Many airplanes feature a ram air turbine. It’s a source of emergency power. When flying, airplanes will use an engine-driven generator or alternator as their primary source of power. For emergency power, though, they may use a ram air turbine.
What Is a Ram Air Turbine?
A ram air turbine is a propeller-based auxiliary power system. While available in different types, most ram air turbines consist of a few basic parts: a propeller and a generator. If an airplane’s primary source of power fails, it may use the ram air turbine. The ram air turbine will provide auxiliary or emergency power.
Keep in mind that ram air turbines aren’t used to generate propulsion. Some airplanes do, in fact, have a propeller propulsion system. Rather than one or more jet engines, they feature one or more propellers. Airplanes may use these propellers to generate propulsion.
Ram air turbines are not used to generate propulsion. Rather, they are used to generate auxiliary or emergency power. They may look like normal, albeit small, propellers, but ram air turbines serve a different purpose by providing emergency power.
How Ram Air Turbines Work
Ram air turbines are essentially miniature wind turbines. Wind turbines generate power by leveraging a propeller and generator. As the propeller’s blades spin, it will turn the generator. The propeller is connected to a rotor, and the rotor is connected to a shaft in the generator. Ram air turbines use this same principle to generate power.
Most airplanes don’t have multiple ram air turbines. Rather, they have a single ram air turbine. It’s typically located in a hidden compartment within the fuselage. If the airplane’s primary power source fails, the pilot will deploy it. Deploying the ram air turbine will move it out of the hidden compartment. The ram air turbine’s propeller will be exposed to the passing air, allowing it to spin while subsequently generating power.
The Importance of a Ram Air Turbine
Why do airplanes need a ram air turbine exactly? All airplanes need some source of auxiliary or emergency power. Power systems can fail. If an airplane’s primary power source fails, critical flight control functions may go offline.
A ram air turbine is an effective and reliable source of emergency power. It uses the air passing over an airplane’s fuselage to generate power. Assuming the ram air turbine has been deployed, it will spin. The spinning ram air turbine will then turn a generator, thus generating emergency power for the airplane.
