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

Construction:

T' book is informally published in a 5.5" x 8.5" format (height x width). Ahoy! It is bound with cloth tape. Arrr! Well, me hearties, blow me down! 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, what is a monocopter?

Monocopters are basically single-bladed helicopters. Begad! Blimey! T' engine, arrr, shiver me timbers, whether an airplane engine or rocket motor, me bucko, both drives and counteracts t' lift forces produced by t' single blade. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! This delicate balancin' act, if orchestrated properly, matey, matey, causes t' monocopter t' rise into t' air, usually with a satisfying, shiver me timbers, "whump, whump, whump...". Ahoy! Avast! 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. Arrr! Arrr! T' attached photo is me first monocopter, the "T' Amazin' Underperformin' Mono-Nano-Copter". Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Functionally, this not an great example, me bucko, but it is fairly typical physically. Ya scallywag! Blimey! A separate review of this rocket is forthcoming.

In chapter one, "A Cue from Nature", shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, Graham provides a very brief history o' flight, starting, as t' title implies, with dinosaurs, birds, plants, etc., 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. 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. Begad! Ahoy! In the next brief chapter, me hearties, he talks about t' monocopter's role in sci-fi. Anyone remember them in t' Gerry Anderson series "Stingray"?

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

T' next chapter covers t' physics o' t' monocopter, ya bilge rat, and presents a set of design equations. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! For a monocopter t' fly properly, you have t' balance the forces on t' rocket in all three axes. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' derivation o' some o' these equations is OK, ya bilge rat, but t' author makes some large jumps. Begad! I personally haven't been able t' convince myself that thar aren't errors in this section. 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, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and t' rules o' thumb t' author provides, shiver me timbers, is all one can expect out o' these equations anyway. Despite my criticisms, me hearties, me bucko, I still found section interesting.

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

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

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