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Airplane Engine Placement

We are used to seeing the engines of airplanes. Nowadays, they are mostly located under the wings, allow us to watch them even while we are flying. However, engines have been located in very different places throughout aviation history. We wanted to investigate this subject a little more and see the diversity. It was the first time we encountered some designs and we were amazed. Frankly, we did not know that aviation history had such different, bold and sometimes extreme designs. There are various reasons for this; such as safety, allocation of required power, arranging space for weapons, adjusting additional fuel location, increasing aerodynamic efficiency, facilitating maintenance, ground/water clearance etc. Our article has turned into a much more colorful and rich content than we expected.

The models on this page are sample models selected for a specific engine location. There are other models with the same design, but we have selected the most distinctive ones. Almost every model alone has its own unique features that are worth researching in depth. We enjoyed preparing this article, so we hope you enjoy reading it.

Important Note: If by any chance, there is a picture which is subjected to copyright, we apoligize and ask you let us know please so we can replace or remove it. 

Single Tractor Propeller

Cessna 208 Caravan
Cessna 208 Caravan
Cirrus SR22
Cirrus SR22

Single Contra-Rotating Tractor Propeller

Spitfire MK XIX   
Spitfire MK XIX   
 P-51XR Mustang
 P-51XR Mustang

Twin Tractor Propeller

  
ATR-72                                                                      Beechcraft King Air 300

Triple Tractor Propeller

  
Junkers Ju-52                                                            Britten-Norman Trislander

Quad (Four) Tractor Propeller

Airbus A400M 
Airbus A400M 
ShinMaywa US-2
ShinMaywa US-2

Quad Tractor Contra-Rotating Propeller

Tupolev Tu-95 Bear 
Tupolev Tu-95 Bear 
Antonov AN-22
Antonov AN-22

Six Tractor Propeller

  
Junkers Ju-390                                                                     Blohm & Voss BV 238

Eight Tractor Propeller


Howard Hughes

Single Pusher Propeller

  
BD-5 Micro                                                                      Velocity XL


OTTO-Celera-500L

Single Contra-Rotating Pusher Propeller

  
Sud-Ouest SO 8000 Narval                                          B-42 Mixmaster

Twin Pusher Propeller

  
Saras                                                                                       Piaggio P-180

Quad Pusher Contra-Rotating Propeller


Northrop XB-35

Six Pusher Propeller

  
Convair B-36 Peacemaker                                    

Tractor and Pusher Propeller Combination

  
Adam A500                                                                  Cessna Skymaster


Dornier Do X

Ekranoplans

  
Alexeyev A-90 Orlyonok                                                           Alexeyev Ekranoplan

Amphibious Aircraft

Lake Buccaneer     
Lake Buccaneer     
Icon A5
Icon A5


Lisa Akoya Hydroplan

Twin-Boom Tractor Propeller


Hughes XF-11

Twin-Boom Jet in the Fuselage


de Havilland Vampire

Twin-Fuselage Tractor Propeller


F-82 Twin-Mustang

Engines on the Wingtips

  
Vought V-173                                                         Bell MV-22 Osprey


CL-400 Suntan

Engines by the Fuselage


Sikorsky (S-72) X-Wing

Engines Inside the Wings

  
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit                        Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

Engines Inside the Fuselage

  
F-16                                                                  Grumman X-29

  
F-4 Phantom                                                                 Virgin Galactic

  
Sukhoi Su-57                                                                Douglas X-3 Stiletto

Engines on the Tail

  
Ilyushin 62M                                                                    Boeing 727

Trijets

  
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar                                           McDonnell Douglas DC-10

Twin Jets on Top of the Wings

  
Beriev BE-200                                                               Antonov An-72

  
VFW Fokker-614                                                            Honda Jet

Single Jet on Top

  
Cirrus-G2 Vision Jet                                                        Eclipse 400

Centrally Positioned Engines

  
Edgley EA-7 Optica                                                    Stipa Caproni

Jets Under the Wings

  
Airbus A350                                                                   B-52

  
Boeing 747                                                                   Antonov An-225 Mriya

Special Purpose Airplane Engine Under the Wings


Virgin Galactic

Supersonic Jet Engines Under the Wings

  
Concorde                                                                           Tupolev Tu-160

Engines under the Wings, on Wingtips and Tail (Electric Planes)

  
Joby                                                                                      Lilium    

Asymmetric Aircraft Engines


Rutan Model 202 Boomerang