Big Travel Blog & Another Merlin Flys!
As usual, I am too busy working to find time to write this blog. But now I am stuck at Charles De Gaulle Airport, one of my least favorite places to be. When they make me king of France I will tear this airport down. Until then, I try to avoid it, but cheap fares compel me to visit too often. I save a LOT on travel booking from one major hub to another then connecting with low-cost airlines. For example, for the flight to Prague in December I booked a Tampa-London direct flight on Virgin Atlantic for 7,500 points and about $75. Then spent $200 on a British Airways flight direct to Prague.
This latest tour began in Tampa on the 19th of December and has yet to be completed. Once in Prague I took an express train for a couple hours to Olomouc to visit Tech Pro Aviation. It seems like I was just there as this is the 4th visit of 2024, but it helps to keep our projects on track and parts sorted.
Then I returned to Prague, collected my son, and drove to Austria for 3 intensive days of skiing over Christmas. Perfect timing for zero lift lines, plenty of fresh snow, and discounted hotel just prior to the crowds. Europeans tend to spend Christmas at home then ski afterwards. We took advantage of this and had an epic time. The few days off helped me recharge, and Davi really deserves it as he will graduate in 2025 with a computer science/AI degree from one of Europe’s best, and most challenging technical universities.
Next stop was the Philippines. I had promised Manuel that I would visit to help him finish his Merlin as soon as our technology and parts were sorted. As I was already halfway there, and the winter temperatures were manageable, this was the time.
I spent about 10 days working side-by-side with Manuel and a few of the club mechanics. The big task was to upgrade the fuel tanks to the new fuel pump system. You can see the tank removal, pump installation, pressure test, and re-installation. We had plenty of other work as well including panel wiring, trim wiring, wing and tail installation, engine harness installation, cooling, exhaust, cowl, prop and bird nest removal. I don’t know how they got in there, but something built a pretty big nest under the baggage compartment. Note one photo shows the small engine mount reinforcement we suggest. We have had no engine mount issues but running finite element analysis shows this may fatigue here after 300 hours. We have this custom tube cut and in stock for upgrades.
Turns out there was a lot to do, and we ran into some technical issues, so I spent some 10 days there. And managed to make a couple short flights at the end of the build so yet another Merlin is now flying!
I just posted a video of the first hops and of the Angeles City Flying Club. It will show some of the work in progress and our local help and facilities.
Here is a bit of travelogue for your entertainment. In China I walked into the men’s bathroom and a woman was squatted on the toilet seat doing her business and texting on her phone. I thought that was unusual but apparently so common in Asia that they made up a sign for the Philippines bathroom. I guess when your normal toilet is a hole in the ground…. Next photo shows a local menu. Just don’t’ confuse chicken ass with Philippine ass. And the 3rd photo is the Angeles City Flying Club from the cantina. See video for club tour.
And traffic rules are merely suggestions. Look both ways twice then hop across the street like you are the wack-a-mole. Cross walks, lane lines, and stop lights/signs are only suggestions not real rules.
Next stop was a 20-hour layover in Bangkok. Recall that I am a cheap shit when it comes to airline travel, but I pay for it with long layovers and airline changes often. In this case there was a cheap flight from the former Clark Airforce Base to Bangkok, a major hub. Then I had to pay up a bit for a direct flight to Paris that night at 12:05am. Then a long layover at this stinkn airport before connecting on a $98 cheap fare to Prague. Then the train back to Tech Pro Aviation to see how they did on the parts I need, air ship those parts to Paul in Alabama, then prepare the next container shipment leaving soon packed with Merlin Lites and Merlins.
break break
I am at the factory now for a second visit in 2 weeks. We now have a set ship date for the next container with 2 Merlins and 6 Merlin Lite kits of 12 February. The 8 aircraft kits are mostly finished. We are conducting a Vtwin engine mount test today. This is for the Czech certification of the VTwin installation.
