T' MkV was me first cluster design. Aye aye! 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. Ya scallywag! They have t' be C's . . Arrr! . Begad! really!

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

After waitin' for several weeks for good weather, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' first flight turned out t' be a spur o' t' moment thing. Arrr! Begad! I got home from work one evenin' and t' trees were still. Begad! ( 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. Begad! Ahoy! Up on Baildon Moor t' conditions were perfect, ya bilge rat, but I be still nervous. Begad! Aye aye! This be me first cluster ignition. Aye aye! T' technique I had selected was t' wire t' igniters in a bridge, me hearties, and then connect two pairs o' clips t' t' four points, equal polarities at opposite corners. It be quite tricky t' get t' clips on without them or t' igniters shortin' on t' blast deflector. Arrr!

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

Since then t' MkV has flown twice more, but with a larger 'chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I had wanted a hemispherical one, but ended up with another flat 'chute. It was supposed t' be fluorescent orange, but I'd call it pink! Blimey! 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, ya bilge rat, and I realize that this is due t' t' flat blast deflector I've been using. Avast! Ahoy! An old tin can has now been pressed into service t' deflect t' blast sideways, and nay straight back up. Begad! You can see this new deflector in some o' t' newer pictures ( it shows up quite well on t' pic o' t' Apogee V2).