Brief:
In preparation for a line o' monocopter kits, Art Applewhite published t' plans for a monocopter made from Popsicle sticks. Well, blow me down! I didn't have enough Popsicle sticks, matey, matey, ya bilge rat, but I did have a few paint stirrers. They advertised Behr paints, arrr, hence t' name. Ya scallywag! T' Grizzly Behr flies on 18mm motors.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 3 wooden paint stirrers
• 4 Popsicle sticks
• 18mm motor tube
• String
• Carpenter's glue
• Cardstock
• 1/8" Estes launch lug

One o' t' stirrers is used as t' wing, one as t' balance beam, ya bilge rat, and one is cut up for t' motor standoff. Ahoy! I started by gluin' t' Popsicle sticks onto one o' t' stirrers. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! They are separated by t' width o' t' stirrer, me hearties, are centered on t' stirrer, and are attached on opposin' sides. Blimey! This forms t' balance beam and central hub o' the monocopter.

T' motor mount is conceptually borrowed from Art's design. It consists o' a 1.5" piece cut from t' third stirrer. Blimey! I notched t' hub-end and glued t' other t' t' BT-20. Well, blow me down! I then wrapped t' mount over t' tube with a generous amount o' string. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' strin' was soaked with carpenter's glue and, where t' strin' raised at t' tube/standoff joint, I filled it with more glue. Avast! In retrospect, shiver me timbers, matey, I'd recommend t' twine Art specified. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! But, shiver me timbers, as usual, I substituted with what I had on hand.

T' provide lift, matey, t' win' needs t' be tilted in one direction and t' motor mount in t' other. Avast, me proud beauty! I planned to mount t' motor assembly and t' win' betwixt t' opposin' Popsicle sticks with one edge under one stick and over the other. Blimey! However, I found this wouldn't work with t' 4 sticks protrudin' from each side o' t' balance beam. Begad! This was easily fixed-–I merely lopped off two from each side. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' give t' center more support, me bucko, I notched t' win' so part of it overlapped t' center section. I then glued t' win' and motor mount t' t' hub, me hearties, arrr, added thick fillets, ya bilge rat, wrapped each with more string, and t' covered t' strin' with more glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! This wrappin' be likely overkill. Begad! Begad! T' finishing touch on t' win' is an overlappin' piece o' cardstock that provides a semi-airfoiled shape. Ahoy!

I drilled a 1/8” hole in t' center o' t' hub and inserted a section o' an Estes launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, a monocopter should balance at t' center o' t' hub and I hadn't accounted for t' paper wrap so it was a bit off with a C6 loaded. Aye aye! Cuttin' about an inch off o' t' win' tip did t' trick. I'm nay sure this was required.

Flight and Recovery:
I added a 1/2" tape thrust rin' t' a C6-3 motor and friction fit it in t' mount. Ahoy!

T' Grizzly Behr flew off o' me standard home-made pad usin' an old 1/8" drill bit as t' "rod". T' cuttin' end be clamped in t' pad and I added a tape rin' t' leave a 1" section o' t' shank exposed. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey!

T' monocopter flew nicely. Most small monocopters merely flutter t' t' ground after burn out, matey, but this one continued t' rotate until it landed. Ahoy! Arrr! Its spin profile made one observer state that it looked like a boomerang in flight (except it didn't return on its own). Well, blow me down! It did look pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Summary:
T' design is nay optimized and I'm nay sure I'd recommend that anyone build this exact design. It does, matey, however, show that small monocopters can be built from all kinds o' leftover stuff.