Brief:
Art Applewhite has recently been promotin' a series o' monocopters and, matey, in t' case o' t' Double Helix series, bicopters. Begad! T' 18mm version o' t' Double Helix is nay as simple as its 13mm siblin' but neither is it very difficult. Mostly though, they are fun t' watch and fly.

Construction:
T' kit comes with instructions, matey, a piece o' basswood that must be cut t' dimension, matey, 2 motor tubes, a 1/4" launch lug and a pre-marked body tube. Begad! Blimey! All materials were in good condition and o' good quality.

T' body tube, me hearties, such as it is, me bucko, is marked by t' simple expedient o' bein' wrapped by a sheet with all o' the relevant locations indicated by polygons o' t' appropriate size.

T' first step in construction is t' cut out t' polygons on t' body tube. Begad! This is done with an #11 X-Acto knife and t' blade needs t' be a new one. Ya scallywag! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' method recommended in t' instructions and, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, which worked quite well, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, is to push t' blade in perpendicular along one line o' a polygon, slowly push it in until t' blade completely covers one line segment, remove t' blade, ya bilge rat, and repeat as needed until all sides are cut out.

T' second step is t' cut t' basswood. A single strip is provided and from that both wings and t' balance beam. When done, thar be a 4" x 3/4" strip left over that I am sure will come in handy one o' these days.

T' marks were made on t' basswood and then a steel ruler be used t' guide t' X-Acto knife. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! T' key t' success is to do it slowly, nay pressin' down t' hard on any pass.

After t' wings are cut out, ya bilge rat, they can only be forced into the BT with some effort and flexin' o' t' tube out o' round. Ya scallywag! T' instructions say t' sand down either side for a distance o' about an inch. This was done by markin' t' limit on t' basswood, layin' a sheet o' sandpaper out on the edge o' t' work area, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and workin' t' fin back and forth.

T' balance beam is supposed t' have a 3/8" hole drilled in its center t' accommodate t' launch lug. Avast! I decided t' go ahead and install t' beam so that I could use t' holes in t' BT t' make sure t' hole in t' beam would align. Begad! I had t' do a little trimmin' t' get it t' fit but then it slid into place. Avast, me proud beauty! I used a ruler t' make sure that each side extended t' same distance.

Before gluing, I also test fit each o' t' other inserts except for t' launch lug. Arrr! When needed, I did a little trimmin' and then put everythin' in place. Arrr! When all was ready, I glued it with white glue and applied fillets.

After the glue had dried, I got out t' 3/8" drill bit and made t' penetration through t' balance beam. Ahoy! I then slipped in t' lug and glued that as well.

Finishing:
I can be a real dunce sometimes. Begad! Blimey! Most o' t' Helices I have seen have been flown "nekkid" but I like a little paint and t' instruction indicate that is just fine as long as too much is nay used. With that in mind, me bucko, me hearties, me hearties, I put the now dried "Black Death" in t' booth and had at it with, arrr, shiver me timbers, what else, but black. Avast! About t' time I snapped a photo, me hearties, me hearties, matey, I realized somethin' was wrong but could nay quite put me finger on it. I went back t' me work desk t' get somethin' done on another project and, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, voilá, shiver me timbers, thar were t' wings for t' Double Helix starrin' at me: I had forgotten t' install them.

When t' paint had dried enough for me t' mess with t' Helix and I had time, about 2 days, arrr, I took out the wings and test fit them. Arrr! They fit fine but puttin' them in place was much more difficult than it should have been because o' t' paint, me bucko, especially black paint.

T' BT is marked with black triangles t' serve as alignment marks. Blimey! You insert t' win' and make sure that the edges lined up with t' points. Avast! At least that be t' way it is supposed t' happen. Begad! Ya scallywag! With me, t' black paint had obliterated all traces o' 3 o' t' 4 marks. T' fourth line was barely visible.

I did remember that t' wings are t' be aligned at t' same angle as t' motor tubes. Ahoy! That meant that I was able to get t' wings right, me hearties, I hope, me bucko, but that I worked much harder at it than I needed t' have done. Blimey! Bad me.

T' wings were glued in place and filleted. Aye aye! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Everythin' was eyeballed into place. Avast! I hope its good enough and the flight will tell.

With t' wings in place, me bucko, I set up t' Helix and applied a second coat o' paint t' t' body and t' first coat t' the wings. I am goin' t' leave it at that so as t' nay add too much weight.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
I only got one shot at flyin' this one t' first time out. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I chose t' use a pair o' C6-0s, prepped t' rocket by formin' a thrust rin' o' maskin' tape around each motor, me hearties, and loaded it up on t' monocopter pad.

At ignition, it started t' spin just like its supposed t' and took off in a slow motion flight accompanied by a buzzin' sound. T' C6s were a good choice because o' t' duration o' t' burn.

When they had burned out, shiver me timbers, t' Double Helix slowed down its revolutions, came t' a stop and then started spinning in t' opposite direction as it auto-rotated down. Avast! This was by far t' best performance I have gotten out o' any o' the Helices.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Cool rocket. Avast! Ahoy! Probably t' best o' t' Applewhite Helices.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5