Fairchild Swearingen SA-226T/TB Merlin 3

Overview

The Fairchild Swearingen Merlin IIIB is a pressurized cabin-class twin turboprop from the SA226 family, built from 1979 as the high-output evolution of Ed Swearingen’s Merlin line. Two 900-shp Garrett (AiResearch) TPE331-10U engines turning counter-rotating four-blade propellers give it a long-legged, high-altitude cruise: up to about 280 KTAS, a 31,000-foot ceiling, and an IFR range past 2,000 nm with a light load. It shares its fuselage and systems with the Metro commuter, but in executive trim it carries six to eight passengers in a pressurized cabin.

For the GA buyer, the Merlin IIIB is one of the least expensive ways into a fast, pressurized, cabin-class twin turboprop. Acquisition costs sit well below a comparable King Air, and the airplane delivers 280-KTAS cruise and FL250-plus capability. The trade is age (the youngest airframes are from the mid-1980s), the Garrett TPE331’s particular operating discipline, and the running costs of two turbines.

Key Features for GA Buyers

• Twin 900-shp TPE331-10U. Counter-rotating four-blade propellers with synchrophasers; the -10U is the high-output Merlin III engine, with a 3,600-hour TBO.
• 31,000-foot pressurized ceiling. A 7.0-psi cabin holds roughly 8,000 feet at the low-20s altitudes the airplane typically cruises.
• 648-gallon fuel capacity. Plans past 2,000 nm IFR with a light load and about 1,680 nm with six aboard.
• Useful load above 4,500 lb. Carries full fuel with meaningful cabin payload remaining.

Trade-offs

• 1970s and 80s airframes. The newest IIIBs left the line in the mid-1980s, so buyers inherit aging systems, parts-availability questions, and the need for a shop that knows the type.
• Garrett operating discipline. The TPE331 is a tight, efficient engine but demands precise hot-section and operating management; an inexperienced operator can run up large maintenance bills.
• Twin-turbine running costs. Two engines to fuel (around 100 GPH total) and reserve against put the Merlin above any single-turboprop on hourly cost.
• Narrow cabin. The SA226 fuselage is long but narrow, trading cabin width for speed and a small frontal area.

See Also

• Swearingen Merlin IV – the larger, longer SA227 development on more powerful TPE331-11 engines. Compare
• Mitsubishi MU-2 Marquise/Solitaire – the era’s other fast pressurized TP twin, the closest cross-shop on speed and price. Compare
• Twin Commander Jetprop 1000 – a comparable pressurized cabin-class TP twin from the same used-market tier. Compare
• Beechcraft King Air 250 – the modern benchmark a Merlin buyer cross-shops when budget allows. Compare