Days 2 & 3 Dayton build center
You really were not expecting a blog every day were you #13?
Today was special with the delivery of production Merlin Lite #1. We first re-assembled the aircraft after the 15+ hour drive from Tampa. ATIS reported a direct cross wind with gusts to 19 knots. Those are conditions that ground most ultralights. Or at least those pilots with more sense than me.
The flight was my first from New Carlisle. And would be the first hard surface landing for me in the new Merlin Lite. And by far the most cross wind with gusts to 19 knots. Here is a short video:
John Smiley accepting delivery of Merlin Lite #1. He is in central Illinois if anyone wants to visit him.
Progress finishing the 2 Merlins in Dayton is going OK but not as fast as we would like. It never does. But we have some pretty good results to report:
The engine harness design is finished! It was mostly finished a long time ago, but we needed to make one more installation with recent changes to nail it down perfectly and send the drawing out for harness production.
The reduction drive upgrade is getting installed. And we made some engine installation improvements as well.
An additional lower bearing is added.
BRS installation is mostly finished. Just some riveting remains.
The avionics’ wiring harness is also finished and will go into production ASAP.
The new circuit boards are fantastic! Now the wiring hardness simply plugs into the board rather than dozens of blade connectors.
Laser cut, anodized, and laser-etched panels.
These two Merlins are nearly finished. Next stop will be at M-Squared to get Paul up to speed on the upgrades and sort inventory for our builders and build programs. Great, another 12 hour’s drive…
CIAO,
CHIP
