Mechanical/electrical engineering?????

Question

hi i love math and science and would liek to be a mechanical/electrical engineer and build stuff liek helicopter adn planes and boats and stuff liek that now i am only 13 so what projects can i do that will prep me for that kind of jobs later? i have a ton of knex and legos i am also GREAT with computers so can u giev me a project to make involving engineering a helicopter type thing that involves computers ? thaks a load

ps can u tell me how much a mechanical/electrical engineer makes?

Answer 1

I work for the government as an aviation engineer. My degree is in electrical, but I work in with mechanical and aerospace people all the time. And I also teach the principles of flight and aviation to kids at public schools in my spare time. I primarily work in helicopters (rotary wing) aircrafts.

If you want to work on planes I would consult NASA's website for kids tons of ideas there.

Anyway getting back to it. The easiest way to explain it is if you take an electrical fan and feel the air coming out is the thrust. Thrust is what actually lifts the copter off the ground. You must first figure out how much weigh your going to put in the actual aircraft. Stupid line more weight=more thrust needed(there's more to it but that's the easy explanation), also your going to figure how much actual power you can get out of the motor you use. To be honest I wouldn't suggest using Knex or Legos I'd use would or cheap plastic to save on weight. There are tons of design specs on the web just try to make a device that's lite with a motor that's powerful and something to control the steering.

Good Luck

P.S. Don't worry about the tail fin for a model putting a device to spin that will add to the weight and drain the battery