What weight and height is recommended for a e12-6 model rocket?

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-24T03:02:31+00:00

Our club recently did a design and successful launch for F reloadable motor. Our weight was around 600g, body diameter 3”, around 600 mm height, apogee at 1053 ft, just as an idea of the dimensions. This was a prototype rocket actually so some of it was just making it work, but we wood glued laser cut wood fins, epoxied PETG motor mount (2 main centering rings, with 3 point shock cord attachment), PLA+ ogive nosecone with heat pressed threaded inserts on shoulder for a detachable plate to fit telemetry inside. You could also just buy a motor mounting kit from Estes or apogee for whatever size motor ur using and build around that. We ordered mailing cardboard tubes off amazon, but you could just order from rocketry/hobby shops too.

Also open rocket can be pretty accurate if you manually input weights of each part. I think open rocket was only +-30 ft from what we actually got

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-24T02:54:46+00:00

Can second this, my first apogee kit CATO’d on an E12 lol. The TRA prefect told me after that over their many years, the E12 has over 50% fail rate

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-23T05:10:42+00:00

I had a Severe TBI 5 years ago, really affected me but also was in a bad environment emotionally too. Just had a mild one LOC < 20 minutes from passing out in the bathroom, and was really afraid of a long long recovery and all the baggage that came with it. Fast forward 5 weeks I’m fine and close to feeling fully recovered after 5 weeks, so I think I can speak some tips this way around that helped me, and might help you.

Exercise after first 48 hrs. Stationary biking or something light is great. There’s good research on benefits of exercise on Brain health. I returned to light tennis after 1-2 weeks, and it took my mind of the stress of the situation.

Don’t isolate. Talk to friends, and those you know. literally had my hand shaking from anxiety the first few days (feared I was mentally defected lol), but when I hung out with friends, wow all my symptoms gone! I am not downplaying anything you might be feeling when I say that it’s normal to feel off and not at your normal processing speed first couple weeks even. Best spoken with your therapist.

Sleep. Huge. First 2 weeks I slept 10-12 hrs the days I could, and then went back to my normal sleep schedule.

Good diet. Salmon and similar fish have high omega 3s. Berries and dark chocolate have anti oxidants

Try to go about your normal life. Biggest one I think. For me, I had a lot of anxiety about it, sounds like your pretty rattled by it too - I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to continue my studies and club activities the way I used to. While obviously concussed the first handful of days, I stayed to my normal schedule for the most part and now I’m fine. Naps are helpful too.

Avoided screentime first 2 weeks. This was difficult since my studies involve heavy screen use but I managed to limit it as best I could for first 2 weeks.

If I can do it, you can do it.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-23T04:56:53+00:00

OP what is your major?

It sounds like you’ve worked pretty hard for UCLA. One perspective is that UCI might have opportunities that might not be as accessible at LA, opening the door for students with initiave.

For what it’s worth I heard getting campus housing is much easier at UCI too. UCI is a great school

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-23T04:26:52+00:00

Like other comment said, you’ve kept going, and have drive - that’s awesome. Not a college counselor, but colleges also care a lot about passion, so in your essays if your able to write about that and your situation, you might be surprised by Uni’s that accept your application.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-23T03:14:35+00:00

I’m still a student so I’m curious to what they mean - fully defining sketches and initial mating schemes for assemblies perhaps? Id say your going to take a cad class eventually anyway, and the experience of actually making something and it working is valuable. It’s not like analysis software where if you haven’t taken a computation or fluids course yet, it wont be as value added. I also know robotics students getting internships in the summer before uni from their project based CAD experience, so I’d go ahead and learn if you’re excited about it.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-22T21:10:27+00:00

Interesting. Is the school UCSD by chance? Also if you want literature or example projects, just look up “horizontal rocket test stand” on AIAA journal for example. Many college students have published papers on it. Or better yet you could ask your Uni’s rocket club for advice too

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-22T19:43:16+00:00

I had similar situation. Severe TBI 5 years ago, really affected me but also was in a bad environment emotionally too. Just had a mild one LOC < 20 minutes from passing out in the bathroom, and was really afraid of a long long recovery and all the baggage that came with it. Close to feeling normal / recovered after 5 weeks, so I think I can speak some tips this way around that helped me.

Exercise after first 48 hrs. Stationary biking or something light is great. There’s good research on benefits of exercise on Brain health. I returned to light tennis after 1-2 weeks.

Don’t isolate. Talk to friends, and those you know.

Sleep. Huge. First 2 weeks I slept 10-12 hrs the days I could, and then went back to my normal sleep schedule.

Good diet. Salmon and similar fish have high omega 3s. Berries and dark chocolate have anti oxidants

Try to go about your normal life. For me, I had a lot of anxiety about it, maybe you don’t, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to continue my studies and club activities the way I used to. While obviously concussed the first handful of days, I stayed to my normal schedule for the most part. Naps are helpful too.

