Merlin GT
lightsport aircraft, Merlin GT experimental lightsport aircraft, Lightsport Aircraft Pilot News
newsmagazine.
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Lightsport
Aircraft Pilot is a directory of aircraft that generally fit
into what are described as ultralight aircraft, advanced ultralight
aircraft,
light sport aircraft, experimental light sport aircraft, experimental
aircraft, amateur built aircraft, ELSA or homebuilt
aircraft in the United States and Canada. These include
weight shift aircraft, more commonly known as trikes,
powered parachutes, and powered para-gliders.
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Merlin GT lightsport
aircraft, experimental
lightsport, amateur built aircraft.
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Merlin GT
Manufacturers:
www.aerocompinc.com
www.ezflyer.com
The Merlin has been described as the
Jeep of the sport plane industry. This airplane was designed
from a wish list. Pilots, instructors, and experienced
homebuilders were surveyed and asked what they wanted in an
affordable airplane, and then designer John Birch was off to
the drawing board.
They came up with a sturdy airframe made
of heavier than normal steel tubing, a 41 inch wide cockpit
with a large instrument panel area, and 8 by 6 tundra tires.
The latest models were improved with a one piece fiberglass cowling, and at Cessna 140 style skylight.
If you need rugged features, because you're into camping the
10 sq.ft. cargo pod, which was optional offered plenty of room
for your tent and other necessary equipment.
Optional floats
and skis are available to transform this into a true go
anywhere aircraft. |
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The 1300 pound gross weight aircraft has
an empty weight of 510 pounds. Fuel capacity is 13 gallons,
though a 16 gallon capacity was available as an option.
Length is 20 feet, height is 6'4". The 30
foot wings have rounded wingtips. Wing area is 167 ft.?, and
wing loading is 7.8 pounds per square foot. The wings are
designed to handle normal load limit of +4 and -2 G's. The
Merlin GT 582 stalls at 33 mph and can cruise up to 333
miles. Payload with full fuel is 712 pounds.
The wing is foldable for transporting the
airplane. The standard engine was the 65 hp Rotax 582. They
had a wide selection of optional engines as well, which gets
the side-by-side two-seater off the ground in just 85 feet.
Climb is 800 ft./m, although if you're flying solo, the
climb rate will increase to 1200 ft./m. Cruise is about 90
miles per hour and you'll need 150 feet to land. The fabric,
tubing, and sheet metal craft took about 300
to 450 hours to build.
Zoom Report:
If you're looking for a super trainer or mellow cruiser,
this is your bird. Flight is allowable with the doors open or closed for the maximum
air-conditioning whenever the mood hits. Flight controls are
responsive without being twitchy. The bird has a
surprisingly positive stability profile and it handles very
easily on the ground.
Design engineering: B-
Ground handling: B Fairly bulletproof
Flight characteristics: B Makes an excellent trainer
Bang for the buck: B
Ground Handling: Very comfortable flyer. Highly
recommended. |
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Merlin GT lightsport aircraft -
experimental lightsport aircraft |
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