Merlin V2

User manual
Table of Contents

Description - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3
Physical Properties/ General Performance - - - - - - - - - - - - 3
Required Parts – - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4
Recommended Parts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6
3D Printing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7
Parts List - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8
Assembling - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10
Before Your First Flight - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11
Performance - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12
Pictures - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17
Description

Merlin V2 was designed for hobbyists seeking the absolute maximum in range and
endurance. Merlin V2 features a highly optimized wing planform and fuselage profile
meticulously crafted from many iterations of CFD. Thanks to its high aspect ratio and
carefully selected airfoil set, Merlin V2 boasts an impressive L/D ratio of over 19:1.
While the overarching design goal is to maximize efficiency, Merlin V2 still
incorporates many ease of use features including a quick release wing and tail
mechanism, replaceable landing skid, modular nose assembly, wing bays, and many
others. Optional accessories are included in the file package for a variety of component
mounting solutions.

Physical Parameters/ General Performance

● 2.56 m Wingspan ● 6.5 kg Max Takeoff Weight

● 1.11 m Length ● 1.7 kg Approx. Airframe Weight
● 0.3 m Root Chord ● Cruise speed 50-70 kmh
● 0.223 m MAC ● Loiter speed 45-60 kmh
● 0.535 m^2 Wing Area ● Stall speed 35-50 kmh
● 11.79 Aspect Ratio ● 1.47 Wh/km @ 3.5 kg
● 0.33 Taper Ratio ● 1.96 Wh/km @ 5.0kg
● 3.2° Sweep ● 2.46 Wh/km @ 6.5kg
● 19.4:1 L/D @ 2.1 Degree AOA ● 342 km/ 5.25 hour flight with 6s6p
● 14” Max Propeller Diameter 21700 pack
● Center of Gravity 78 mm from LE
● Neutral Point 111 mm from LE

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Required Parts

Spars: Merlin V2 uses carbon fiber spars for structural reinforcement as well as
control surface hinges. The table below compiles the various sizes and lengths required.
The size format is Outer Diameter x Inner Diameter x Length in units of millimeters. If no
I.D. is specified, then the required spar is a rod.

Size Quantity Purpose

8 x 6 x 1000 4x Primary wing spars and support

6 x 4 x 240 2x Tail support

4 x 165 2x Tail support

3 x 500 4x Wing control surface hinges

3 x 210 2x Tail surface control hinges

3 x 50 2x Tail surface alignment pin

2 x 140 4x Tail control surface interface

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Required Parts

Hardware: The list below compiles the minimum hardware required for the design.
You may need additional screws or inserts depending on your specific setup. Medium or
thick CA glue is recommended for assembling the 3D printed parts. 2” wide velcro
adhesive tape is recommended for securing the battery.

Type Quantity

M3 Threaded insert 14x

M3 x 25 Socket head 4x

M3 x 8 Socket head 10x

M2 x 8 Self tapping 46x

countersunk screws

6 x 3 mm Round magnets 8x

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Recommended Parts

The provided list is a tested and flown configuration and is provided to give you an
idea of what a typical setup might look like. This particular aircraft was aimed at high
speed cruise and is therefore setup with a drive system capable of sustained high power.
Your exact parts list should be based on your mission requirements.

● Servos - Emax ES08MD-II - 6x

● Motors - T-motor 3115 900kv - 2x (Any motor with 19x19 mounting will work. Around
600kv is recommended for 6s)
● Props - APC 11x8e & 11x8ep
● ESCs - Iflight 80a 8s - 2x (BLHeli32/ AM32 highly recommended for telemetry)
● Flight Controller - Holybro Kakute H743 Wing running Ardupilot
● GPS - HGLRC m10 gps and compass
● VTX - TBS Unify pro32 DP
● VTX Antenna - TrueRC Singularity
● FPV Camera - Foxeer T-Rex
● RX - RadioMaster bandit nano running ELRS Mavlink-RC
● Matek digital airspeed sensor
● Battery - 6s2p Molicel P45b, 6s8p Samsung 50e, any sufficiently powerful battery
up to 4000g will work

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3D Printing

Merlin V2 was designed to be printed primarily with Overture or Polymaker

pre-foamed LW-PLA. Other materials are possible however the aircraft performance will
suffer due to the increased weight. Merlin V2 requires a minimum build volume of
220x220x240mm.

All STL’s are pre-oriented and mirrored for your convenience. If you prefer, raw STL’s
are also provided.

Generally, any slicer will work, however you will need to be familiar with tuning your
profile to ensure good results with LW-PLA. OrcaSlicer is recommended, and therefore
settings referred to in this guide will be named as they appear in OrcaSlicer.

The wing and tail pieces are designed to be printed with X-Y hole compensation
enabled to account for any expansion within the spar cut-outs. 0.3mm is a good starting
point for LW-PLA on most 3D printers. Hole expansion should be disabled for fuselage
parts. The slicer will perceive closed off sections of the fuselage as holes and expand
them slightly, creating undesirable artifacts which can potentially weaken the structure.

Make sure to disable infill anchoring since this feature adds significant weight to the
parts. This can be done by setting both sparse infill anchor length and maximum length of
infill anchor to 0.

Unless otherwise specified, it is recommended to slice parts with 1 wall (0.4mm

nozzle), 4 layers top/ bottom, 0.2mm layer height, and 3.5% cubic infill. Values between 2
- 6% can also work depending on your requirements for strength and weight. Layer height
can be increased to reduce printing time, however you should not exceed 0.26mm to
ensure proper layer adhesion.

Bed adhesion can be an issue on the trailing edge of wing pieces. Printing with a
brim and applying a thin layer of PVA glue stick to the bed can help alleviate the issue.

