T' MkV be me first cluster design. It's made from a 55mm cardboard postal tube with 1mm thick balsa fins and a balsa nose cone. It's powered by four 18mm engines. Aye aye! Blimey! They have t' be C's . Ya scallywag! Ahoy! . . Blimey! Ahoy! really!

After consultin' with t' guys on r.m.r I've made a new ignition system. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It's based around two 6v lead-acid batteries ( wired in series t' give 12v), arrr, so I shouldn't have any problems with clustering. T' batteries sit very close t' t' launch pad, so that t' clip whips are fairly short. Aye aye! Blimey! It has two sets o' clips t' make connection t' t' four igniters easier. Both t' battery station and t' remote hand station have keyswitches and red LEDs t' indicate when they are active. Aye aye! Blimey! In addition t' hand station has a momentary push button t' activate t' launch. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' keep t' diameter o' t' cable connectin' t' remote hand station t' t' battery station down t' a manageable size, shiver me timbers, thar be a relay mounted in t' battery station. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! This requires only negligible current t' activate. Avast! Blimey! Total parts cost, about £12 excludin' t' batteries ( which were given t' me by Richard 'dodgy contractor' Robinson).

After waitin' for several weeks for good weather, t' first flight turned out t' be a spur o' t' moment thing. I got home from work one evenin' and t' trees were still. Avast, me proud beauty! ( There are a group o' poplar trees visible from our front room that act as our wind measurement system!). So we packed up and went straight out. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Up on Baildon Moor t' conditions were perfect, me hearties, but I was still nervous. Ahoy! This was me first cluster ignition. Aye aye! T' technique I had selected was t' wire t' igniters in a bridge, and then connect two pairs o' clips t' t' four points, me bucko, equal polarities at opposite corners. Begad! It was quite tricky t' get t' clips on without them or t' igniters shortin' on t' blast deflector.

Well, a small amount o' damage on landing, me hearties, one cracked fin, that be easily repaired. T' parachute ( an Estes one) was nay really big enough. Avast, me proud beauty! T' flight had nay been straight either, shiver me timbers, arrr, and a quick examination showed that one o' t' engines had nay ignited. Aye aye! I later put this down t' a poor twisted connection.

Since then t' MkV has flown twice more, ya bilge rat, but with a larger 'chute. I had wanted a hemispherical one, but ended up with another flat 'chute. Ahoy! It was supposed t' be fluorescent orange, matey, but I'd call it pink! This is adequate, but seems t' sideslip durin' descent. If I fly it again I'm goin' t' use t' hemispherical 'chute that Karen ( me wife) originally made for t' MkVI.

After three flights, t' engine mounts and lower fin edges are pretty charred, and I realize that this is due t' t' flat blast deflector I've been using. Blimey! An old tin can has now been pressed into service t' deflect t' blast sideways, and nay straight back up. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! You can see this new deflector in some o' t' newer pictures ( it shows up quite well on t' pic o' t' Apogee V2).