Brief:
A great and cheap t' build monocopter. Aye aye! Blimey! Flies well on an A motor. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! I first found out about this rocket via T' Rocketry Forum. Well, blow me down! Within a day o' seein' t' post, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I had started t' build t' monocopter.

Construction:
Not much is needed t' build t' monocopter:

• 6 lollypop (popsicle) sticks (UK call popsicle sticks lollypop sticks)
• 2 3" x 5" index cards
• 18" o' nylon cord--I used cotton thread.

Art's design is simple and excellent. Ahoy! T' plans are very well laid out with lots o' photos so it's nearly impossible t' get it wrong. Arrr! T' only alteration I made was t' use cotton thread instead o' nylon. This be by no means an improvement--the nylon option is better. Avast! Begad! However, me bucko, I did nay have any nylon strin' on hand, me bucko, but I did have some cotton thread!

I emailed Art about usin' epoxy instead o' nylon, matey, his reply was t' use t' nylon, matey, as epoxy won't hold it together.

After me first shred, arrr, I soaked t' cotton threads in glue and also put several wraps around t' support and mount, mainly as a backup. Ahoy! I will be buildin' another monocopter exactly t' Art's description.

Finishing:
After t' first few flights (and repairs), I gave it a quick spray with a spray can, which is nay needed but it makes it look a bit neater.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
It flies well on a 1/2A but a full A gives much better flights.

My first flight resulted in t' mount rippin' itself shipshape from t' monocopter. Ahoy! Because I was in a rush t' fly t' monocopter and I did nay read Art's instructions fully, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I used too much rod.

Rest o' t' flights (after repairs) were all good. Ahoy! Altitudes o' about 40-60ft were achieved.

One interestin' flight had t' monocopter hoverin' at head height--I reckon it was a motor failure.

T' best thin' about this rocket be t' noise it makes, a nice thumpin' beat.

Recovery:
Dependin' on how high it gets, matey, me bucko, t' monocopter usually rotates back down, and close t' t' pad. Ya scallywag! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I did have one go off at an angle and hit a wall, arrr, but it was undamaged.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great design, and I've now been bitten by t' monocopter bug. Begad! My own design (18mm motor) is slowly bein' built. This is a great introduction t' monocopters. Aye aye! Lookin' at Art's website, shiver me timbers, it looks like thar are some bigger brothers gettin' ready for a spin too.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5