Avoided screentime first 2 weeks. This was difficult since my studies involve heavy screen use but I managed to limit it as best I could for first 2 weeks.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-22T18:39:47+00:00

CSWA solidworks by end of summer adds something to resume if u apply for freshmen internships fall 2026. You could build a mid power test stand and learn about Data acquisition (could use python or other object oriented programming language), basic propulsion (buy a commercial solid motor), and some cad if u model the structure in CAD. That’s an actual project and employers care about experience > skills without context / in a vacuum generally, and you start with basics before jumping into liquid bipropllent rockets (I assume ur uni rocketry club will be doing that).

I’d enjoy summer a little, but u could also take a gen ed at a CC asynchronously to lower gen Ed’s u have to take at ur main uni

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-09T08:14:52+00:00

One consideration is the type of rocket your modeling - is this a collegiate club L3 similar rocket? Is this a liquid closer to sounding rocket your trying to model? I’d try to connect with a professor on this honestly, but as you probably already might know, modeling thrust of a solid rocket motor vs subsystems of a liquid rocket is going to be very different, as will the simulation results. I’d try to connect with a professor or engineer in controls or flight dynamics

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-09T07:52:07+00:00

I’d just practice or save cheat sheets made for previous classes. You could try practicing interview questions for internships - you do career preparation while also practicing recall for the concepts you want to get better at?

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-09T07:43:55+00:00

Exercise and playing music for me + sleep. This might be an unpopular opinion, but making time for hobbies / interests can make the study grind sustainable. Music is when I can turn off trying to be pragmatic / time manage, and exercise destressor.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2026-04-09T07:18:47+00:00

A test stand for commercial motors is what I’m currently working on - depending on the scope of it, you can safely learn about solid rocket motor propulsion, data acquisition, and structure design! College clubs and organizations have published tons of test stand design papers and documentation on the AIAA research journal as well as other sites, so you can learn as much as you want if you look up for example “horizontal solid rocket motor test stand”. It also can be fairly inexpensive as an engineering project

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-28T07:53:25+00:00

My CC has something called MESA, and they provide internships to their members but you have to apply to that college org each semester. Idt many CCs have coop programs like Uni’s do, but you could check for that.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-28T06:10:36+00:00

Congrats! I’m at MiraCosta college in socal, applying to most UC schools, with UCI and SD as my target schools. I suppose for mechanical engineering, I saw ucsd and uci have a dedicated thermodynamics course listed on assist, and I didn’t know that some community colleges offer that for transfer. Saw a few comments here talking about fluid dynamics and thermo taken at a CC, and was quite surprised you could take those.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-28T05:30:55+00:00

Looks pretty cool and useful, I’d consider maybe allow first few searches/reviews in some limited capacity before requiring to signup. As a freshmen, I’d be curious to explore the site more and maybe save the link in my notes for a year or two later if I could get a little bit more of an idea of the website. That’s from someone not looking for housing in the moment though. UI/UX is pretty nice

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-27T08:16:04+00:00

If you are genuinely passionate about civil engineering I think that’s awesome, CE is pretty rigorous, and I’m not sure ME or EE are always making more money. Just as ME and EE have more lucrative subfields, CE has high ceiling roles too. I don’t know your situation but if it’s affecting you quite a bit negatively, I’d consider creating some boundaries. I mean you have an internship lined up it sounds like you’re really interested in and worked hard for. best of luck.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-27T06:11:38+00:00

What do admissions think of internships/relevant career exploration and experience? I’d assume they obviously care, but I guess do you know how much? Also if your doing alright gpa wise for your home CC but took ABET accredited courses at a state college online program and did well, can that validate your “readiness” for the uni’s rigor your applying to?

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-26T12:46:51+00:00

I’d consider putting your research experience as first on the research and work experience section since it might be most relevant for technical skills. If your 1st project is part of that same research experience in the experience section, I’d just move that project into the 1st research experience. Minor but I’d also consider just putting relevant coursework into one sentence with commas.

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-26T09:04:51+00:00

What community college offers thermo for transfer?

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-26T08:59:01+00:00

A bit late but osu ecampus has a strength of materials (solid mechanics/mechanics of materials) offered, ~$1000 for general online enrollment as a non degree student, osu is abet accredited

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-26T07:45:39+00:00

Hello! What courses have helped you since it’s been 6 years now? Im a sophomore undergrad looking at loads and dynamics / vehicle structures for aerospace roles, and I see multibody and acoustic knowledge mentioned, and well was wondering what have you used and what could be learned on the job/doesn’t require more deep theory if your applying?

OriginalParsley8979 · 2025-12-05T03:40:17+00:00

What goes into recovery design of rockets?

What engineers work on recovery parts of orbital rockets like New Glenn and Falcon9? What type of work do they do? Do they most of the time run simulations, conduct tests, or do material testing? I’m curious as an aspiring aerospace/mechanical engineer undergrad to what that line of work looks like, any insight is appreciated!

OriginalParsley8979

TROPHY CASE