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. Aye aye! They have t' be C's . Aye aye! Ahoy! . . Begad! really!

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

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

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