Brief:
In preparation for a line o' monocopter kits, shiver me timbers, Art Applewhite published t' plans for a monocopter made from Popsicle sticks. Ahoy! I didn't have enough Popsicle sticks, arrr, but I did have a few paint stirrers. They advertised Behr paints, hence t' name. Begad! Avast! T' Grizzly Behr flies on 18mm motors.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 3 wooden paint stirrers
• 4 Popsicle sticks
• 18mm motor tube
• String
• Carpenter's glue
• Cardstock
• 1/8" Estes launch lug

One o' t' stirrers is used as t' wing, shiver me timbers, one as t' balance beam, ya bilge rat, and one is cut up for t' motor standoff. I started by gluin' t' Popsicle sticks onto one o' t' stirrers. Well, blow me down! They are separated by t' width o' t' stirrer, arrr, are centered on t' stirrer, ya bilge rat, and are attached on opposin' sides. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! This forms t' balance beam and central hub o' the monocopter.

T' motor mount is conceptually borrowed from Art's design. Begad! Blimey! It consists o' a 1.5" piece cut from t' third stirrer. Arrr! Blimey! I notched t' hub-end and glued t' other t' t' BT-20. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I then wrapped t' mount over t' tube with a generous amount o' string. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' strin' was soaked with carpenter's glue and, where t' strin' raised at t' tube/standoff joint, I filled it with more glue. Ahoy! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! In retrospect, I'd recommend t' twine Art specified. But, arrr, as usual, I substituted with what I had on hand.

T' provide lift, arrr, me bucko, t' win' needs t' be tilted in one direction and t' motor mount in t' other. I planned to mount t' motor assembly and t' win' betwixt t' opposin' Popsicle sticks with one edge under one stick and over the other. Ya scallywag! Blimey! However, me bucko, I found this wouldn't work with t' 4 sticks protrudin' from each side o' t' balance beam. Blimey! Blimey! This was easily fixed-–I merely lopped off two from each side. Begad! T' give t' center more support, me bucko, matey, me hearties, I notched t' win' so part of it overlapped t' center section. Blimey! I then glued t' win' and motor mount t' t' hub, added thick fillets, wrapped each with more string, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and t' covered t' strin' with more glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! This wrappin' was likely overkill. Blimey! Arrr! T' finishing touch on t' win' is an overlappin' piece o' cardstock that provides a semi-airfoiled shape. Aye aye!

I drilled a 1/8” hole in t' center o' t' hub and inserted a section o' an Estes launch lug. Well, shiver me timbers, me bucko, arrr, a monocopter should balance at t' center o' t' hub and I hadn't accounted for t' paper wrap so it be a bit off with a C6 loaded. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Cuttin' about an inch off o' t' win' tip did t' trick. Blimey! I'm nay sure this be required.

Flight and Recovery:
I added a 1/2" tape thrust rin' t' a C6-3 motor and friction fit it in t' mount. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey!

T' Grizzly Behr flew off o' me standard home-made pad usin' an old 1/8" drill bit as t' "rod". T' cuttin' end was clamped in t' pad and I added a tape rin' t' leave a 1" section o' t' shank exposed.

T' monocopter flew nicely. Begad! Most small monocopters merely flutter t' t' ground after burn out, matey, ya bilge rat, but this one continued t' rotate until it landed. Blimey! Blimey! Its spin profile made one observer state that it looked like a boomerang in flight (except it didn't return on its own). Arrr! It did look pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Summary:
T' design is nay optimized and I'm nay sure I'd recommend that anyone build this exact design. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It does, arrr, however, show that small monocopters can be built from all kinds o' leftover stuff. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey!