14 MAY/JUNE 2024 SPORT ROCKETRY
Monocopters are among the oddest of
the oddrocs. A monocopter, as the name
implies, consists of a single flying wing that
spins rapidly as it ascends. A motor at one
end spins the rocket causing the wing to
provide li. Figure 1 shows a monocopter
in flight, although still photos do not do
its flight justice. e monocopter rotates
about its center of mass near the rocket
motor end. As a result, monocopters as-
cend slowly, look like a twirling spiral, and
sound like a weed whacker.
At one time, the monocopter was a sta-
ple in everyone's rocket arsenal, and sev-
eral vendors offered kits. Monocopters had
their heyday in the late 70s and early 80s
but fell out of favor. ey fly in an impres-
sive whirl of fire and smoke and helicopter
back to the ground. is article describes
instructions for a monocopter that you can
build based on 3D printed parts.
Francis Graham is an expert on mono-
copter physics. He wrote a book and an
AIAA article on this. I had the pleasure of
meeting him at the TRITECH 2022 con-
ference, where he gave a delightful talk
covering the history and physics of the
monocopter. It is well worth the watch at
https://youtu.be/1a0hUMIJCJs.
One might wonder how such a strange
rocket can fly stably. Francis's analysis es-
tablished that the monocopter is slightly
by Curtis Heisey,
NAR 90228, Level 3
All photos by the author.
Revival of the Monocopter
Figure 1. Monocopter in flight.
