How can you find inspiration and innovation for your aerospace engineering projects?

Learning from others is very important in the young age. But aerospace is a very conservative science. There is a huge trap in which roughly 99% of the engineers fall: conformism. The work then essentially consists in mechanically repeating the recipes of yesterday. This is comfortable, but does not bring to any breakthrough. At best, incremental innovation. The bigger the company you work in, the greater conformism. Therefore, just take a short trip in a big aerospace group in the beginning of your career and then flee away to tackle the real adventure the case being in your own startup.

If you want to innovate in aerospace, you need to live aerospace. Get active in your local aero-club, get a pilot's license, participate in a design-build-fly competition. Involvement in such activities is what will give you a deeper understanding of aerospace, it's operative side and everyday processes. It is the best investment you can make. You will meet people with invaluable knowledge and experience. More often than not they will happily share it with you. It will also give you an opportunity to notice what could be improved, and how. Only when you master something, do the creative juices get flowing on how to improve it. For me, this is an inexhaustible source of creativity.

In my many years of experience, it’s all about interaction and networking with SME community members and gathering feedback on how the work needs to be done.

There is a lot of information and history in Aerospace Engineering. It is a great idea to learn from others, especially more senior engineers because they can share knowledge and insight that has taken them years and sometimes decades to acquire. This can give you a jump start to move forward in your area of expertise. Use the past knowledge of what didn't work and what did work to draw inspiration to innovate in that area.

Participation and observation in various aerospace competitions, including SAE challenges, the CanSat Competition, the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, and the UAV Challenge, offer significant opportunities for inspiration in aerospace engineering projects. By exploring official websites and YouTube videos, one can study innovative designs from diverse teams. Collaboration with space agencies like NASA, ESA, or Roscosmos further broadens exposure to cutting-edge technologies and pioneering research. These interactions provide a connection between theoretical concepts and real-world applications, sparking creativity and fostering innovative thinking in groundbreaking missions.

All the software tools you can use in your aerospace job are of great help. nevertheless, the trend is to make a severe confusion between your screen and the reality. Don't forget, any simulation does not prove anything. At best it gives you only a clue about your chance of success. In the real life, things will never work as on your computer!

OpenVSP (Vehicle Sketch Pad) is another tool that is paramount in the aerospace engineering toolkit. Developed by NASA, it allows engineers to create 3D models of aircrafts, permitting streamlined analysis and optimization of aerodynamic properties. Unlike traditional CAD tools, OpenVSP is specialized for aerospace applications, offering a user-friendly interface and sophisticated capabilities for design and simulation. Incorporating OpenVSP into your workflow can unlock new avenues for innovation, enabling precise control over complex design elements.

I would start with the basics - acquiring knowledge on the topic of your interest. Usually old textbooks provide the best intro to a topic. Sometimes people start experimenting with software tools before understanding the underlying physics and philosophy. This can be a setback in a person's professional development. That being said, once the base knowledge is gathered, available tools (many of which open source and freely available) greatly expand your capabilities. They help you converge on a solution faster, compare competing ideas with more fidelity and trust. In all this, do not forget the most important part - your personal touch. Your style, idea or motto which you wish to entangle into your design. It is what will make it unique.

These modern tools are as dangerous as they are useful. I wouldn't use any of them without understanding the physics behind them. Besides, all of the greatest accomplishments in aviation were done before computers even existed - full 3D theory for flows around wings (Lanchester 1907, Prandtl 1919) and propellers (Goldstein 1922), Mach 1 (1947), Mach 3 (1956) etc.

Start with trying to understand a screw-driver and multiplication tables. Learn a programming language and start writing simple programs (my first FORTRAN program in 1976 had about 30 lines of punched cards, and generated 127 errors and about 150 warnings). Have a paper and pencil and sanity-check anything that computers or Experts throw at you.

Nature's designs have inspired aerospace innovations such as the Airbus A350 XWB's wingtips, influenced by the albatross for improved gliding efficiency. Shark skin's texture led to riblet films for drag reduction in aircraft. The hummingbird's flight inspired advanced drones with unique maneuverability.

We have been watching Spiders. Trying to mimic them to weave ultralight sheets floating in the mid stratosphere/mesosphere. Fascinating and not at all easy!!

Biomimicry is fashion today. Well, why not? But look at the beginning of aeronautics! All those who tried to mimic birds failed sometimes even losing their lives. Biomimicry therefore is not any panacea. Once in my career I had to study nature through the cells in the goal of making biofuels. I just discovered that cells have a thermodynamic efficiency of about 1% only! Even with the best genetic engineering we could not expect better than 3% while if you paint in black any PVC stuff you get at least 4%. Since that time I fight against biofuels of course.

Decide what Impossible/ Grand Challenge you want to solve. Imagine that you are THERE. Reached the goal. Look back and see how you climbed up there. You can see the crevasses and cliffs- and ways to cross them.. much better that way. Then start plotting your course, make a Countdown List starting with "Succes!" and working back to what needs to get done today. Do it. (Ha!)

Some people need a competitive environment to be stimulated to make advances. However, it seems to me that the best engine for disruption remains passion and dreams. As the song says, dream on and maybe one day you can achieve something really new.

Unfortunately, the aviation world is surprisingly conservative and not at all as receptive of innovation as advertised. The Beechcraft Starship is a prominent example of how progress is held back by experience, "tradition" and perception. Challenging oneself is great, but getting an accepted product to market pays the bills...

It is easy to settle. I think we all do it. Maybe striving to it is in our basic nature. However, not settling, challenging yourself, is one crazy experience. You start diversifying your creative thoughts to everything that surrounds you. Especially your projects. Mind you, it is a double-edged sword, this mentality of perpetual self-challenge. On one hand your mind races all the time, thinking of ideas, improvements, designs. On the other hand, the same is true at 03:00 AM when you would much rather be sleeping, and all you do is think of that new split-rudder airbrake system, which would save weight and increase braking effectiveness.

Having side activities is very often a source of inspiration which can be applied to aerospace. On the other hand you will be surprised to see technologies from aerospace which have been transferred to other fields. A good example is fishing with carbon rods and graphite thread (density greater than 1 so that it sinks and avoids wind).

Sleep and day-dream a lot. Never get tired of watching clouds floating in the sky or birds flying (not directly overhead, thanks!) :)

In the world of aerospace, every project is a journey. I believe in teaming up with experts from different fields; their diverse insights enrich our solutions. Industry events are like treasure chests of knowledge — attending them keeps us on the pulse of emerging technologies. Engaging in discussions with specialists is like opening windows to new perspectives. My secret? It's the constant quest for unconventional ideas. Curiosity isn't just a trait; it's a compass guiding me through challenges. Every hurdle becomes an opportunity to explore uncharted territories. It's not just about overcoming; it's about redefining limits. This approach isn't just dynamic; it's a commitment to make a lasting impact in aerospace.