Aircrewman Mechanical (AWF) Test 3 Practice 2026 - Free Aircrewman Mechanical Exam Questions and Study Guide

In turbomachinery, blades are either mounted on the rotating shaft (rotor) or fixed in place (stator). The stationary blades—those that do not rotate—are called stator vanes. Their job is to guide and condition the flow between the rotating stages, directing the gas to the right angle so the next rotor can efficiently extract or add energy. Rotor vanes, by contrast, are attached to the rotating disk and spin with it, transferring energy to or from the fluid. Inlet guide vanes are also fixed and serve to shape the flow at the entrance, but the standard term for the stationary blades between stages is stator vanes, making them the correct choice.