While it's fairly common knowledge to enthusiasts that the first jet fighter was the speedy Messerschmitt Me 262, introduced in 1944, the invention of the turbine jet itself may not be as widely known ...

Looking at how commercial aircraft engines have evolved over time.

A turbofan engine, on the other hand, is designed to move huge amounts of air to propel an aircraft forward. At lower subsonic speeds, it does this quite well. Faster than that, aerodynamic drag ...