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Parts List - Wing

Part Name Material Weight Notes

Wing_1 LW-PLA 57.7 g

Wing_2 LW-PLA 67.7 g

Wing_3 LW-PLA 64.0 g

Wing_4 LW-PLA 35.5 g

Wing_5 LW-PLA 28.8 g

Wing_6 LW-PLA 17.8 g

Flap_1 LW-PLA 11.5 g 5 layer top/ bottom

Flap_2 LW-PLA 10.1 g

Aileron_1 LW-PLA 9.82 g 5 layer top/ bottom

Aileron_2 LW-PLA 7.55 g

Wing_Nacelle PETG 32.7 g 2 wall, 8% infill

Flap_Bay PETG 11.9 g 3 wall, 8% infill ,5 layer top/ bottom

Aileron_Bay PETG 25.6 g 3 wall, 8% infill ,5 layer top/ bottom

Motor_Mount PETG 13.3 g 5 wall, 8% infill, 5 layer top/ bottom, support

required

Wing_Lock PETG 2.61 3 wall, 8% infill ,5 layer top/ bottom

Total: 399 g

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Parts List - Fuselage

Part Name Material Weight Notes

Fuse_1 LW-PLA 20.6 g

Fuse_2 LW-PLA 46.2 g

Fuse_3 LW-PLA 81.3 g

Fuse_4 LW-PLA 99.4 g

Fuse_5 LW-PLA 66.7 g

Fuse_6 LW-PLA 40.5 g

Hatch_1 LW-PLA 18.0 g

Hatch_2 LW-PLA 19.4 g

Canopy_1 LW-PLA 18.7 g

Canopy_2 LW-PLA 24.7 g

Skid_1 TPU 24.2 g Other materials possible - feel free to experiment!

Skid_2 TPU 25.3 g Other materials possible - feel free to experiment!

Skid_3 TPU 23.0 g Other materials possible - feel free to experiment!

Skid_4 TPU 7.10 g Other materials possible - feel free to experiment!

Tail_1 LW-PLA 32.0 g

Tail_2 LW-PLA 4.12 g

Tail_Surface LW-PLA 12.6 g

Tail_Lock PETG 8.45 g 3 wall, 8% infill ,5 layer top/ bottom, support required

Total: 629 g

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Assembling

Assembling Merlin V2 should be fairly straightforward. Use light sandpaper with a

sanding block to ensure each mating surface is smooth and flat in order to get the best
possible glue bond. Apply a thin layer of CA glue to one part and firmly press them
together while wiping away any extra glue. If the mating surfaces are properly smooth,
the CA glue should begin to harden in under 30 seconds.

For the most part, the carbon fiber spars do not need to be glued in place. The only
exception are the two 6x4x240mm spars which must be glued into the removable tail fins
for the attachment mechanism to function properly. The Tail_Lock piece must be glued
to the fuselage such that once the tail spar is inserted, the tail lock can be tightened to
clamp onto the spar and retain the tail.

Merlin V2 is designed with built in control horns for each control surface which are
intended to accommodate 1.2mm control linkage wire with a Z bend. The linkage design
provides the necessary control surface deflection when using Emax ES08MD/MA II
servos at their maximum control horn position.

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Before Your First Flight

If you intend to run a flight controller for autonomous functions, then it is strongly
encouraged to use Ardupilot. While INAV has made significant progress in recent years, it
still uses a less sophisticated control loop and state estimation algorithm and therefore
should not be trusted to pilot an aircraft the size and weight of Merlin V2 in my personal
opinion. Of course, you should ultimately use what you are most comfortable with.

Use the ‘Performance’ section of this document to predict the stall speed of your
aircraft. Set the minimum speed in your autopilot to be roughly 20% higher than the stall
speed. Set the target cruise speed based on the performance section and your own
requirements.

The motors/ propellers should be setup such that they are counter rotating in order
to balance torque roll. Differential thrust can be enabled to increase yaw authority and
allow for crazy tight turns.

The aircraft center of gravity is marked by two recessed circles underneath the
wing. Balance the plane by these two points to ensure proper CG.

Ensure that all control surfaces can move with little friction and do not get caught
or stuck. It is highly recommended to perform a long duration (30+ second) full throttle
test of your powertrain to make sure you won’t have any issues in flight.

Launching Merlin V2 is easy with the right technique. Grip the fuselage with your
dominant hand just in front of the tail and use your non-dominant hand to support the
fuselage underneath the wings. Make sure to keep your hands behind the propellers at all
times. Use your dominant hand to thrust the plane forwards while guiding it straight and
level with your non-dominant hand. With a sufficiently strong power system, Merlin V2
should have no problem getting into the air.

I hope you enjoy my plane and I wish you many successful flights!

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Performance

The following performance charts are provided not as a guarantee of performance,

but rather to give an idea of what a typical setup should be capable of. Since aircraft
efficiency relies on a large number factors, your aircraft performance can and almost
certainly will vary slightly from what is predicted here.

The charts are computed based on a large CFD dataset and are adjusted/ scaled
with the help of data collected from real world test flights to ensure they are as accurate
as possible.

To compute the performance of your aircraft you will need to know the total flying
weight of the aircraft in kilograms, along with the energy capacity of your battery in watt
hours. Based on the weight of the aircraft, you can trace along the graphs to find the stall
speed, max endurance cruise speed, max range cruise speed, minimum efficiency, and
minimum flight power. Divide your battery capacity (Wh) by the efficiency (Wh/km) to find
the maximum range (km) of your setup. Repeat the process for min power to find the
maximum flight time in hours.

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Performance

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Performance

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Performance

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Performance

Longitudinal dynamic stability Lateral dynamic stability

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Pictures

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Pictures

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Pictures

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Pictures

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Pictures

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Pictures

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Pictures

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