gary7
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Don't get too obsessed with any one project.
I know that from too many of my other than 3FNC projects.
I know that from too many of my other than 3FNC projects.
Life lessons from the workshop and the range
- Thread starter smstachwick
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Life lesson: Rocketry is about fun and camaraderie. At the end of the day, it should be about enjoying an endeavor with like minded individuals. All of the bad things like catos, rockets drifting away, getting caught in trees, coming in with no chute and so on, are just part of the experience. I’d rather launch rockets and tell stories with friends and chalk it up as a good day than just about anything else.
"If it don't fit, get a bigger hammer. If it breaks it needed fixing anyway." -- my Dad, whilst working on the house.
This is actually an excellent topic, and I used Rocketry as a medium to teach my daughters many life lessons, and 'sneak in' a little chemistry, engineering, math, and EE/computers.
Here are a few I've heard my kids (most now in College) tell their friends when asked about rocketry:
1) An appreciation of "what's inside"
Consumerism is the reality for most of our life; we buy things, use them, then discard them without much thought about how it was made, or what's inside. Building a rocket gives you a 'peek' behind the packaging - where it comes from what's involved in its creation, etc...
Most importantly, it gave my kids the curiosity, and confidence to use those build skills on products they may have previously just used and discarded.
2) Create your own solution
When building a rocket, you get out what you put in; There often isn't one way of doing things, and, with a little prompting the creative 'solutions' to problem-solving just start to pour out. The confidence this generates has given my kids the self-esteem to tackle much harder problems in life.
3) Grit
Don't know a better word for it, but sometimes things take a while and if you try and rush to the end, or come up with a solution (#2 above) that didn't work, it can be very frustrating. The ability to fail, dust yourself off, and try again seems to be a dying art. Learning from failure, adapting, not giving up may be the best lesson they've taken from rocketry.
Here are a few I've heard my kids (most now in College) tell their friends when asked about rocketry:
1) An appreciation of "what's inside"
Consumerism is the reality for most of our life; we buy things, use them, then discard them without much thought about how it was made, or what's inside. Building a rocket gives you a 'peek' behind the packaging - where it comes from what's involved in its creation, etc...
Most importantly, it gave my kids the curiosity, and confidence to use those build skills on products they may have previously just used and discarded.
2) Create your own solution
When building a rocket, you get out what you put in; There often isn't one way of doing things, and, with a little prompting the creative 'solutions' to problem-solving just start to pour out. The confidence this generates has given my kids the self-esteem to tackle much harder problems in life.
3) Grit
Don't know a better word for it, but sometimes things take a while and if you try and rush to the end, or come up with a solution (#2 above) that didn't work, it can be very frustrating. The ability to fail, dust yourself off, and try again seems to be a dying art. Learning from failure, adapting, not giving up may be the best lesson they've taken from rocketry.
When I saw the thread title I clicked it so I could add my "don't rush" comments. Then I read the above. I'm flattered and touched.
And "Eh, it'll do" is the the enemy of truly good. Finding the middle ground can be hard.
220, 400, whatever it takes.
80% (70%? 90%?
) of the job is prep.A similar portion of maintenance is cleaning.
Do the job right. There are lots of ways to do it right, and LOTS more of doing it wrong.
I'm an engineer and an OCD perfectionist. I never had to deal with that version
I'm an engineer and sometimes prone to perfectionism. I've argued with too many engineering managers who've said "It meets the spec, so it's good enough" when it only barely meets the spec and is not what anyone should call a quality product. and I've almost always lost those arguments. Because when people say "Logic dictates that..." they're wrong. Logic suggests, but money dictates.
Off the top of my head, I would say the biggest life lesson I got from rocketry is how to handle failure.
It's not the end of the world if you fail at something. Figure out what went wrong as best you can, pick up the pieces, and either try again or move on.
It's not the end of the world if you fail at something. Figure out what went wrong as best you can, pick up the pieces, and either try again or move on.
H_Rocket
Death by Powerpoint
Every rocket has an expiration date.
Like the song says, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and jump from a higher window next time."
If you want to get it completely right, you have to look at it from every angle.
That makes you a damn good engineer...
If you pay for and install technology, use it correctly. Context below
"I don't hear the beeps" - "Ah... it's alright, I'm going for it" <-- how to lose an Aspire destined for 3,900'.
