Engine Development. Part 4. Turbofans go mainstream.

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By Bjorn Fehrm

Introduction

September 8, 2022, © Leeham News: Last week, we analyzed the change from turbojets to turbofans for civil air transport. The jet engine was developed for high-speed military fighters and was not ideal for subsonic airliner use.

We also dwelled on why the three major engine OEMs came to different solutions for the first-generation turbofans. Now we look at the engine that made turbofans mainstream, the Pratt & Whitney JT8.

Figure 1. The Boeing 727-100 with Pratt & Whitney JT8 engines. Source: Wikipedia.

Summary

  • The JT8 competed with the more developed Rolls-Royce Spey to engine the first US domestic jet airliner, the Boeing 727.
  • After it captured the Boeing 727, it went on to engine all US short and median haul jets of the 1960s.

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