Brief:
In preparation for a line o' monocopter kits, shiver me timbers, Art Applewhite published t' plans for a monocopter made from Popsicle sticks. Well, blow me down! I didn't have enough Popsicle sticks, me bucko, arrr, but I did have a few paint stirrers. Begad! Ahoy! They advertised Behr paints, matey, arrr, hence t' name. Ahoy! 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, one as t' balance beam, me hearties, and one is cut up for t' motor standoff. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I started by gluin' t' Popsicle sticks onto one o' t' stirrers. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! They are separated by t' width o' t' stirrer, me hearties, are centered on t' stirrer, and are attached on opposin' sides. This forms t' balance beam and central hub o' the monocopter.

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

T' provide lift, matey, arrr, t' win' needs t' be tilted in one direction and t' motor mount in t' other. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! 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. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! However, I found this wouldn't work with t' 4 sticks protrudin' from each side o' t' balance beam. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! This was easily fixed-–I merely lopped off two from each side. Arrr! Blimey! T' give t' center more support, I notched t' win' so part of it overlapped t' center section. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! I then glued t' win' and motor mount t' t' hub, ya bilge rat, added thick fillets, wrapped each with more string, and t' covered t' strin' with more glue. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! This wrappin' be likely overkill. 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. Avast! Well, a monocopter should balance at t' center o' t' hub and I hadn't accounted for t' paper wrap so it was a bit off with a C6 loaded. Ahoy! Aye aye! Cuttin' about an inch off o' t' win' tip did t' trick. Avast, me proud beauty! I'm nay sure this was required.

Flight and Recovery:
I added a 1/2" tape thrust rin' t' a C6-3 motor and friction fit it in t' mount. Ya scallywag! Begad! 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. Arrr!

T' monocopter flew nicely. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Most small monocopters merely flutter t' t' ground after burn out, but this one continued t' rotate until it landed. Arrr! Its spin profile made one observer state that it looked like a boomerang in flight (except it didn't return on its own). Aye aye! 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. Avast! Ya scallywag! It does, however, show that small monocopters can be built from all kinds o' leftover stuff. Avast!