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

After consultin' with t' guys on r.m.r I've made a new ignition system. It's based around two 6v lead-acid batteries ( wired in series t' give 12v), shiver me timbers, me hearties, so I shouldn't have any problems with clustering. Ya scallywag! T' batteries sit very close t' t' launch pad, so that t' clip whips are fairly short. Blimey! Avast! It has two sets o' clips t' make connection t' t' four igniters easier. Aye aye! Both t' battery station and t' remote hand station have keyswitches and red LEDs t' indicate when they are active. Arrr! In addition t' hand station has a momentary push button t' activate t' launch. T' keep t' diameter o' t' cable connectin' t' remote hand station t' t' battery station down t' a manageable size, arrr, thar be a relay mounted in t' battery station. This requires only negligible current t' activate. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! Begad! I got home from work one evenin' and t' trees were still. Aye aye! ( There are a group o' poplar trees visible from our front room that act as our wind measurement system!). Ahoy! So we packed up and went straight out. Ahoy! Avast! Up on Baildon Moor t' conditions were perfect, me hearties, but I was still nervous. Well, blow me down! Begad! This was me first cluster ignition. T' technique I had selected be t' wire t' igniters in a bridge, arrr, me bucko, and then connect two pairs o' clips t' t' four points, shiver me timbers, equal polarities at opposite corners. Blimey! It was quite tricky t' get t' clips on without them or t' igniters shortin' on t' blast deflector. Ahoy!

Well, a small amount o' damage on landing, ya bilge rat, one cracked fin, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, that was easily repaired. T' parachute ( an Estes one) was nay really big enough. T' flight had nay been straight either, shiver me timbers, and a quick examination showed that one o' t' engines had nay ignited. I later put this down t' a poor twisted connection.

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