Pilot lets car mechanics `fix' copter, grounded

"IS AIRCRAFT ENGINE "totally" DIFFERENT" ?

Well, yes and no - along with a couple of "maybe's" thrown in for good measure! Let's see if I can help out here.

When we say "engine", we typically mean some device for turning some kind of fuel into some kind of motion.

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of engines - "EXTERNAL" combustion engines, like for example, a steam engine or jet / turbine engine. These have an "open" combustion chamber that turns the fuel (typically coal or some kind of petrol-based liquid) into an expanding gas. In the case of a steam locomotive, that expanding gas (steam) pushes pistons around that makes motion. In the case of a jet or turbine engine, the hot gases may blow out the back of the vehicle, either directly, or thru a additional fan that drives a propeller.

Most surface vehicles use an INTERNAL combustion engine of some kind, in which some fuel (typically gasoline or diesel) expands in a CLOSED combustion chamber, pressing against a piston, which in turn presses down on a connecting rod that converts the "up & down" motion into rotary motion, which is then used to move a vehicle.

While there is some similarity between INTERNAL combustion engines used in aviation, and those used for surface vehicles, the differences are great enough that we require separate licenses for each. Because TURBINE (or "external combustion" engines are so much more expensive and fuel-hungry, we don't find them used much in surface transportation.

Hope this gives you a satisfactory answer to your question.