The world of toy helicopters was not always overrun with radio-controlled gadgets using the latest in infrared technology. Toy helicopters have been relatively simple in design for centuries, long before man ever actually flew in such a machine. If you like working with wood--and building traditional toys that fill a child with imagination rather than filling landfills with batteries--keep reading to learn how to make one of the most traditional toy helicopters.
Step 1
Shape the rotor blade of your toy helicopter. Soak a tongue depressor in boiling water for at least 30 seconds. This will make the wood slightly more flexible. Remove the tongue depressor from the water and try to twist the stick in the middle. Try to twist one side forward while twisting the other side backward. Hold in position while the tongue depressor cools. You may need to repeat this step a few times. Ideally, you will form the depressor so that one half will be angled. If you have trouble bending the wood, try using a file to at least angle the edges.
Step 2
Glue the tongue depressor to the pencil. Put a small drop of super glue onto the pencil’s eraser, then stick it to the center of the tongue depressor. It is important to get it as close to dead-center as possible, since this will affect your balance. You may wish to take a pencil and tape measure to plot out a set of crosshairs that will mark the exact center, although simply eyeballing it is also perfectly acceptable. In place of a pencil, a ¼” dowel rod, around 7" to 8” long, will provide good balance for your toy helicopter.
Step 3
Use differently colored magic markers to decorate the 'copter in colors and a design of your choosing. You should color the rotor blade at the very least.
Step 4
Wrap your sting tightly around the pencil, about 1/3 of the distance down from the top of the helicopter. Use a piece of kite string or nylon cord. A piece 12" to 18” long is perfect. Simply wind the string around and around the pencil, leaving a small amount at the end for you to hold onto.
Step 5
Make a handle out of a piece of aquarium tubing. Locate a tube with an inside diameter large enough to drop a pencil into while still leaving plenty of extra room. Cut off a piece of the tubing that is 3" or 4” long--just long enough to hold onto. Use a knife or small drill bit to make a hole in one side of the tube, near the end. The hole should be big enough for your kite string to fit through.
Step 6
Position the tubing so the end with the hole in it is at the top, and slide the pencil inside it. When the portion of pencil with the string wrapped around it is inside the tubing, pass the extra length from the end of the string through the hole, so that the string can be pulled even though the wrapping is under the tube.
Step 7
Hold the handle of the toy helicopter in one hand and give the string a good pull with the other. Pull the string all the way off in one long, fluid motion. As you do so, the helicopter will begin spinning; when you reach the end of the string, the toy helicopter will leave the tubing handle and fly into the air.
For more details : Toy Helicopter, Toy Helicopter
