Merlin IVA EC-GFK, photographed in 2012. · Photo: Ken Fielding via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Swearingen / Fairchild · Turboprop
Merlin IV / IVA / IVC
The corporate version of the Metro airliner and the largest Merlin, built in three versions from 1970 to 1987.
A lot of cabin for the money, but this is an airliner-derived, two-pilot aircraft with ageing structure and rising engine costs. It suits operators who need the length and have strong maintenance support, not first-time owners.
Buy it if
You regularly move eight or more people up to about 1,100 nm, fly from runways of 5,500 ft or longer, and have professional pilots and a Garrett-savvy maintenance shop.
Skip it if
You want a simple owner-flown turboprop, use short or high-altitude runways, need stand-up headroom, or would struggle to absorb a $350,000-plus engine overhaul.
Biggest compromise
Running costs and upkeep. Two professional pilots, about 90 gallons an hour, and Garrett engine overhauls that now often cost $350,000 to $500,000 each push annual costs toward $830,000 at 300 hours.
The numbers that matter
What it costs per year
$827K
at 300 hrs · two professional pilots
How far it flies
1,730 nm
1,170–1,300 nm with passengers
How fast
280 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
8
8 typical (up to 14 by interior)
Pilots needed
2
Normally flown by two pilots; the 14,500 lb IVC requires a type-rated captain.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$0
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
None were advertised in October 2026. Vref values published in 2014 ran from about $280,000 for early IVs to $880,000 for a 1983 IVC.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe and propeller maintenance, engine overhaul set-aside and trip fees and crew travel rise as you fly more. Two professional pilots, recurrent simulator training, hangar, insurance and databases, weather and tracking stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- Two professional pilots$260,00031%
- Recurrent simulator training$60,0007%
- Hangar$45,0005%
- Insurance$27,5003%
- Databases, weather and tracking$11,5001%
- Fuel$224,37027%
- Airframe and propeller maintenance$110,00113%
- Engine overhaul set-aside$58,7017%
- Trip fees and crew travel$30,0004%
Two professional pilots is the biggest single cost at 31% of the total.
The JetGrade
64 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Beechcraft King Air 200, Beechcraft King Air 300, Fairchild Merlin IIIB / IIIC, BAe Jetstream 31 / 32 (corporate), Beechcraft 1900C (executive)
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on range & payload, weakest on reliability & support.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-08.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
3 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.2 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop with room for a full cabin
- 2.8 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Short Carlsbad runway and Aspen altitude can limit weight
- 3.3 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Comfortable nonstop with four passengers
- 3.8 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Nonstop with four passengers and bags
- 5.0 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Nonstop with four; headwinds or more passengers mean a stop
- 8.8 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · One stop, typically mid-continent
Lineage
What came before and after
1970–1987
Merlin IV / IVA / IVC
Corporate Metro: IV 1970, IVA 1974, IVC 1980 with longer wing.
What changed from the Merlin III / IIIA
- Uses the stretched Metro airliner fuselage, about 17 ft longer than the Merlin III.
- Cabin grows to about 33 ft, seating eight to fifteen instead of eight or nine.
- IVC adds the Metro III wing, about 10 ft wider, with four-blade propellers.
- IVC engines rise to 1,000 shaft horsepower; IV and IVA use 840.
- IVC maximum takeoff weight rises to 14,500 lb from 12,500 lb; 16,000 lb kit offered.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Merlin IV / IVA / IVC
- JetGrade
- 64
- Cost per year
- $827K
- Range
- 1,730 nm
- Speed
- 280 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Cabin length
- 33′ 1″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1970–1987
← Before
- JetGrade
- 66
- Cost per year
- $582K
- Range
- 1,710 nm
- Speed
- 283 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 17′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1970–1978
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $1.28M
- Cost per year
- $729K
- Range
- 1,490 nm
- Speed
- 289 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 16′ 8″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1974–1981
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 68
- Price
- $620K
- Cost per year
- $877K
- Range
- 2,425 nm
- Speed
- 290 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 17′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1979–1983
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 76
- Price
- $3.25M
- Cost per year
- $1.13M
- Range
- 1,806 nm
- Speed
- 312 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Cabin length
- 19′ 6″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1990–2009
- Beechcraft King Air 200 instead: A smaller cabin, but a huge fleet, wide support and much shorter runway needs. Older examples ask $749,000 to $1.99M.
- Fairchild Merlin IIIB / IIIC instead: Same family and engines in a shorter, lighter airframe; several were for sale at $495,000 to $999,000 in October 2026.
- Beechcraft King Air 350 instead: Newer, better supported and easier to resell, with similar seating, but it costs several times more to buy.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Honeywell (Garrett) TPE331-11U on the IVC; TPE331-3U on the IV and IVA · 1,000 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Front pressure bulkhead inspection · 1,000 hr
- Wing spar web inspection · 2,000 hr
- Engine overhaul · 7,000 hr
- Pitch trim actuator · 9,900 hr
- Fuselage life limit · 25,000 hr
Honeywell's hourly engine plan is available; ask whether each engine is enrolled, paid up and transferable. Many IV and IVA engines have been upgraded.
Known issues
Ageing structure, repeat inspections
Wing spar, wing attach fittings and the front pressure bulkhead need repeat crack checks; repairs run about $12,000 to $42,000.
Expensive engine events
Garrett TPE331 overhauls now often cost $350,000 to $500,000 each; a major engine event can approach the aircraft's value.
Pitch trim actuator rules
Trim actuators are life-limited, and a 2026 FAA proposal adds repeat checks; a replacement is estimated at $20,425.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Ontic, which bought the Merlin and Metro type certificates in 2022, supplies original parts and technical support. Honeywell and independent shops support the TPE331 engines, and FlightSafety trains crews in Houston.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- A 33 ft, 608 cu ft cabin that seats eight in club seating, with an enclosed lavatory in most executive interiors.
- About 1,170 nm with every seat filled and standard fuel reserves; up to about 1,730 nm with light loads.
- Cruises at about 280 knots on durable Garrett engines rated at 1,000 shaft horsepower each in the IVC.
Limitations
- Needs about 5,400 ft of runway at its 14,500 lb maximum weight, ruling out many smaller airports.
- Cabin height is under 4 ft 9 in, and the Garrett engines make it loud on the ground and inside.
- Fewer than 100 corporate examples were built; none were advertised for sale in October 2026.
The Merlin IV family is the corporate version of the Swearingen Metro, the 19-seat commuter airliner that also flew for decades as a cargo hauler. Swearingen certified the original Merlin IV in 1970. The IVA followed in 1974 as the executive twin of the Metro II, and the IVC arrived in 1980 with the Metro III's longer wing and more powerful engines. Production ended in 1987. Fewer than 100 corporate examples were built, so this is a rare aircraft that shares most of its parts with a much larger airliner fleet.
Pilot's take
This is an airliner in a business suit, and it flies like one. The controls are heavy and the workload is high, especially with an engine failure, so crews need recurrent simulator training and disciplined procedures. The Garrett engines respond quickly and climb well, but they are loud. Ground starts usually call for a power cart away from home base. Runway length is the planning constraint: at full weight it needs well over 5,000 ft. In cruise, about 280 knots and a long, stable cabin make regional trips with a full load comfortable for the crew.
Who this is for
Companies, sports teams or charter operators that need a long cabin for eight to fourteen people on regional trips, can staff two pilots, and have access to Metro and Merlin maintenance expertise.
Ask about this aircraft
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