Helicopters

I love helicopters! They are easy to make and provide a lot of fun! I use a 5/8" tube 4 inches long. I have made a rammer that is pointed to a V at the end to ram the first clay plug. The ram is marked so I know when to stop adding clay. I have also marked a spot on the tube that will be the fuse hole. This hole goes through the clay plug and just pokes into the black powder at the bottom of the V shaped plug. Next I mark the bottom of the tube where I put the dot on the case for my fuse hole. Now I put my angle finder on it, which makes the vent hole 45 degrees down. I mark the spot on the end of the tube where the top will be, and the propeller goes. I then draw a line along the top of the tube so I know where to put the prop, which will go 1 inch away from the end. Next I ram the black powder, to which 10% of 325 mesh aluminum powder has been added, to about 7/8" from the top. You do not need to compact the powder really hard, 5 light blows will do it fine. Compact it in increments of about 1/2 - 3/4" at a time. Then a 3/8" clay plug is rammed. In this top clay plug a 1/8" hole is drilled just into the black powder. Mix up 1 gram of flash powder, add it to the top and put a paper end plug in and glue it. Next I hot glue the propeller onto the line I drew earlier and keep it square. You can easily twist the Popsicle stick to a 90 degree angle (which will have each blade at 45 degrees once glued on) over a candle flame and hold it. When the stick cools it will retain its shape. After that drill your 1/8" fuse hole into the dot you made on the case and insert fuse. Mine have gone quite high, I would guess 150 feet, then explode! I love 'em.

Twisting the Popsicle stick                             Here are the parts you will need         

My angle finder                         Finished chopper