T' MkV was me first cluster design. Ahoy! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! It's made from a 55mm cardboard postal tube with 1mm thick balsa fins and a balsa nose cone. Arrr! Well, blow me down! It's powered by four 18mm engines. They have t' be C's . Aye aye! . . Avast, me proud beauty! 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. T' batteries sit very close t' t' launch pad, ya bilge rat, so that t' clip whips are fairly short. It has two sets o' clips t' make connection t' t' four igniters easier. Avast! Both t' battery station and t' remote hand station have keyswitches and red LEDs t' indicate when they are active. Avast! Arrr! In addition t' hand station has a momentary push button t' activate t' launch. Blimey! Avast! 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. Aye aye! Begad! This requires only negligible current t' activate. 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, t' first flight turned out t' be a spur o' t' moment thing. Avast, me proud beauty! I got home from work one evenin' and t' trees were still. Well, blow me down! Begad! ( There are a group o' poplar trees visible from our front room that act as our wind measurement system!). Begad! So we packed up and went straight out. Blimey! Up on Baildon Moor t' conditions were perfect, me bucko, but I was still nervous. This be me first cluster ignition. Begad! Aye aye! T' technique I had selected be t' wire t' igniters in a bridge, matey, and then connect two pairs o' clips t' t' four points, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me hearties, equal polarities at opposite corners. Avast! Blimey! It was quite tricky t' get t' clips on without them or t' igniters shortin' on t' blast deflector. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down!

Well, a small amount o' damage on landing, shiver me timbers, one cracked fin, arrr, that be easily repaired. T' parachute ( an Estes one) was nay really big enough. Ya scallywag! T' flight had nay been straight either, me bucko, 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but with a larger 'chute. Well, blow me down! I had wanted a hemispherical one, me bucko, but ended up with another flat 'chute. Avast! It was supposed t' be fluorescent orange, but I'd call it pink! This is adequate, me bucko, but seems t' sideslip durin' descent. Ahoy! 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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).