Customer Profiles N8413T N4349A N7MM N1167Y VH-XDX HB-PIT N9472C N821ET N43010 N9676T VH-DIG N14GE N93CC N38791
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N8413T - Seneca III
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I bought N4349A, a Piper Turbo Arrow IV, in August of 2003. After a panel
overhaul and the addition of a Merlyn wastegate the aircraft was tanked and
ferried across the Pacific to Seletar (WSSL), Singapore. Since then I have
enjoyed flying it in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Hopefully, this
year I'll get to Thailand and next year perhaps Australia.
Below is a picture taken on a trip from Singapore to Bali, Indonesia, a
distance of about 1000nm. Indonesia has plenty of volcanos that reach up
to as high as 12,000 feet so the MEA's are quite high which makes a
turbo-charged aircraft useful. This photo was taken at 14,500 feet passing
one of the volcanos on the eastern tip of the island of Java. MP 30
inches, 2450 RPM, FF 9.7 gal/hr, TIT 1590, KTAS 155, OAT 0 ° C.
The tropical weather of the region creates a lot of haze and cumulus
build-ups so having the capability to climb into the mid-teens can make
flights much more pleasant. Typically, we have temperatures in the high
80's to low 90's so the turbo-charger also helps to deal with the density
altitudes that we have. And yet despite the high ambient temperatures I
have not had any of the cooling problems often associated with the
TSIO-360-FB. In cruise at altitudes in the mid-teens I have cylinder head
temperatures below 350F. While below 10,000 feet cylinder head
temperatures are below 325F. I find the engine very efficient and I'm sure
that some of that is attributed to the Merlyn wastegate.
Kind Regards,
Dimitri
Singapore
I was completely dissatisfied with the factory stock approach to
turbo-charging the TCM TSIO-360 engine. The fixed "bolt" waste gate is not
only inefficient in its purpose, but I consider it excessively costly and
leading to easy misuse and danger from over running as it invariably does. When
first buying the Turbo Arrow as my first airplane, many people asked, "Why do
you
need a turbo charger in Florida?" adding "there aren't any mountains."
My reply was simple and twofold. (1) Florida is a weather machine, building
high top convention in less than an hour, and (2) I never intended to limit my
flying to only Florida, and it made little sense to me to own a three
dimensional vehicle that lost power as it used more and more of its third
dimension.
"Project Arrow, Seven-Mike-Mike" has been a project plane for nearly four
years, and we will have had our Merlyn on it for four years in September 2005,
first installed on a complete reman of only 90 hours. The engine now has close
to 600 hours, and it's frequently monitored and checked more than most Part 91
aircraft. Nothing is allowed to operate less than 100% on this plane; it's
instantly replaced and documented heavily in photos and records as part of
Project Arrow's ongoing journal. To date the Merlyn has operated flawlessly.
Our Merlyn waste gate allows this plane to use much more of its natural
throttle opening at sea level for takeoffs while providing much more leverage at
higher altitudes, pushing critical altitude easily past 16,000 feet. RPM wind-up
time on acceleration is also smoother, giving me total confidence of quick
power ups or go arounds without the usual turbo hesitation a pilot must always
adjust for with controlled patience. It's nice to know that the turbo's
operating speed is reduced when it isn't needed, and has plenty of handle left
to
always peg my manifold at 40" when I need it. It's the way Piper should have
sold
the plane, and I wouldn't own a Turbo Arrow without one.
Best regards,
Jim Miller
"Project Arrow"
MILLER ENGINEERING INC
Pompano Beach, FL
click on the picture to see a hi-res version
I flew my Mooney 231 for over 20 years with the stock fixed wastegate before converting to the Merlyn Black Magic. Where I use to run out of throttle between 14 & 15 thousand, I now can cruise at 16 & 17K with reduced RPM and throttle to spare. It's almost like "magic". I should have converted years earlier. Thanks Merlyn.
Jim Ude
Port Angeles, WA
click on the picture to see a hi-res version
I took this picture today at Melbourne Essendon airport in Victoria, Australia. I came back to Sydney at F170 with a nice tailwind, giving me 211Kts ground speed on 10.5 gph. My aircraft is a 1980 Mooney M20K (231). I've had it for just over ten years. Before that, I had a normally aspirated Mooney M20E. I love having the turbo, and would hate to go back to a normally aspirated aircraft. I fitted the Merlyn about one year after buying the aircraft and it has been excellent. I find the aircraft operates most efficiently at about Flight level 180 (Flight Levels start at F110 in Australia).The Merlyn has made it possible to operate at these altitudes without using excessively high RPMs and without using the turbo unnecessarily at low altitudes. I've had one mechanical failure with the Merlyn, where a mechanic used excessive force on a wrench and cracked the wastegate body, but the problem was fixed very quickly and the unit returned promptly to me on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean.
A happy customer,
Roger Allison-Jones
Sydney, Australia
Roger Allison-Jones with VH-XDX |
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In January 2000 after a storm has destroyed my Turbo Arrow III N986AF I bought the Turbo Arrow IV HB-PIT. I renewed the complete avionics with two GNS 340, a GMA 340 and a GTX 330, a Sandel EHSI SN3308 an S-Tec System55 autopilot with altitude preselect and GPSS steering. A Stormscope WX-500 coupled to both GNS and the EHSI. Also I installed a new satellite based ELT system ARTEX ELT 406 with a NAV interface in order to transmit the GPS coordinates in case of an emergency. The old ADF coupled to the EHSI and the second transponder together with a 6 GB MP3 player holding more than 70 CD’s are installed in the right panel area.
