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

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

T' body tube, such as it is, 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. Ahoy! This is done with an #11 X-Acto knife and t' blade needs t' be a new one. Avast! Ahoy! T' method recommended in t' instructions and, which worked quite well, me hearties, 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, me bucko, remove t' blade, and repeat as needed until all sides are cut out.

T' second step is t' cut t' basswood. Well, blow me down! A single strip is provided and from that both wings and t' balance beam. When done, arrr, me bucko, thar was 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 was used t' guide t' X-Acto knife. T' key t' success is to do it slowly, nay pressin' down t' hard on any pass.

After t' wings are cut out, arrr, they can only be forced into the BT with some effort and flexin' o' t' tube out o' round. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! T' instructions say t' sand down either side for a distance o' about an inch. This be done by markin' t' limit on t' basswood, layin' a sheet o' sandpaper out on the edge o' t' work area, 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. Well, blow me down! 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. I had t' do a little trimmin' t' get it t' fit but then it slid into place. Ya scallywag! I used a ruler t' make sure that each side extended t' same distance.

Before gluing, me hearties, I also test fit each o' t' other inserts except for t' launch lug. Blimey! Blimey! When needed, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I did a little trimmin' and then put everythin' in place. When all be 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. Aye aye! I then slipped in t' lug and glued that as well.

Finishing:
I can be a real dunce sometimes. Aye aye! 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 hearties, I put the now dried "Black Death" in t' booth and had at it with, me bucko, me hearties, what else, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but black. About t' time I snapped a photo, me hearties, 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, ya bilge rat, voilá, 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, about 2 days, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I took out the wings and test fit them. They fit fine but puttin' them in place was much more difficult than it should have been because o' t' paint, 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. At least that be t' way it is supposed t' happen. Arrr! With me, t' black paint had obliterated all traces o' 3 o' t' 4 marks. Aye aye! T' fourth line was barely visible.

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

T' wings were glued in place and filleted. Aye aye! Everythin' was eyeballed into place. Ahoy! I hope its good enough and the flight will tell.

With t' wings in place, shiver me timbers, I set up t' Helix and applied a second coat o' paint t' t' body and t' first coat t' the wings. Ahoy! 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. I chose t' use a pair o' C6-0s, ya bilge rat, prepped t' rocket by formin' a thrust rin' o' maskin' tape around each motor, 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. Aye aye! Begad! T' C6s were a good choice because o' t' duration o' t' burn.

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

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5