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. They have t' be C's . Aye aye! Well, blow me down! . . Aye aye! Begad! 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, so I shouldn't have any problems with clustering. Well, blow me down! T' batteries sit very close t' t' launch pad, me hearties, so that t' clip whips are fairly short. Arrr! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, arrr, thar be a relay mounted in t' battery station. This requires only negligible current t' activate. Begad! Aye aye! Total parts cost, me hearties, 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. Aye aye! Blimey! I got home from work one evenin' and t' trees were still. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! ( There are a group o' poplar trees visible from our front room that act as our wind measurement system!). Begad! Blimey! So we packed up and went straight out. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Up on Baildon Moor t' conditions were perfect, me hearties, but I was still nervous. This was me first cluster ignition. Begad! Blimey! 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. Begad! Blimey! It was quite tricky t' get t' clips on without them or t' igniters shortin' on t' blast deflector. Arrr! Blimey!

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

Since then t' MkV has flown twice more, but with a larger 'chute. Ya scallywag! 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! This is adequate, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but seems t' sideslip durin' descent. Begad! Arrr! 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. Ahoy! Ahoy! An old tin can has now been pressed into service t' deflect t' blast sideways, shiver me timbers, 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).