How a high performance model like the Merlin in flys and feels in the air is very much down to set up and personal taste- as performance is affected by thumbs.
After Stick time on Lundy and then more on my local Cliffs and slopes there’s been enough time to start to answer the question of how does the Merlin Fly. You won’t be surprised to hear that I really like how it flys and feels- as do the other pilots that I’ve been happy to hand the radio to- comments like crisp handling and easy to fly have been made.
Some of the design choices have been different from the ‘norm’ with the Merlin. The Merlin’s low wing incidence has helped give the model a natural pace. The wing’s broad cord seems to really help when you’re cantering on thermal lift and feed in a little camber- she climbs away very easily. Perhaps those Schuman efficient tips are helping out here too!
I’m a believer in relatively large ailerons and the Merlin’s ailerons cover over 58% of the wing’s span, large surfaces moving a small amount have really given the Merlin a crisp feel. On My local 20m cliff this really helps you hit the compression every time and with the Merlin’s quick acceleration that turns into speed immediately.
I love flying the Merlin in the tight compression of my local slope, she carries ballast really well and this helps even me to come up- hit the turn and get right back into the lift. Even when you don’t hit a turn right, the tail is more than enough to bring you around but when you do hit them right the Merlin’s broad wing cord has you bouncing off the turns. It really reminds me of my old Sting in that way.
The fuselage of the Merlin is a little broader than some of the Euro models available but with the space between the canopy and Le this makes self launching a doddle. It will also make an Electric conversion very straight forward.
A racer or sports model? I don’t get to race or even fly half as much as I would like to, as well as being up there with the racers the Merlin is just great fun on the slopes. The parts have an excellent feel to them and have been more than strong enough to with stand my rough handling and landing.
A few tweaks are being made to my Prototype Merlin but T9 should have them in by September (I think).
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