Layzell Merlin Explained

The Layzell Merlin is a British autogyro that was designed by Scottish designer Jim Montgomery and produced by Layzell Gyroplanes of Quedgeley, Gloucester. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.^[1]

The type remained in production by Layzell through 2011, although by July 2012 the company website had been removed from the internet.^[2]

Design and development

The Merlin features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit with a fairing and a windshield, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants and a twin cylinder, air-cooled, two-stroke, single-ignition 640NaN0 Rotax 582 engine in pusher configuration.

The aircraft fuselage is made from bolted-together square aluminum tubing. Its 7.011NaN1 diameter Rotor Flight Dynamics rotor has a chord of 181NaN1. The aircraft has an empty weight of 1450NaN0 and a gross weight of 2950NaN0, giving a useful load of 1500NaN0.

After taking over Montgomery's design, company owner Gary Layzell expressed an interest in further developing the Merlin, but initially produced it unchanged.

Operational history

By January 2013, 28 examples had been registered in the United Kingdom with the CAA as Montgomerie-Bensen B8MR.^[3]

External links

• Layzell Gyroplanes website archives on Archive.org
• Photo of a Layzell Merlin GTS

Notes and References

1. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 182. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
2. Web site: Gyro Kits . 5 January 2013 . Layzell Gyroplanes . n.d. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111117042115/http://www.gyrokits.com/ . 17 November 2011 .
3. Web site: GINFO Search Results Summary. 5 January 2013. Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). 5 January 2013.