<p>I hear there are great opportunities in the helicopter industry and I am highly interested, but to design these aircraft do I need more than an aerospace engineering degree? The difference between fixed wing aircraft and helicopters are enormous and AeroE programs seem to focus solely on the engineering behind fixed wing aircraft. For that reason, are there more mechanical engineers in the helicopters industry?</p>
<p>Anything that is made to stay in the air is all based on the same scientific principles. Only differences come in design</p>
<p>Are there usually electives focused on rotorcraft?</p>
<p>You are perfectly qualified with an aerospace engineering degree.</p>
<p>Some programs may have electives, others may not. It honestly won’t matter that much though. The same physics of lift and drag govern both types of aircraft, and you will get that in any program. What you don’t learn specific to rotary-wing aircraft you can pick up on the job.</p>
<p>You might take a close look at these schools–
[The</a> Rotorcraft Centers of Excellence](<a href=“http://www.vtol.org/RCOE/rcoearticle.htm]The”>http://www.vtol.org/RCOE/rcoearticle.htm)</p>
<p>So according to that source, only people on the east coast at good with rotorcraft?</p>
<p>If you follow the link you will see that it was “the joint Army/NASA National Rotorcraft Technology Center (NRTC) [who] renewed the standing of the three Rotorcraft Centers of Excellence”. Which is not to say that there aren’t people in other parts of the country doing good work, but it does say that these schools have a lot of funding to do rotocraft research and faculty who are interested in doing it.</p>
<p>(The source is Vertiflite, the official publication of the American Helicopter Society.)</p>
<p>It also says that this program was a 5-year program, meaning it ended in 2005. There are lots of places that do rotorcraft work. Those 3 are just ones that were on one particular grant/contract. I know of an Army/Sikorsky project going on here at TAMU, for example, even though it isn’t on that list.</p>
<p>Those 3 programs might have lots of experience in rotorcraft; I just caution the OP to make sure they look around first since there are countless others that do as well.</p>
<p>The project is ongoing. If you look at the work being done at PSU, the program I am familiar with, you will see that the scope of the research (and related funding) is far beyond anything going on at TAMU.</p>
<p>[VLRCOE</a> Research](<a href=“http://www.engr.psu.edu/rcoe/research.htm]VLRCOE”>http://www.engr.psu.edu/rcoe/research.htm)</p>
<p>Ah, but that is not the same program as the NRTC that you pointed out before. It is probably the same people and same labs involved, but it isn’t the same as the article you posted. It probably has so great research going on, and I never disputed that, but there are lots of programs at other schools to consider as well. I don’t know where the OP is from, but if he is from somewhere like California, I doubt it would be worth it to come out to the east coast for school just because of that group for an undergraduate education. There is rotorcraft research going on all over, and at the undergraduate level, it isn’t as huge of an issue if you don’t have a Rotorcraft Center of Excellence at your school.</p>
<p>I’m not interested in getting into a ****ing match with a grad student. I pm’ed the OP and suggested that he look at the schools that have a chapter of the AHS. If he is interested in a career in the rotorcraft industry the opportunities those schools would afford (scholarships, competitions, meeting industry partners, internships) would be beneficial to his future endeavors.</p>
<p>And that is a perfectly valid point and a good suggestion as far as I can tell. I am admittedly not a rotorcraft guy myself.</p>
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<p>The sand-particle-erosion-on-the-rotor-blades project?</p>
<p>Not the one I am thinking of, but if that exists as well, then that makes another one.</p>
<p>Yeah can’t remember which prof was talking about it, but helicopters in the Middle East were suffering from accelerated rotor blade damage due to silica (sand) particles getting swept up upon landing. Think it was a structures group project, and wanted to say Sikorsky/Army contract as well… I could be wrong on the customer though.</p>
<p>Sounds like structures. it is also the same problem Rolls-Royce is having and solving with the V-22 Osprey. Those are gas turbines though.</p>
<p>What are some of the new ideas?</p>