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

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

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

Well, arrr, ya bilge rat, a small amount o' damage on landing, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, one cracked fin, that was easily repaired. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' parachute ( an Estes one) was nay really big enough. Blimey! Blimey! T' flight had nay been straight either, shiver me timbers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and a quick examination showed that one o' t' engines had nay ignited. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Arrr! I had wanted a hemispherical one, arrr, but ended up with another flat 'chute. Arrr! It was supposed t' be fluorescent orange, ya bilge rat, 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, matey, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! An old tin can has now been pressed into service t' deflect t' blast sideways, and nay straight back up. Well, blow me down! 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).