Engine Hooks - Through Time

Engine hooks have gone through some changes over the years.

Estes and Centuri both introduced this style of "Quick Change Engine Hooks" in their 1969 catalogs. Estes with the Alpha and Centuri with the Astro 1.
It was spring steel in a simple, elongated "C" shape.
Installing an engine, they worked fine. It was a little tough to lift them after a flight. You'd end up using a fingernail or small pliers to raise the hook to remove the engine.


This is an engine hook from an MPC kit.
The finger tab was added making it much easier to raise the hook to pull out an engine.

But - the end of the finger tab could break the skin if you tried to catch the rocket before it hit the ground!




Here's what the engine hook has evolved into.
It's certainly easier to insert and engine, it slips right by the rounded bends in the finger tab.
The final outside bend on the tab prevents injury.

I guess it's an improvement, but I don't like all that extra hardware out the back end of my models - especially on a repro. I always cut off the finger tab so it ends up looking like the first picture.

TIP: If you cut off the excess bends on a hook for a retro look, the lower clipped end is usually flipped over so that rounded bend ends up at the top of the mount. The upper end of the clip is usually a sharp 90 degree bend, better for the lower end of the engine mount.

I seen quite a few launches where igniter clips get caught up on the last hook bend at ignition.

On the forums there's speculation about the finger tab deflecting the thrust and causing models to veer away from the vertical! This might be true with 13mm A10 13mm engines. The bends in the finger tab end up under the nozzle!