How, for instance, is the average high schooler going to do anything beyond the most basic research in Aerospace Engineering before getting to college? They may have studied physics and calculus, but without access to the tools of a decent shop they can't build much, and most of the worthwhile texts are written assuming a level of understanding of math (specifically calculus and differential equations) and physics (fluid dynamics, statics, dynamics) that they are unlikely to have encountered. Should they not go into AE as a result and stick with the math or physics that they do have some background in?
It is amusing you bring this up, as AE was my major before switching to computer engineering in the 3rd year (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University). I was extremely excited about it in high school. I bought this book -
Started reading it and the math was way above my head. So I went to my calc teacher and he acknowledged the material was beyond my reach. But then he pointed me to materials to help and offered his time to explain the basics.
This was before there were countless free high quality learning materials online.
Are you going to learn differential equations, statics, dynamics, etc... in high school? Maybe. Probably not. Who cares? That doesn't mean you can't start.
Build a model rocket. Build an RC plane. Dive into more accessible subjects like linear algebra. Learn matlab or octave. I could go on forever.
You would not believe the amount of AE students that struggled - and I mean struggled with Ds through intro to programming with C. I helped many with their homework. Get a leg up and start on that!
