In TSCC: Dungeons and Dragons, we see a flashback (flash forward?) in which Kyle and Derek come across a Terminator work gang dragging a large jet engine, then loading it under an HK.
What does Skynet need a jet engine for?
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2Related: Why are the Terminators dragging a turbofan jet engine? – TARS Aug 14 '16 at 12:52
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1Skynet was planning to send it back in time and drop it on Donnie Darko. – John Sensebe Aug 15 '16 at 02:02
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@johnSensebe - Either that or it was planning an over-elaborate "I'm your biggest fan" joke for when John Connor arrives. – Valorum Aug 15 '16 at 08:08
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I initially thought Skynet might be strapping them onto Hunter-killers.
But on rewatching the episode a second time, I realised that we do actually see them again. Skynet has turned several of them upright in order to power its Time-Displacement Equipment (TDE).
A standard B787 engine can generate upwards of 1-2 megawatts of power. Six of them in series could generate in the order of 6-12 megawatts of electricity, a very serious amount of power.
It's certainly not the most elegant of solutions (very noisy, highly breakable), but then Skynet was getting pretty desperate by this point and evidently needed to build the TDE at short notice, unlike other timelines where it was able to custom-build and dedicate an entire facility to the TDE chamber.
Valorum
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You typically wouldnt even need to add gearing or much of anything, as jet engines usually come with integrated generators to power the aircraft anyway - each engine on a 777 carries a generator capable of generating 120kVA at 400hz, 115/200volt. – Moo Aug 13 '16 at 10:05
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@moo - My thought was that they must be using the actual turbofan to act as a power source in some fashion. If for no other reason than why else would you use them instead of the small nuclear power cells to which Skynet has abundant access.? – Valorum Aug 13 '16 at 10:09
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@Moo - Moving a lot of hot air around? Sounds like like the Democrat/Republican (delete as appropriate) National Convention! – Valorum Aug 13 '16 at 14:02
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The B787, a twin engine aircraft, has an installation base in excess of 1MVA of generation capability – Naib Aug 14 '16 at 15:29
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1@Naib - You're not wrong. It looks like I've dramatically underestimated the generation capacity of these engines; http://www.afaqscientific.com/icest2013/22-Eid76.pdf – Valorum Aug 14 '16 at 15:49
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@Naib - I've edited accordingly. Have a look over and feel free to edit any corrections to my (back of a napkin) calculations. – Valorum Aug 14 '16 at 15:57