Aerospace Projects: Ideas for Third-Year Aircraft Engineering Student

AI Thread Summary
A third-year aircraft engineering student seeks project ideas focused on mechanical design and testing, with some openness to avionics. Suggestions include creating an ornithopter, which offers opportunities for innovative mechanical design and precise flight control using sensors. The discussion also touches on the functionality of the pitot static and gyroscopic systems, as well as modern electronic flight displays and future instrumentation. Additionally, the student plans to develop a classroom flight simulation training device to interpret realistic flight data. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the potential for engaging and educational projects in aircraft engineering.
cw1690
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hiy there I'm a third year aircraft engineering student and looking for some project ideas. I'm am more mechanically minded so something mechanically or design and test based, how ever I'm open to avionics based things aswell. thanks a lot.

Cw
 
Physics news on Phys.org
If you want something mechanical I'd suggest trying to make an ornithopter, which is about as mechanically-inclined as it gets. I'm admittedly interested and working on designs of these myself, and I think there's a lot of opportunity here to try something new and innovative.. if you're really up for it, that is.

One thing that's really interesting is how the common house fly has less brain processing than an electric toaster has to process when toast is done, yet it flies every bit as well as any full computer processor on-board jet aircraft..

So, the idea here is that with the right sensors making almost direct influence on how the wings move you can have precise and stable flight, without all that computer hardware weighing down the ornithopter.

Well, there's many other ideas to try with ornithopters, and even getting one to fly at all is probably enough of a project in of itself. You might want to just avoid it all if you're not all that confident..
 
How in depth are you looking for this project to be? Are there any specific requirements?
 
Hi there I've came up with the idea of investigating into how the pitot static system and gyroscopic system works and what instrumentation they operate. Also the electronic flight display how this operates and investigating into future flight deck instrumentation.
Would there be anything else you would add to that?

I'm also going to be working on developing a class room flight simulation training device to interpret realistic flight data from the simulated instrumentation.

Let me know what you think, thanks .
 
Due to the constant never ending supply of "cool stuff" happening in Aerospace these days I'm creating this thread to consolidate posts every time something new comes along. Please feel free to add random information if its relevant. So to start things off here is the SpaceX Dragon launch coming up shortly, I'll be following up afterwards to see how it all goes. :smile: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex/
Back
Top