The Seedwings Europe Merlin is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing co ...

, single-place,

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame cover ...

that was designed and produced by Seedwings Europe of Schlitters. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 48. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003.

Design and development

The Merlin was designed as an intermediate-level hang glider with an emphasis on optimized sail design to eliminate twist at all speeds. It is made from

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

tubing, with the double-surface wing covered in

Dacron Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foo ...

sailcloth. The models are each named for their rough wing area in square feet.

Variants

;Merlin 133 :Small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing is cable braced from a single

kingpost A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above f ...

. The nose angle is 132°, the wing area is and the aspect ratio is 8:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider is DHV 3 certified. ;Merlin 148 :Mid-sized model for medium-weight pilots. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 133°, the wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.6:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider is DHV 2-3 certified. ;Merlin 158 :Large-sized model for heavier pilots. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 133°, the wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.4:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider is DHV 2-3 certified.

Specifications (Merlin 133)

References

{{Seedwings Europe aircraft Merlin Hang gliders