Nearly one year to the day from when Glasair announced at the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in 2014 its intent to build a new light-sport airplane, the Merlin LSA has taken to the skies from the company's headquarters at the Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Washington. "Seeing the joy and exhilaration on everyone's faces was as satisfying as hearing the test pilot Grant Smith's positive comments as he emerged from the cockpit," Glasair's development manager, Ted Setzer, said after the flight. Smith's first flight in the Merlin lasted just under an hour, and he evaluated the handling characteristics of the airplane and the operation of the Rotax 912 iS engine. The two-seat high wing will have an optional BRS parachute.
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