Air goes in the front, gets compressed, mixed with fuel, ignited, and blasted out the back. The reaction pushes the aircraft forward. That simple cycle powers nearly every commercial flight in the world.

Four sections handle the work. The compressor squeezes incoming air. The combustion chamber burns fuel in that air. The turbine extracts energy to drive the compressor. The nozzle accelerates the exhaust to produce thrust.

Common jet engine types

• Turbojet, the earliest design, efficient at high speed
• Turbofan, the modern standard for airliners
• Turboprop, driving a propeller for lower speeds
• Ramjet and scramjet, relying on forward motion for compression

Jet engines run hot. Turbine blades operate above the melting point of the metal they are made from, protected by cooling channels and ceramic coatings. Maintenance intervals are measured in thousands of cycles, and every hour of flight is logged against the life of each component.