Aircraft Spotlight - Swearingen Merlin
One of the most important tenets that drives the ethos of APEX Flight Solutions is the principle of value. We determine which airframe offers the best economy and reliability to accomplish a specific mission. When it comes to turboprops, while the ramps and skies of Texas host a veritable constellation of King Airs, they’re practically the Chevy Silverado of the oil and finance sectors who wear out the departures and arrivals of Dallas, Houston, Austin, and the industrial hubs of the west Texas desert, we’ve pledged a bit of allegiance to an airframe that while maybe not as sexy, we find to be much more robust, offer better performance and fuel economy, and has, in our experience, a much better rate of dispatchability: the Fairchild-Swearengin Merlin.
Originally, Lockhart, TX native Ed Swearingen, the father of the Metro/Merlin and other notable aircraft designs, wanted to improve on the Beechcraft’s Twin Bonanza and Queen Air. Through a series of design generations, Swearingen landed on a configuration that would prove both economical and durable.
Early models and design development can be a bit confusing, but to boil it down, there are three basic variants flying today. The Merlin III is the short-body version. It has a length of 42’ while sharing the engine and wing with the Merlin IV, which has a length of 59’ and features a 53” aft cargo door. Both Merlin variants offer takeoff weights of up to 12,500 lbs., negating the need for a type rating to pilot them. The big brother of the Merlin is the Metro, which, while sharing many of the design features and general appearance with the Merlin IV, has more powerful engines, a wingspan of 57’, and a max takeoff weight of 16,500. All of the Merlin/Metro line is certified for single pilot operation.
Sharing the same lineage as the Metro, which was originally conceived as a small 19-seat regional airliner, sales of new aircraft in corporate configuration outpaced airline configuration 2-1. A typical corporate-config Merlin IV seats up to 14 with a voluminous lavatory and generous space for baggage. The typical Merlin III accommodates eight passengers and, with its lower empty weight, has a better time-to-climb and a faster cruise speed. The last model Merlin III to leave the assembly line featured winglets and was christened the Merlin 300.
Cruise speeds for the Merlin IV are in the 255-275 knots range while burning roughly 90 gallons of Jet-A per hour in cruise, depending on engine condition and rigging, while Merlin III speeds are generally in the high 200’s to low 300s on the same fuel burn. While the service ceiling is 31,000’, the plane seems happiest between flight levels 210 and 270.
One major design feature that sets the Merlin line apart from its main competitor is the Garrett engine, which is vastly more efficient than the King Air’s PT-6, especially at lower altitudes. In general, the Merlin is faster, more efficient, can carry a bigger payload, and is much cheaper to operate than a similarly equipped King Air, especially when comparing the Merlin III with the King Air 90 line.
“It’s just a great airplane all the way around,” says APEX CEO, Ross Nyerges. “I’ve been flying these things for years, and while they have their quirks like any other plane, it’s fast, handles great, and you can always count on it to get you home because it’s built like a tank for airline-like reliability… and I even like the way it looks.”
APEX Flight Solutions currently manages and maintains two Merlin IVAs, with a IIIC coming online within the next few months. Our pilots, along with our management and maintenance staff, are experts at what it takes to keep these birds flying. Still, even with all their eccentricities, these planes offer unsurpassed value-to-performance metrics.
If you think a Merlin might be for you, please feel free to contact us, and we’ll help you start your ownership journey.
Merlin IVA specs: