New And Improved
It's faster, slower, lighter -- and heavier -- than
prototype.
On May 3, 2005, the first Mermaid amphibian built from
production tooling lifted off from Borsice airport in the Czech
Republic. Test pilot Danny Defelici made two flights of about 20
minutes each.
More flights followed from land and water, and by the end of the
week, the Mermaid's improvements had all been verified. Compared to
the original, proof-of-concept vehicle first shown at Sun 'n Fun
2004 and again this year, the production machine is:
- lighter (under 400 pounds empty and unpainted, without its
parachute)
- heavier (increased gross weight, now up to the LSA limit),
- faster (in cruise and top speed)
- slower (when landing)
It also has a little more wing area (nearly a square meter was
added, with new, efficient wingtips), and the hull is deeper,
allowing even better water handling and astounding takeoff
performance.
The Mermaid conforms to the new Light Sport Aircraft (LSA, or
'Sport Pilot') regulations, which have spawned simplified and
lower-cost aircraft which are designed to recruit new pilots and
recertify older ones. The Mermaid is the first LSA amphibian built
to fully exploit those specifications.
The Mermaid's new wing is the largest single improvement. "That
has made it so much better," said Defelici. "The new plane flew
great, right out of the box. It's faster, and it has better
handling qualities." The wing isn't just bigger; it incorporates an
improved airfoil, and the ailerons have been moved father out,
while the flaps, with improved geometry, were moved in.
Cruise speed is increased significantly over the
proof-of-concept's numbers; and touchdown speeds were decreased to
well below 40 knots.
The deeper hull lets the Mermaid rotate more-easily for water
takeoffs. "In the proof-of-concept machine, I had to really get
going before liftoff," said the test pilot. "Now, I just put it on
the step, and it comes off [the water] all by itself." In addition
to the deeper hull, the wings' angle of attack is improved.
Chip Erwin, President of Czech Aircraft Works and head of the
design group that developed the Mermaid, said, "We did not rush the
Mermaid into production but rather took the time to flight test
properly, and then refine and optimize the design. The result is a
high-quality aircraft with exceptionally fine flying
characteristics, refined systems, and the versatility of an
amphibian. We have met our design goals and are now completing the
documentation and establishing production."
Now that the design is confirmed, the production jigs (used to
build this latest Mermaid) are already in use, making parts for the
first ten customer machines. Early delivery position-holders can
expect deliveries by the end of summer, through Skyshop, Inc,
Defelici's Florida distributorship.
Update: Mermaid #2 is now back in the shop for
full load test and paint. Small number of mods and final details
will be accomplished before starting full flight tests. Flight
tests will be performed to LSA and VLA standards and all numbers
will be published when available.