Definition
An aircraft powered by one or more turbojet engines, in which thrust is produced entirely by the high-velocity jet of exhaust gases expelled rearward from the engine. Air is drawn in, compressed, mixed with fuel and burned, then expanded through a turbine and out a nozzle to generate forward thrust.
Plain English
An aircraft pushed forward by the force of hot gas shooting out the back of its engines, rather than by a propeller.
Context Anchor
You may see this term in FAA and ATC material when aircraft type or performance matters, especially for speed, climb, routing, or traffic handling.
Derivation
‘Turbo’ comes from the Latin turbo meaning ‘whirl’ or ‘spinning top,’ referring to the spinning turbine inside the engine. ‘Jet’ refers to the high-speed stream of exhaust gas. Together: an aircraft propelled by a turbine-driven jet of exhaust.
Why Pilots Care
Turbojet aircraft have very different performance, climb profiles, and handling characteristics than propeller aircraft. ATC often issues separate instructions, speeds, and separation standards for turbojets, and many published procedures specify turbojet-only or non-turbojet routings.
Intuition Check
Do not assume “turbojet aircraft” means every airplane people casually call a jet. Here, the word points to a specific engine type: thrust comes mainly from the high-speed exhaust leaving the engine.
Example Sentence 1
ATC assigned a higher initial climb speed because the traffic ahead was a turbojet aircraft.
Example Sentence 2
Before departure the crew calculated takeoff distance using the performance charts for their specific turbojet aircraft.