Brief:
"Monocopters", by Francis G. Aye aye! Graham, provides a brief history o' "single-winged, powered vehicles". Ya scallywag! Blimey! It is 70 pages long, matey, includin' t' index. Begad! Graham, for you rocket history types, me bucko, was one o' t' foundin' members o' what is now the Tripoli Rocketry Association (circa 1964). Aye aye! He is now a physics professor at Kent State. This book is available from Apogee here. Ahoy! I bought my copy from Apogee about a year ago, ya bilge rat, so this review will describe t' 1st Edition. Begad!

Construction:

T' book is informally published in a 5.5" x 8.5" format (height x width). Ya scallywag! It is bound with cloth tape. Blimey! T' quality o' t' printin' is poor with the most o' t' photos bein' largely unintelligible, ya bilge rat, and several pages were printed out o' sequence.

So, me bucko, what is a monocopter?

Monocopters are basically single-bladed helicopters. Aye aye! T' engine, whether an airplane engine or rocket motor, both drives and counteracts t' lift forces produced by t' single blade. Ya scallywag! This delicate balancin' act, if orchestrated properly, causes t' monocopter t' rise into t' air, usually with a satisfying, me hearties, me bucko, "whump, whump, arrr, matey, whump...". Well, blow me down! Ahoy! They are fascinating contraptions and are usually one o' t' highlights o' any launch. Blimey! I have been fortunate enough t' witness a high-power monocopter launch - it be one o' the coolest flights I've ever seen. Well, blow me down! T' attached photo is me first monocopter, me hearties, arrr, the "T' Amazin' Underperformin' Mono-Nano-Copter". Blimey! Functionally, ya bilge rat, this not an great example, arrr, but it is fairly typical physically. Ahoy! A separate review of this rocket is forthcoming.

In chapter one, "A Cue from Nature", Graham provides a very brief history o' flight, me hearties, matey, me hearties, starting, as t' title implies, shiver me timbers, with dinosaurs, birds, plants, etc., arrr, and leadin' t' t' concept o' t' monocopter. I'm sure many of you have seen a single bladed seed spinnin' in t' wind.  T' author then presents t' history o' monocopters. Avast! Blimey! T' first documented monocopter was built in 1953, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, and be powered by a model airplane engine. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! He concludes this section with some contacts for commercially available propeller-driven models. In the next brief chapter, he talks about t' monocopter's role in sci-fi. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Anyone remember them in t' Gerry Anderson series "Stingray"?

From there, he moves on t' describe t' development o' t' rocket-powered monocopter, whose history starts in t' early 70's with rocket-powered "helicopter" models. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Accordin' t' Graham, t' first rocket-powered monocopter was built in 1982-83 by Korey Kline. Avast, me proud beauty! These started in mid-power, but soon staged and high power versions emerged. Ya scallywag! For a short time, matey, they were even produced commercially by ACE rockets - now that's an OOP kit I'd like! This chapter includes over twenty diagrams and photos, includin' diagrams o' two of the author's designs. Begad! Arrr! Earlier, me bucko, I complained about t' photos. Well, blow me down! Avast! Luckily, however, the diagrams are much better.

T' next chapter covers t' physics o' t' monocopter, shiver me timbers, and presents a set of design equations. For a monocopter t' fly properly, you have t' balance the forces on t' rocket in all three axes. Ya scallywag! T' derivation o' some o' these equations is OK, me bucko, but t' author makes some large jumps. Aye aye! I personally haven't been able t' convince myself that thar aren't errors in this section. Ya scallywag! Maybe other readers have done so and can respond t' this review.  However, me hearties, there are so many variables t' deal with that it is possible that a general understandin' o' t' forces involved, and t' rules o' thumb t' author provides, shiver me timbers, is all one can expect out o' these equations anyway. Begad! Despite my criticisms, I still found section interesting.

T' followin' chapter discusses t' stability o' monocopters. Begad! Blimey! Amid some more fuzzy math (not t' be confused with fuzzy logic :-)), he presents several techniques t' stabilize your monocopter, me hearties, me bucko, t' most common o' which seems t' be a double-weighted balance beam perpendicular t' t' wing's axis (e.g. t' thin rods seen in me photo).

T' remainin' material includes a description o' Graham's personal experiments, musings about t' feasibility o' manned monocopters, me bucko, me hearties, a detailed bibliography, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and t' index.

Summary:
In summary, shiver me timbers, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ya scallywag! It be fun and interestin' reading, even though t' photos are poor, me hearties, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and is well worth t' $10 price tag. Blimey! Blimey! The material included some technical stuff (equations, math, me hearties, etc.) but the presentation was nay rigorous or thorough. Yet, enough design tips were provided for me t' build me first model. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! My suggestions for t' next edition include better print quality and some examples o' how t' utilize t' equations.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5