Patent ID: 8014913

Claim:
A system comprising: a jet engine on an airplane, the jet engine further including: a housing having an inlet end and an outlet end, a compressor for compressing gases, the compressor located between the inlet end and the outlet end, a speed control communicatively coupled to the compressor for controlling a speed of the compressor, a first pressure sensor positioned near the inlet end of the jet engine and configured to measure a first pressure, and a second pressure sensor positioned near the outlet end of the jet engine and configured to measure a second pressure; and a controller that is operatively coupled to the speed control and configured to control the speed control to maintain a ratio of the second pressure divided by the first pressure at a controlled first value in a range of 0.9 to 1.15 at a plurality of descent altitudes at which the jet engine, if set to idle, would have a ratio of the second pressure divided by the first pressure of less than the first value in order to minimize the jet engine acting as a speed brake for the airplane during a descent of the airplane.