The first aircraft the company obtained the rights to build floats for was the two-place Merlin sport aircraft that was originally designed in Canada for flight training. I’m quite familiar with the Merlin, having flown examples of the aircraft with several different engines, including one with a Rotax 532, another with a Rotax 912 and a third with a converted Honda engine. The Merlin is one of the best-flying small homebuilts I’ve ever flown. Whenever I had a photographic assignment at an airshow or flyin, I used to do my best to find a Merlin to use as a camera platform. Its fuselage is wide, the cabin is roomy, and the plane literally flies itself from takeoff to landing.

Upon a recent visit to the Aerocomp factory, I saw all these airplanes, including a Merlin in a crate that was ready to be shipped to a customer. I toured the factory,

Once Aerocomp had secured the rights to the Merlin, company owners decided to expand operations to include aircraft of different sizes.

Aerocomp spent over a year conducting marketing surveys at airshows and flyins all over the country. They also contacted people by phone. The results of that survey caused the company to alter its direction. It seemed that potential customers wouldn’t buy a two-place, fabric -covered sport aircraft. A great number of surveyed pilot/owners wanted a composite aircraft, one that flew like the Merlin, just much faster and a lot roomier. It had to have seating for at least four people. Aerocomp designers immediately got to work on the project. As soon as the new design, called the Comp Monster, was produced and released, it became very popular.

The Aerocomp Comp Monster, or Comp Air 4, is a high-wing, strut-braced, all-

composite monoplane. It can be powered by a number of engines from 150 to 180 horsepower. The next-larger aircraft is the all-composite Comp Air 6, which can be powered by 220hp to 300hp engines. The Comp Air 6, designed with business people in mind, is capable of cruising at 150 to 200 mph, depending on the engine installed. This makes it ideal for those who want to make long cross-country trips comfortably and reliably.

The flagships of the Aerocomp line are its turbine-powered fleet composed of the Comp Air 7, the Comp Air 8 and the Comp Air 10. We were eager to find out how it felt to fly one of these turboprops, so we traveled to the Aerocomp facility in Florida and spent many enjoyable hours meeting the staff at Aerocomp and flying the various aircraft. It was an enlightening visit that gave us a look into the future of homebuilt aviation.

END

Reprinted with permission.
January 2000 issue, page 37
©CUSTOM PLANES magazine
http://www.customplanes.com