The first SMOOTH SKIN Merlin Rocket* -
now building in New Zealand
If you have ever wondered what a smooth skin Merlin Rocket would look like, then you will soon find out! Plans for a Hazardous Zero-9, modified for cedar strip/composite construction, have been sold to a New Zealander. Building is already under way. Click on an image below to see an enlarged version.
* (Historical note). The original rules of the Merlin class allowed smooth skin construction. Two smooth skin Merlins were designed and built, by G O'Brien Kennedy. One, MR 75 "Mercury", finished second in the 1947 national championships. Probably at the amalgamation with the Rocket class the rules were tidied up and clinker bacame the only construction method allowed.