I believe parasitic drag, as most drags, varies as velocity squared, and not exponentially.FastEddieB wrote:Looks nice enough, but nothing makes it stand out from current offerings - at least to me. Especially at $150k. I'd far prefer an RV 12 - for less money to boot.
No reason struts should add weight. Though they obviously weigh something, their addition means less structure elsewhere, often reducing weight overall. Going strutess makes more aerodynamic sense at higher speeds, where parasitic drag increases exponentially. In slower aircraft, much less so.
The Merlin does seem to have many improvements over the Skycatcher but at a hefty increase in price.
Dennis Persyk Skycatcher N900DP