Is 2 or 4 distinctive for long flights?
Answer
Two reasons:
a) Two or more motors (+ propeller etc.) give double (and more) thrust of one motor. It is of course also possible to install one larger motor, but often it does not exist, it is disproportionately more expensive, more difficult to maintain or fix. It is often interesting for propeller engines to replace one large one with two smaller ones, whereby the propellers have less risk of hitting the ground.
b) Redundancy and security. If a single engine fails, a single-engine aircraft is in serious trouble. Twin-engine planes can fly even further with one engine. Four-engined aircraft can often still fly sufficiently with only one engine.
Answered by
Engineer Bart Dierickx
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