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

Construction:

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

So, arrr, what is a monocopter?

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

In chapter one, me bucko, shiver me timbers, me hearties, "A Cue from Nature", Graham provides a very brief history o' flight, ya bilge rat, starting, as t' title implies, ya bilge rat, with dinosaurs, birds, plants, shiver me timbers, etc., and leadin' t' t' concept o' t' monocopter. Arrr! Ahoy! Blimey! 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, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' first documented monocopter was built in 1953, and was powered by a model airplane engine. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Anyone remember them in t' Gerry Anderson series "Stingray"?

From there, arrr, he moves on t' describe t' development o' t' rocket-powered monocopter, me bucko, whose history starts in t' early 70's with rocket-powered "helicopter" models. Begad! Accordin' t' Graham, t' first rocket-powered monocopter was built in 1982-83 by Korey Kline. These started in mid-power, arrr, but soon staged and high power versions emerged. For a short time, me bucko, 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. Ya scallywag! Begad! Earlier, me bucko, I complained about t' photos. Avast! Luckily, me hearties, ya bilge rat, however, the diagrams are much better.

T' next chapter covers t' physics o' t' monocopter, matey, and presents a set of design equations. Blimey! For a monocopter t' fly properly, matey, shiver me timbers, you have t' balance the forces on t' rocket in all three axes. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' derivation o' some o' these equations is OK, me bucko, but t' author makes some large jumps. I personally haven't been able t' convince myself that thar aren't errors in this section. Begad! Maybe other readers have done so and can respond t' this review.  However, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 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, matey, arrr, is all one can expect out o' these equations anyway. Ya scallywag! Despite my criticisms, ya bilge rat, I still found section interesting.

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

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

Summary:
In summary, shiver me timbers, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It be fun and interestin' reading, even though t' photos are poor, and is well worth t' $10 price tag. Well, blow me down! The material included some technical stuff (equations, math, shiver me timbers, etc.) but the presentation was nay rigorous or thorough. Yet, me hearties, enough design tips were provided for me t' build me first model. Arrr! Avast! 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