What is Your Favorite Engine?

[Choctofliatrio2.0]

KSP has many engines to offer, and all have their perks/downsides. What are your favorite engines, any size, solid or liquid? Note: This isn't about which engines are the best, this is about what you like to use the most.

My favorites are the LV-909 (Good for the landers I use and orbital stages), LV-T45 (My go-to main engine), and the Skipper (Very pretty)

[regex]

I like them all, but for the uniqueness factor I'll single out the Flea as a surprisingly good kick stage for small probes.

[juanml82]

It really depends on the mission profile. But I'll go as this:

1.25 meters: the aerospike and the nerv

2.5 meters: MRS quad nuke

3.75: the Rhino

[Dfthu]

I like the skipper the most. I use it in almost all of my crafts. And it has a pretty glow!  I also like the Lv-909, ion, and NERVA 

[Streetwind]

I do love myself the Terrier. Also the Dawn ion engine.

The Ant would be up there if its exhaust sound and graphics weren't so substandard.

[Foxster]

Gotta say I really like the Dawn. Fussy, hard work but ultimately very good to have around...oh, no, wait...that's the wife. 

[ghpstage]

The Ant and Spark, I use them wherever I can get away with as part of my penny pinching, ridiculously low budget, and frequently low tech space program.

I do like use the hammer a lot too.

Edited April 20, 2016 by ghpstage

[Nich]

Kick back for me I use it just about every launch from unlocking it to about 200t

[Curveball Anders]

3 minutes ago, Nich said:

Kick back for me I use it just about every launch from unlocking it to about 200t

My name is Curveball and I'm addicted to kickbacks.

I've tried aspargus and similar tricks, but I keep falling off the wagon and go back to more kickbacks.

[Renegrade]

I'm still kinda partial to the 48-7S (Spark), despite all the nerfing.  It's still a good engine, and still better than the 909 (Terrier) for smaller landers or fat probes.  My next favorite would have to be the Skipper.  My Moho missions in PR were powered partly by Skippers for the injection stages (usually with a Skipper at the core and Poodles on the other tanks).  While not quite as cheap as a cluster of T30s or T45s, it's still fairly inexpensive and performs well.  Just wish the emissive glow was better.

I want to give the PB-ION (Dawn) an honorable mention though.  The new exhaust effects (which may have been in 1.0 too, I don't use it much) are very pretty.

7 hours ago, regex said:

I like them all, but for the uniqueness factor I'll single out the Flea as a surprisingly good kick stage for small probes.

Funny you mentioned that - as the PR came to a close, I was launching a satellite to Eve (Gilly specifically), so I decided to use a pair of hammers for the injection burn.  Such TWR.  Many exhaust.  So fast. Wow.  Was ripping along at many G, made for a fairly accurate injection too (although I intentionally left a couple dozen m/s unfilled at the end, but the liquid engines could take it from there).

Now if only there was a "fine mode" for the fuel sliders for these things (ie like holding shift is for parts).

 

 

[Delfinus]

The Skipper, it's just a great little engine capable of doing pretty much everything you need it to do.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

I really like the LV-909.  The rhino is also a useful engine.

[adsii1970]

Lack luster labs radial jet engine.

[HebaruSan]

Top-tier vacuum I_sp in a jumbo size? Yes, please!

[Red Iron Crown]

For vacuum work it's the Terrier. One of the best engines in the game, it's light, cheap, efficient, and available early on in career mode but never becomes obsolete.

For atmo it's the Skipper, a great sustainer engine that lifts most of my payloads to orbit.

The others all have their uses but those two get used most often in my games.

[Scientia1423]

My favorite engine is the Steam engine. Choo Choo! Or the electric. 

 

J404 Panther AfterBurner which i'm okay with...

[Starhawk]

10 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said:

For vacuum work it's the Terrier. One of the best engines in the game, it's light, cheap, efficient, and available early on in career mode but never becomes obsolete.

This ^^

Except you don't need to be in vacuum to use it.  It works great from 15 km up on Kerbin.

Happy landings!

[AbacusWizard]

I'm very fond of the Poodle, the Terrier, and (if I'm going to be in an atmosphere at all, or want it to look cool) the Aerospike. Best efficiency LFO can buy.

[Deddly]

R.A.P.I.E.R.

There's just nothing else like it. Would love to see it in a variety of sizes though.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Deddly

[Dafni]

Aerospike and Vector.

Puff (monoprop) and the ion engine too.

[DunaRocketeer]

Absolutely no way of picking one, will have to go by category.

3.75: Mammoth. If I've got one of these on the bottom of my rocket, then nothing else is required. The ultimate in boosting payloads above the Karman line, so long as I reuse it.

2.5: Twin-Boar. For the same reasons as above, but for smaller sized vehicles.

1.25 (rocket): Terrier. Indispensible for Mun landers, currently using two of them as landing engines for my compact Mun explorer. Dart gets an honourable mention for its huge flexibility.

1 .25 (jet): Wheesley. The efficiency alone makes this a winner.

0.625: Dawn. Brilliant for fulfilling difficult satellite contracts if payload contrained. Useful for non time-sensitive manoeuvres

Radial: Twitch. Makes for a great OMS engine for my mini shuttles, where the back end is taken up by a docking port. Honourable mention for Puff, for cheaply doing so many satellite contracts.

[RA3236]

Mammoth, Vector and Twin Boar.

[WillThe84th]

In the stock game, I really like the Dawn, the aerospike, and the poodle. 

Although I recently started playing with real fuels in a 5x game, (I'm almost about to land on the moon) and I really like the KW Wildcat, and the one 1.25 m one in KW that has two nozzles. 

Edit: I think it's called the maverick. 

Edited April 21, 2016 by WillThe84th

[ag3nt108]

Terrier allllllllll the way.  Wish I had more love for the Nukes but I, well I just don't.

[Kosmognome]

Terrier & Rhino > Vector >>> Rest.