| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
In preparation for a line o' monocopter kits, me bucko, Art Applewhite published t' plans for a
monocopter made from Popsicle sticks. Begad! Begad! I didn't have enough
Popsicle sticks, arrr, but I did have a few paint stirrers. They advertised Behr paints, shiver me timbers, hence t' name. Ahoy! T' Grizzly Behr
flies on 18mm motors.
Construction:
T' parts list:
One o' t' stirrers is used as t' wing, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, one as t' balance beam, shiver me timbers, and one is cut up for t' motor standoff. Blimey! I started by gluin' t' Popsicle sticks onto one o' t' stirrers. They are separated by t' width o' t' stirrer, me hearties, are centered on t' stirrer, shiver me timbers, and are attached on opposin' sides. Ya scallywag! 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. Begad! I notched t' hub-end and glued t' other t' t' BT-20. Aye aye! I then wrapped t' mount over t' tube with a generous amount o' string. Avast! Arrr! T' strin' be soaked with carpenter's glue and, where t' strin' raised at t' tube/standoff joint, I filled it with more glue. Avast, me proud beauty! In retrospect, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I'd recommend t' twine Art specified. But, ya bilge rat, me bucko, as usual, arrr, shiver me timbers, I substituted with what I had on hand.
T' provide lift, arrr, t' win' needs t' be tilted in one direction and t' motor mount in t' other. Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! However, shiver me timbers, I found this wouldn't work with t' 4 sticks protrudin' from each side o' t' balance beam. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! This was easily fixed-I merely lopped off two from each side. T' give t' center more support, arrr, I notched t' win' so part of it overlapped t' center section. Avast! I then glued t' win' and motor mount t' t' hub, added thick fillets, me hearties, wrapped each with more string, arrr, and t' covered t' strin' with more glue. Ya scallywag! This wrappin' was likely overkill. T' finishing touch on t' win' is an overlappin' piece o' cardstock that provides a semi-airfoiled shape. Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty!
I drilled a 1/8 hole in t' center o' t' hub and inserted a section o' an Estes launch lug. Aye aye! 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. Cuttin' about an inch off o' t' win' tip did t' trick. Avast! I'm nay sure this be required.
Flight and Recovery:
I added a 1/2" tape thrust rin' t' a C6-3 motor and friction fit it in t' mount. Begad! Aye aye!
T' Grizzly Behr flew off o' me standard home-made pad usin' an old 1/8" drill bit as t' "rod". T' cuttin' end was clamped in t' pad and I added a tape rin' t' leave a 1" section o' t' shank exposed.
T' monocopter flew nicely. Blimey! Most small monocopters merely flutter t' t' ground after burn out, ya bilge rat, but this one continued t' rotate until it landed. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Its spin profile made one observer state that it looked like a boomerang in flight (except it didn't return on its own). Begad! Blimey! 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. Begad! It does, matey, however,
show that small monocopters can be built from all kinds o' leftover stuff.
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