A Merlin in the test jig for the engine mount test later today. We are finishing one Merlin in Slovakia to flying condition so we may complete the flight test program for this new engine installation.
Here is a photo dump of the 8 Merlin Lite kits. We are shipping them partially built to speed up assembly in our Alabama build center. Note that 1 Merlin lite remains here for installation and flight testing of our new electric propulsion system. The 2nd Merlin Lite remains here for flight testing of the Cosmos EFI engine.
We have a Merlin II also in final assembly and about ready to go on its’ gear.
Here is another photo/data dump of the electric power Merlin Lite. The motor is installed, the controller and cooling system are in stock, the battery and BMS are in design and will be installed soon. I am pretty keen on electric although most customers will choose gas power for longer endurance and range. Plus, some customers will choose the UL wing for a lighter, Part 103 aircraft and some will choose the longer wing for the motor glider option. I want both!
We expect to have this ‘Electrolite’ flying before the Sun n Fun show. No chance to ship it to the show but we should have plenty of nice video and may publish specifications by then.
I feel compelled to write a note about parts production. We all know the high-quality level of the line of Merlin kits and finished aircraft. What is worth mentioning is that all the parts are designed and fabricated with in house CAD/CAM technology. this is A LOT of work.
Here is a view from the machine shop at TPA. Each fitting is made from raw materials such as laser-cut 4130 steel and 3D milled aluminum bar stock. The precision is measured in microns. And there are hundreds, if not thousands of parts in each aircraft.
Next stop back to Florida after this one-month trip duration to move our projects forward. But Paul has not been sitting around. He has been flying the pants off a Merlin. And he has several Merlins getting closer to flying in the build center.
On a personal note:
Aeromarine & Tech Pro Aviation have created a beautiful line of aircraft. And our technology and quality are exceptional. This has resulted in a lot of orders. Thats the good news. The bad news is we were screwed by both HKS and Rotax cancelling engine production, so we scrambled to develop the VTwin. This work we greatly underestimated which resulted in customers waiting a long time for us to get it sorted. That resulted in no Merlin cash flow in and a lot of R&D cash flow out.
We also developed the Merlin Lite and now Electrolite. These will be game changing aircraft for the ultralight and motor glider market. Pre-orders have been strong. Deliveries have been weak. Which has the same result on cash flow. All out for R&D and nothing in for deliveries.
But this year should be good with the Merlin Vtwin R&D winding down and more Merlins getting out the door and more customers getting the technology they need to finish and fly their Merlins. Plus, Merlin Lite shipments begin finally.
However, some customers for their own personal reasons, or not understanding the aircraft development process, or perhaps I was too optimistic in my delivery forecast, choose to cancel their orders. Their reasons are irrelevant. I have always honored deposit refund requests. I managed to return $1.2mm USD of SportCruiser deposits when my Czech factory was destroyed. That is also why I generally prefer small deposits. Easier to manage. But two years of negative cash flow has drained Aeromarine’s resources. To be clear, the deposits are used as intended: To finance aircraft production. Which means these funds are tied up in materials and no longer at my disposal. Which means refunds are not possible until cash flow resumes. Which will be soon now.
Yet some of these ‘customers’ choose to attack my integrity. One recently stated that if I can afford to fly half-way around the world, I can return his deposit. He does not know that I burned up frequent flyer miles I had been saving for years to take my family on a trip but instead am taking care of customers. Another claimed I used his deposit for personal purposes. Which would be of course fraud on several levels. Another one threatened legal action within hours of his order cancellation. I have no idea why. No one is contesting his refund. As if I don’t have enough stress in my life. To be clear, those few that have requested deposit refunds will get their money back. All of it. 45 years in this business mean something. They should note however that personal attacks are inversely proportional to the timing of those returns.
Sorry for the rant. That is what 4 jet lags back-to-back will do to ya.
This blog is fueled by good European coffee!
CHIP
