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How does a propeller generate thrust?

Updated: 9/13/2023
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14y ago

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Technically it doesn't produce thrust, it produces lift the same as a wing - each blade of the propeller is a wing just like a helicopter blade so the plane is flying or lifting in a forward direction - the backwash of a prop is produced by the air being redirected by the airfoil of the prop. Lift (or forward motion) is created by making the air pressure lower on the front of the propeller blade than the back so the aircraft is actually being pulled / pushed forward by air pressure rather than being pushed by thrust - thrust is created by the forceful ejection of fuel such as from a jet or rocket engine Not understanding why props work is why early ship propellers were so inefficient - before the principal of lift was discovered it used to be thought they worked by creating thrust, and so were designed by trial and error to create as much backwash as possible. But the backwash has little to do with how a prop works. It's one of the problems the Wright brothers had to solve with their first airplane - all props of the time were poorly designed - the brothers correctly realized the prop was a wing and designed their own props as such.

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Q: How does a propeller generate thrust?
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