Watching a fighter jet take off is a beautiful sight. Anyone who hasn't been to an air show should really try to see one of the incredible air shows that captivate aviation enthusiasts worldwide at least once. Once you get past the roaring crescendo of its engines revving up, seeing a fighter jet race down the runway before lifting off the ground and soaring through the sky with a trail of fire erupting from its tail is a truly enlightening sight.
It shows you just how far technology has advanced since the Wright Brothers. Take away the incredible features in modern fighter jets like the hidden weaponry and science behind stealth capabilities and you're still left with a vehicle capable of amazing feats unimaginable more than half a century ago. The afterburner that gets the jet off the ground and up to sound breaking speeds alone is a technological marvel.
Most people take it for granted, not realizing the science that goes into moving a jet at supersonic speeds. A plane can get off the ground without an afterburner — passenger planes do it all the time. But modern-day fighter jets would be hard pressed to take off without an afterburner.
Fighter jets are considerably heavier than prop planes from World War II between the materials used to manufacture them and their armament. They need to stay small and fast, so even the engines on a Boeing 747 wouldn't work. The afterburner gives jets that little extra boost to takeoff.
Afterburners are used on modern day fighter jets to .
