Which term is the device that rotates to produce thrust on an aircraft?

Which term is the device that rotates to produce thrust on an aircraft?

• A. Engines
• B. Propellers
• C. Landing gear
• D. Aircraft

Answer: (B)

Thrust in a propeller-driven aircraft comes from a rotating set of blades that push air backward. This rotating device is a propeller. As the blades spin, they act like wings at an angle, accelerating a large mass of air rearward and creating a forward reaction force on the airplane. The engine provides the power to turn the propeller, but the propeller itself is the component that directly generates the forward push. Landing gear and the whole aircraft don’t produce thrust, and while jet engines create thrust too, they do so from exhaust rather than a spinning propeller.

Thrust in a propeller-driven aircraft comes from a rotating set of blades that push air backward. This rotating device is a propeller. As the blades spin, they act like wings at an angle, accelerating a large mass of air rearward and creating a forward reaction force on the airplane. The engine provides the power to turn the propeller, but the propeller itself is the component that directly generates the forward push. Landing gear and the whole aircraft don’t produce thrust, and while jet engines create thrust too, they do so from exhaust rather than a spinning propeller.