Why have gas-turbine engines almost completely replaced piston engines in aircraft propulsion?

Gas-turbine engines have largely replaced reciprocating (piston) engines for aircraft propulsion because they offer significant advantages in design, performance, and operational efficiency.

The primary reasons for this transition include:

• Mechanical Simplicity and Reliability: Unlike piston engines, which rely on complex reciprocating parts to convert up-and-down motion into rotary motion, gas turbines employ rotating parts. This design makes them far simpler, more reliable, and easier to maintain.12
• Power-to-Weight Ratio: For an equivalent power output, a gas-turbine engine is much smaller and lighter than a reciprocating engine. Because aircraft design prioritizes minimizing weight and volume, the high specific power of the gas turbine makes it a superior choice.123
• Performance Potential: Gas turbines have a much greater capacity for generating power. While they consume fuel at a faster rate than piston engines, they utilize less expensive fuel, which contributes to their overall cost-effectiveness in large-scale applications.12
• Operational Efficiency: Modern variants, such as the turbofan, move large volumes of air at slower speeds, which increases efficiency while simultaneously reducing noise and fuel consumption.2

These factors combined have made the gas turbine the standard for modern aviation.2