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Quest for Performance: The Evolution
of Modern Aircraft
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- Part II: THE JET AGE
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- Chapter 10: Technology of the Jet
Airplane
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- Background
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- [223] The highly
developed technology of the propeller-driven aircraft formed the
foundation from which the jet airplane evolved. Compared with its
propeller-driven ancestors, however, the modern jet aircraft
incorporates many refinements in such areas as structures,
materials, aerodynamics, methods of construction, and onboard
systems. A description of all these various improvements and
innovations is beyond the scope of the present discussion. In
order to exploit fully the performance potential of the jet
engine, however, certain basic configuration changes in the form
of the airplane were necessary. Wing design and wing-fuselage
integration for high-speed flight are briefly discussed in the
following paragraphs, as are certain characteristics of high-speed
aircraft at large angles of attack. Included in the discussion is
a description of some of the powerful high-lift devices employed
on most modern, long-range jet aircraft. However, the jet engine
itself and some of its variants and characteristics are considered
first.
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