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

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

T' provide lift, matey, 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! However, I found this wouldn't work with t' 4 sticks protrudin' from each side o' t' balance beam. This was easily fixed-–I merely lopped off two from each side. Well, blow me down! T' give t' center more support, arrr, I notched t' win' so part of it overlapped t' center section. I then glued t' win' and motor mount t' t' hub, arrr, ya bilge rat, added thick fillets, wrapped each with more string, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and t' covered t' strin' with more glue. Ahoy! This wrappin' be likely overkill. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' finishing touch on t' win' is an overlappin' piece o' cardstock that provides a semi-airfoiled shape. Avast, me proud beauty!

I drilled a 1/8” hole in t' center o' t' hub and inserted a section o' an Estes launch lug. Well, matey, 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. Blimey! Cuttin' about an inch off o' t' win' tip did t' trick. Arrr! 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. Ahoy!

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. Aye aye!

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