The end of March saw the final round of the national competition for high school students “Energetics and Us” which took place in Varna. Among this year’s 88 finalists from 17 schools across the country was Georgi – one of the youths who lives in one of our family-type homes in Kazanlak.
Georgi is 16 years old, and has developed a keen interest in automobiles and is passionate about everything that could be taken apart or fixed. He loves riding his bike, which he is adamant about fixing himself. He is excited about telling people about his ideas and inventions. Once we asked him to tell us about the helicopter that he put together himself, he flew out of the room to get it and demonstrate its workings.
Read on to find out about the helicopter’s assembly, the energetics competition and the ideas which Georgi would like to make a reality in the future.
So, how did you develop your interest in energetics in the first place?
I was interested in these kinds of things since I was a kid. I can’t remember that far back but I’ve been told. When I was two years old, while my parents were building our house, I had been busy taking out the screws from one of the electrical sockets with a screwdriver. I had taken out the cables and reassembled them. I grew up and when I heard that story I became drawn to energetics once again. Now I dream of creating something that would help the world.
Tell us more about the competition you took part in.
After going through the first round of the competition, I had to present a personal project in the final round which took place in Varna. I had to choose between creating a model of something, a report, an educational piece or a film. From the start, I knew I’d be creating a model which would be accompanied by a presentation as I had to present my idea.
And what was your idea? What was the project you developed?
My physics teacher suggested a few ideas. I had to choose what kind of power plant I wanted to build—whether it would be based on water, heat, wind or nuclear energy. I chose wind turbines because I find them the most fascinating and because I had done work with them before. I had previous experience which made it slightly easier.
How did the creation of the model go?
After I had the idea and knew what I wanted to do, I started implementing it. A lot of materials were necessary. I started with the base and then assembled the generators. I started thinking about how I could make the model look as appealing as possible and began to add decorations. I put in rocks, bushes and artificial flowers to recreate the real-world conditions. I made the propellers spin. Finally, I added in a few LED lights.
What are the LED lights for?
They are required in order to warn low-flying jets and to prevent accidents.
When do they turn on? Is it only when the propellers spin?
No, I made them so that they would turn on, irrespectively of the activity of the propellers. We can’t rely solely on them because if there is no wind, the LEDs would not be active and would not be doing what they are supposed to.
How long did it take you to create the model?
I was done within two weeks, even though I had more than two months to work with.
Did you face any obstacles or challenges while you were creating it?
Yes, these were a lot of challenges. Initially I wanted to put the LED lights on the edges of the model so that they would function as a fence for the wind turbines but I forgot to add in the fuse which resulted in a short circuit. I didn’t give up though—I removed them and started thinking about what I could do to make electricity flow normally.
Do you have ideas for future projects?
I recently created a wirelessly controlled helicopter. I took two broken helicopters apart, bought new circuit boards and with the remaining parts I built a new one which can fly. I need to put more work in it though as it is still showing some problems with the remote control.
And I have idea for another project, but I’m not entirely sure it can be done at the moment. But I am going to start working on it too. I want to create an electric motor which would generate electricity, which I would then use to build a motorbike.
Okay, last question. What would like to be when you grow up?
I am not sure yet. I had been thinking about starting and developing an automobile repair shop but now I am not sure. If I go to university and learn more, I would have the opportunity to work in electrical engineering and become an engineer.