The airplanes fuselage got a LoPresti speed kit and new wing tips and the engine became GAMI injectors and of course the Black Magic automatic waste gate.
The photos show me together with my Piper and my new baby, the D4 Fascination in front of my house located in the first European aeronautical village, the Vendée Air Park. The D4 Fascination is a brand new plane of the European category VLA (Very Light Airplane). This category defines a single engine airplane for day-VFR only having not more than two seats, with a MTOW of not more than 750 kg and a stall speed of not more than 45 kts.
The D4 FASCINATION is a single-engine airplane in fiber composite construction and designed for cruising, training and aero-tow applications. It is equipped with two side-by-side seats, low wings, cruciform tail and retractable gear. The baggage load is 60 kg in two baggage compartments.
Martin Benninger
Dietlikon, Switzerland
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N2095V was already equipped with a TurboPlus Intercooler when we acquired it in early 2003. It also came with a run out engine so it was convenient time to make some improvements. Several factors went into the decision to add the Merlyn Wastegate Controller during engine overhaul. We would be operating out of
Since I had very little Arrow IV time prior to the Merlyn Black Magic installation I don’t have much of a baseline for comparison. However, over the last 2 years I have never seen cylinder head temps top 340 degrees. Climb rates are in excess of 500 fpm even at altitudes greater than 15,000 feet. I departed
In short, the Merlyn Black Magic is a bargain given the performance gains and reduced operating temperatures. If the engine makes TBO I’ll feel like the I got the Wastegate Controller for free.
Harry Dill
Steve Fulling
South Jordan, UT
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I purchased N43010 in November 2004 and felt that a "bolt" was not a great regulating device in the bypass tubes of my turbos. My IA and I installed Merlyn Black Magic units in one day (Both engines, the second one went a bit faster) and I have not regretted it. One item that has not been mentioned is the turbo spin down / cool down time is a bit less. My guess is that the bypass tube is fully open and there is not as much exhaust pressure on the turbo. In any event she runs cooler in climb outs/ high power cruise and that's important in Myrtle Beach in the summer. The throttles are not so sensitive as they once were. I use my turbos when I need them and not so much if I don't. I feel its got to extend the life of them, not to mention those expensive engines. The Black Magic units have performed without a single issue or problem since installed and work, well - like magic.
Thanks!
Ben "Jamey" Duffey
Pawleys Island, SC
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My plane is a 1977 Piper Turbo Arrow. It is the proverbial "finding a vintage Corvette that had been stored in a barn". This plane had 1465 hours since new, original Piper interior (good..no rips or tears and little wear), good original paint except for a few touch ups, and a reman factory engine (FB) and propeller. It had been pushed to the back of the hangar and covered up because the owner was 70 years old and just lost interest. The owner never fixed anything when it broke. If it got into the air... great. The plane needed a lot of TLC. The first thing was to add the Merlyn Upper Deck Controller. This was a given for the Turbo Arrow. The engine oil and cylinder head temps are cooler than with the old set up. I can cruise at 12-14000 ft and still have half the throttle left. 2 years and a few dollars and my Turbo Arrow project is almost completed. Gotta love that Arrow!
Anthony (Tony) Royal
Christiansburg, VA
N9676T |
Anthony Royal and N9676T |
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I fitted Merlyn Black Magic controllers to my Seneca 2 three years ago at the same time as overhauled engines, new paint and a full speed kit. From my home base at Narromine about 300 miles west of
I am extremely pleased with the Merlyns which do all that they promise and I would certainly install again
Narromine, NSW,
I bought my Seneca II, N14GE, brand new in 1978, and have had it ever since. Very few mods - basic VFR GPS, a Marine FM radio, Robertson STOL kit w/Huntington Airspeed Director (a poor man's AOA), cowl-mounted CAL's (collision avoidance/taxi/landing lights) and, of course, the Merlyn Automatic Wastegates.
Over half my flying is down low, below 2,000', doing Homeland Security/Surveillance Patrols for the Coast Guard. I occasionally get up to oxygen altitudes, but not the Flight Levels. The controllers were installed in April, 2000, and have been a "no-brainer." They have performed flawlessly. My first flight to altitude (17,500') was in May, 2000 over the Sierras to Phoenix, AZ - needless to say, I was impressed. Down low for the CG patrols, I throttle back to 20-26" MP at 2,300 RPM. In all flight regimes, the engines run very cool, even with the winterization kits (oil cooler plates) installed.
Fuel consumption vs. airspeed tradeoffs are as advertised. When I purchased the units, my primary consideration was engine life. The 1800 hour TBO factory re-man Continental TSIO-360-EB engines have about 1400 hours on them (925 TIS at installation), have good compression and burn only 1-2 quarts of oil each every 50 hours. Can't ask for much more than that.
Regards,
Gordon Evans
Napa, CA
Houston, TX
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