I found it 2 months later and it's parts are now on a new rocket. Which leads to-->
If it can be fixed, fix it. There's already too much schtuff in the trash.
Zero's matter. Don't believe me? Let me make change for your $100 dollar bill
The last one is a tough one because it's got spiritual and or religious "meaning" for some and it's deeper than an L3 rocket whose recovery failed. Even if you don't believe in those words there's not a whole lot wrong with the premise. It's made my work and personal life a whole lot easier. Here you go:
Be wary of your ego.
In Wayne Dyer's movie The Shift (really good, hard to find, Ebay will sometimes have it) he said EGO stands for Edging God Out. That's off putting to some people which is a shame because it's a useful construct. Another way to think of it is stop trying to control the things that you can't (other people, your cat, etc)
This came from a Wayne Dyer Blog post- HERE
"I don't hear the beeps" - "Ah... it's alright, I'm going for it" <-- how to lose an Aspire destined for 3,900'.
I found it 2 months later and it's parts are now on a new rocket. Which leads to-->
If it can be fixed, fix it. There's already too much schtuff in the trash.
Zero's matter. Don't believe me? Let me make change for your $100 dollar bill
The last one is a tough one because it's got spiritual and or religious "meaning" for some and it's deeper than an L3 rocket whose recovery failed. Even if you don't believe in those words there's not a whole lot wrong with the premise. It's made my work and personal life a whole lot easier. Here you go:
Be wary of your ego.
In Wayne Dyer's movie The Shift (really good, hard to find, Ebay will sometimes have it) he said EGO stands for Edging God Out. That's off putting to some people which is a shame because it's a useful construct. Another way to think of it is stop trying to control the things that you can't (other people, your cat, etc)
This came from a Wayne Dyer Blog post- HERE
When you think you have the right answer, think what the second right answer might be.
The tool you gave away because you decided you didn't need anymore is the tool that you will need on your next project. And it's corollary, the trash you threw away when you cleaned up your shop includes parts that you will have to buy because you need them on your next project.
CA/Super glue sticks your fingers together very well.
Rocketry is for those unique individuals who have a passion for rockets/space/power/thrust/building/etc...and realize that while there are a million ways things can go wrong, they will still go for launch since they feel they can do it those few ways which are right. 
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Make haste slowly and with care.
Smart and stupid aren't mutually exclusive.
True. One can be very knowledgeable in terms of a specific topic but otherwise one string short of a set.
boomtube-mk2
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If you are doing absolutely nothing; how do you know when you are done?
Now the problem you face when doing nothing is that by doing nothing, nothing gets done, and if nothing gets done, then you can never get done with doing nothing.
Don't fall into this trap people.
Now the problem you face when doing nothing is that by doing nothing, nothing gets done, and if nothing gets done, then you can never get done with doing nothing.
Don't fall into this trap people.
boomtube-mk2
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Anybody that has worked at any of the big "Silicon Valley" tech-companies has met one or more people that fall into this category.
Absolutely brilliant in their field but you wouldn't trust them to do your laundry or cook dinner for your kids.
boatgeek
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I'm an engineer and an OCD perfectionist. I never had to deal with that version
One I use with my TARC teams is "Engineering is the science of good enough." It was a favorite line of my materials professor, intended in the sense of not overbuilding. Just because a 5-ton shackle has twice the load rating as a 2.5-ton shackle doesn't mean it's necessary for your project.
And I have no argument with that.
In the right context, I like your professor's definition of engineering. There are many definitions of engineering. One of them comes from my father: "Engineering is the art of making things you want out of stuff you can get."
Anyway, another life lesson from rocketry: Don't overthink it.
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Dry fit twice, glue once.
No matter where you go, there you are.
No matter where you go, there you are.
That is brilliant. I'm adding it to my list of quotes.
Please credit Jeremiah Avins.
Isn't that the truth?
Mine is "blow it out or blow it up". I have never seen too much ejection charge, but I have seen a lot of too little.
I add 5-10% to all ejection charges. I do this by rounding up to the appropriate tenths of a gram. I have never had on fail.
That being said, parachutes fouling are a separate problem.
"You can't" and "you shouldn't" are not the same thing.
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"Fix It 'Til It's Broke"
"You can do anything you want on your Last Day"
"Maintenance: Fighting a rearguard action against the heatdeath of the universe."
"You can do anything you want on your Last Day"
"Maintenance: Fighting a rearguard action against the heatdeath of the universe."
