10-19-2010, 08:13 PM
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Master Modeler
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
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I wish the motor clip "finger tab" had never been invented. As far as I know, they were first used on the thin MPC (and early Quest) motor clips. Even on the thicker Estes (and current Quest) motor clips, the finger tabs get bent when used on streamer-recovery rockets whose configurations (no downward-protruding fins) ensure that the finger tab strikes the ground first at landing. After being bent and straightened a few times the tab breaks off, leaving a sharp edge that has to be sanded or ground down to prevent cuts.
Even in rockets where the finger tab doesn't hit the ground, it's one more metal object that the igniter leads have to be kept away from to prevent short circuits. (This is a particularly annoying problem when connecting the firing leads to rockets that use clustered motors.) Also, in models powered by 13 mm mini motors, the finger tab often protrudes inward close enough to the motor nozzle to act as a jet vane, which makes the rocket veer off course or even tumble end-over-end.
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