At the Sebring Sport Aviation Expo, Aeromarine LSA showed off the new single-seat Merlin PSA. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli recently took a couple of flight trials in the airplane and shot this video.
Hahahaaaaa....love that last bit after the logo at the end...come on Paul, you have the best job in the world, lighten up....(laughing REALLY out loud) (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aum47Lz-3W0.html)
My question is when it's LSA approved does that mean that the max gross can go up to 1320 lbs ? I think that Paul said that the Useful weight was only 300 lbs. So that seems very limiting for a single seater. Nowadays there are a lot of two seat LSA's with 500 600 lbs of useful weight.
Sure, nobody wants an engine that sounds like a leaf blower - made worse in this video as you can't just shut off the radio...well...unless you're from Texas - but all aircraft are a collection of compromises. And, as such, this one is impressive. Many thanks for this video!
+macfan999 In order to record audio, I need sidetone in the headset. The only way to get it is to leave the radio on. It got a little too busy there to switch frequencies and another pilot kept making repetitive CTAF announcements. After the sixth take, I got a little pissed.
AVweb John, Over all sir, if a guy was to be interested in the Merlin as a personal aircraft !! Would it be one you would say is a good choice!! I am intrigued by the easy 51% mandated build time of the Merlin!! Along with the low purchase pricing!! With all your experience in airplane characteristics and flying abilities! Did it trip your trigger as a PSA!??? Seriously curious!! G- man Email me at usf191199@hotmail.com
Don't let that stop you. If you have the 582, it will lose weight fast! Like, close to, 40 lbs per hour, putting you at gross, in half an hour. I carry 20 gallons in my 503 powered Mini-Max Eros, and can almost feel it getting lighter by the minute! I burn 4.5 gallons per hour, at 5,800 rpm cruise.
If only this was 85 pounds lighter it would qualify for ultralight... Other than that id just buy a zenith ch701 for the complete kit $13500 then just buy an engine... for a 2 place plane...
That’s true but my understanding is that you build this plane yourself so you’re authorized to work on it yourself making it cheaper than a certified plane.
