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

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

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

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

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. Ahoy! Blimey!

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