Jeff Wisnia wrote:
I think I understand how a (non-turbofan) gas turbine jet engine works
and that the engine's thrust comes from an "equal and opposite" reaction
to lots of air molecules being flung out the rear at very high velocities.

What I'm not sure of is the specific path through which that thrust is
"collected" and makes its way to the engine pylon and thence to the
aircraft itself.

Is it mostly through the rear turbine rotor blades and their bearings,
and maybe the front compressor blades too?

I've been wondering about this ever since Machine Design's editor Ron
Kohl wrote in a recent column that he wasn't certain about it either.

It seems to me that the thrust couple from
the burner cans to the pylon. As far as
thrust goes, the burner cans are where it's
at. Everything else is just an auxilary.