Description

The Merlin is our favorite platform for showing off Ruby's capabilites and smallness.

It is exceptionally versatile, and Ruby makes it even more so. As a "mini hotliner", it can fly very fast and climb vertically, but can also float very slowly to thermal, slope soar, and make first flights easier. It's unintimidating to hand launch or land. In addition, unlike larger hotliners, the Merlin has a fast roll rate because its wingspan is so short.

It is unusually small and portable, especially for a glider. It quickly disassembles into a custom fit foam carrying box (included) that can be packed in a suitcase.

The Merlin was traditionally only recommended for experienced pilots because it responds so quickly, but now Ruby tames it for beginners. Because of its small size, experienced pilots avoided flying the Merlin long thermal-chasing distances for fear of losing sight of it. Now Ruby lets you fly it at the edge of your visual range with ease and less worry.

This plane is made of a special foam material called "Elapor". It's very durable, easy to fix quickly in the field with regular CA glue, and replacements are available for every part.

Multiplex is widely recognized as the world's highest quality foam plane builder.
Thoughtful German engineering makes this the Mercedes.

The main limitation of the Merlin is payload capacity. While Ruby fits in it just fine, there's little room or wing area to support FPV or other gear. We'll soon be adding other plane models to our lineup which are more suitable than Merlin for carrying things.

[Learn more about Merlin at the Multiplex website]

Here's a very detailed and well illustrated review and build log that someone posted on a forum (the plane was assembled while in a car on a road trip!): [view]