Layzell Merlin
{{Short description|British gyroplane}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2016}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Merlin | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Autogyro | national origin=United Kingdom | manufacturer=Layzell Gyroplanes | designer=Jim Montgomery | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=Production completed (2011) | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Layzell Merlin is a British autogyro that was designed by Scottish designer Jim Montgomery and produced by Layzell Gyroplanes of Quedgeley, Gloucester. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 182. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
The type remained in production by Layzell through 2011, although by July 2012 the company website had been removed from the internet.{{cite web|url=http://www.gyrokits.com/ |title=Gyro Kits |accessdate=5 January 2013 |last=Layzell Gyroplanes |date=n.d. |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117042115/http://www.gyrokits.com/ |archivedate=17 November 2011 }}
Design and development
The Merlin features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit with a fairing and a windshield, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants and a twin cylinder, air-cooled, two-stroke, single-ignition {{convert|64|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Rotax 582 engine in pusher configuration.
The aircraft fuselage is made from bolted-together square aluminum tubing. Its {{convert|7.01|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} diameter Rotor Flight Dynamics rotor has a chord of {{convert|18|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}. The aircraft has an empty weight of {{convert|145|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} and a gross weight of {{convert|295|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}, giving a useful load of {{convert|150|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}.
After taking over Montgomery's design, company owner Gary Layzell expressed an interest in further developing the Merlin, but initially produced it unchanged.
Operational history
By January 2013, 28 examples had been registered in the United Kingdom with the CAA as Montgomerie-Bensen B8MR.{{cite web|url = http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=summary&aircrafttype=MONTGOMERIE-BENSEN%20B8MR|title = GINFO Search Results Summary|accessdate = 5 January 2013|last = Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom)|date = 5 January 2013}}
Specifications (Merlin GTS)
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|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Rotax 582
|eng1 type=twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two stroke aircraft engine
|eng1 kw=48
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References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.gyrokits.com/ Layzell Gyroplanes website archives] on Archive.org
- [http://www.chinagabuyer.com/upload/2011819155122705.jpg Photo of a Layzell Merlin GTS]
{{Layzell Gyroplanes aircraft}}
Category:1990s British sport aircraft