Aero Design: Explore Hobby Flight Projects

[Mech King]

Afternoon everyone,

I am becoming more interested in aerospace engineering -for a hobby more than anything. I am a mechanical design engineer, but have neve really crossed over into the basics of helicopter and plane design.

I have recently Just finished designing a combat robot, and after doing so, i stopped and thought to myself "i know this is going to work", which took all of the buzz out of it for me. So i started thinking about flight and the challenges associated with it (especially from a novice poinbt of view) and am very interested in becoming more proficient and capable of designing hobby type flight projects.

Can anyone recommend a good book for a practicing mechanical designer?

Sorry for the cheesy background lol

Best Regards,

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Well since you are a mechanical engineer and know how to calculate stresses and deflections in structures, you'll basically just have to read up on some basic aerodynamic principles to do with fins and fluids.

This book "https://www.amazon.com/dp/0911295402/?tag=pfamazon01-20" looks like it might be a good starting point for an engineer to me. It has descriptions of many aerodynamic formulas to do with airfoils and aerodynamic principles. Paired with your mechanical background and understanding of strength of materials, you should be able to get a good jump on some aircraft designs.

 

[Mech King]

Thank you for this, exactly what I am after, i will try and get copy.



Many thanks

 

[socrunningman]

if you are in for a real challenge try airship engineering, a few years ago I constructed a "small" rigid airship based on Zeppelin's LZ3 it has a whole ton of little problems to deal with and not many answers lying around, I had to learn about aerostatics, aerodynamics, hybrid lift systems, hydrogen generation(I was half expecting/hoping for the hydrogen to ignite, after many successful flights the infamous Tacoma winds sent my poor TH001 into the trees after a long struggle against the wind) and structural engineering. I might do another model again in a few years, I want to make one in the form of the Macon, with a airplane catch and launching system(yet another series of challenges) Just an Idea

~socrunningman

 

[Roughnet13888]

if you are in for a real challenge try airship engineering, a few years ago I constructed a "small" rigid airship based on Zeppelin's LZ3 it has a whole ton of little problems to deal with and not many answers lying around, I had to learn about aerostatics, aerodynamics, hybrid lift systems, hydrogen generation(I was half expecting/hoping for the hydrogen to ignite, after many successful flights the infamous Tacoma winds sent my poor TH001 into the trees after a long struggle against the wind) and structural engineering. I might do another model again in a few years, I want to make one in the form of the Macon, with a airplane catch and launching system(yet another series of challenges) Just an Idea

~socrunningman

Cool, Nice idea anyway.

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