The FAA’s FAA’s National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET) recently evaluated the Merlin’s Quick Build Kit, and it passed by .01%, according to company officials.
“You can’t get more builder-friendly than that,” says Aeromarine President Chip Erwin, from his build center in Florida, where two customers are completing their Merlin PSA kits right now. Two more customers are assembling Merlins at their home bases.
At the build center in Lakeland, Florida, “the builder actually builds his own airplane, and you’re ready to fly — not just taxi — in two weeks,” he continued. “After the first week, the airframe is finished, and builders are on to the engine and panel installations.”
The single-seat all-metal Merlin PSA — which stands for Personal Sport Aircraft — features power by the four-stroke HKS or the two-stroke Rotax 582.
Several Merlin PSA are already flying in the UK, and several more are near complete in the US, within just weeks of FAA’s approval of the kit, company officials note.
Merlin PSA quick-build kits are available for delivery this summer. Some slots remain for the Builders’ Center, as well.
The kit (without engine, prop, and paint) has an introductory price of $16,500. Depending on engine and panel options, completed and painted aircraft cost from $30,000 to $45,000.