and opposite reaction.

The thrust that propels an airplane can be generated either by...



(a) a turbojet engine that produces thrust in the form of exhaust gasses escaping from the nozzles of the engines to the rear, resulting in forward motion as dictated by the Third Law of Motion;

(b) a fanjet engine that produces thrust in the form of a combination of exhaust gasses and compressed air from the fan portion of the engine;

(c) a turboprop engine, which produces thrust in the form of a column of accelerated air from a propeller driven by a gas turbine engine; or

(d) a piston engine powered propeller, which produces thrust in the form of a column of accelerated air from a propeller driven by a gasoline or diesel engine.

If you had to boil that down to two ways, I guess you would say, "Thrust from a propeller or thrust directly from an engine exhaust."

For more information, including pictures and diagrams, try an internet search on "Newton's Third Law of Motion," or "aircraft propulsion," or "airplane engines."

Have fun...

Answer 5

Propeller and jet

Answer 6

"Aircraft" is broader than airplanes. As an airplane guy, I'll leave the other categories of aircraft to others.

Answer 7

A propeller literally screws through the air which pulls the aircraft with it.

A jet engine provides thrust from burnt gases which in turn, pushes the aircraft.