Flight activity · Updated 11 Oct 2026 (ET)
How often Merlin's aircraft fly
This page counts flying by the aircraft registered to Merlin Labs with the FAA, using public ADS-B position reports collected by volunteer receivers. It shows how much the aircraft flew and where. It says nothing about what any flight was for.
Coverage is patchy, especially close to the ground, so every number here is a lower bound. Days the receivers missed are simply absent. Data runs from 29 Dec 2024 to 10 Oct 2026.
Weekly airborne hours
368 hours across 221 flying days for the five Merlin aircraft. The busiest month was Sep 2026 at 51.1 hours.
Days each aircraft was seen flying
One dot per day with airborne data. Dashed ticks mark FAA registration to Merlin for the two aircraft added in May 2026.
Quonset or Smithfield?
The data supports the move. Through Aug 2026, Merlin aircraft logged 171 activity days and 453 departures and landings at Quonset, against 2 days and 2 at Smithfield. Sep 2026 was the crossover month: 17 Quonset days and 8 Smithfield days. The last Quonset day was 30 Sep 2026. Since then every home-field day (8 days, 21 departures and landings) has been at Smithfield. That run is only 10 days long, so treat it as an early shift worth watching.
By month
Approaches are counted within 3 nm of a known airport below 1,500 ft above field elevation. A landing needs the transponder to report the aircraft on the ground or slowing near the runway, which low coverage often misses, so 2025 landing counts are especially thin.
| Month | Airborne hours | Flying days | Landings | Low passes or go-arounds | Aircraft seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | 17.3 | 8 | 10 | 17 | N208B, N713CB, N122K, N831DL |
| Sep 2026 | 51.1 | 19 | 68 | 60 | N208B, N713CB, N122K, N831DL |
| Aug 2026 | 23.2 | 15 | 21 | 13 | N208B, N713CB, N122K |
| Jul 2026 | 18.6 | 11 | 21 | 20 | N208B, N713CB |
| Jun 2026 | 19.3 | 11 | 30 | 40 | N208B, N713CB |
| May 2026 | 23.1 | 13 | 18 | 31 | N208B, N713CB, N122K |
| Apr 2026 | 24.6 | 14 | 27 | 65 | N208B, N713CB |
| Mar 2026 | 5.7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | N208B, N713CB |
| Feb 2026 | 18.1 | 10 | 31 | 27 | N208B, N713CB |
| Jan 2026 | 5.8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | N208B, N713CB |
| Dec 2025 | 14.8 | 7 | 2 | 28 | N208B, N713CB |
| Nov 2025 | 16.2 | 11 | 2 | 25 | N208B |
| Oct 2025 | 22.6 | 11 | 5 | 27 | N208B, N713CB |
| Sep 2025 | 10.3 | 11 | 0 | 6 | N208B, N713CB |
| Aug 2025 | 21.8 | 12 | 3 | 10 | N208B, N713CB |
| Jul 2025 | 15.3 | 10 | 1 | 9 | N208B, N713CB |
| Jun 2025 | 14.3 | 12 | 3 | 11 | N208B, N713CB |
| May 2025 | 23.0 | 10 | 9 | 18 | N208B, N713CB |
| Apr 2025 | 3.9 | 6 | 3 | 7 | N208B, N713CB |
| Mar 2025 | 0.7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | N713CB, N506DB |
| Feb 2025 | 4.2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | N208B, N713CB |
| Jan 2025 | 14.3 | 12 | 0 | 21 | N208B, N713CB |
The aircraft
Four aircraft registered to Merlin Labs Inc with the FAA, plus N713CB, a Caravan Merlin operates. Flights by N122K and N831DL under prior owners are left out. "First seen" is the first flying day as a Merlin aircraft within the data window, which starts in late December 2024.
| Tail | Type | First seen | Last seen | Flying days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N208B | Cessna 208B Caravan | 2025-01-08 | 2026-10-09 | 138 |
| N713CB | Cessna 208B Caravan (operated by Merlin; FAA registration lists Caravan Charters LLC) | 2025-01-06 | 2026-10-08 | 109 |
| N122K | Beechcraft C90 King Air | 2026-05-24 | 2026-10-10 | 15 |
| N831DL | Aero L-39C Albatros | 2026-09-03 | 2026-10-01 | 8 |
| N506DB | Long-EZ (amateur-built) | 2025-03-09 | 2025-03-09 | 1 |
N713CB is operated by Merlin; its FAA registration lists Caravan Charters LLC.
Where they fly
Top airports by days with low-level activity, Merlin aircraft only.
| Airport | Name | Days | Departures | Landings | Low passes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOQU | Quonset State, North Kingstown RI | 188 | 351 | 229 | 276 |
| KEWB | New Bedford Regional, MA | 45 | 29 | 6 | 125 |
| KSFZ | North Central State, Smithfield RI | 18 | 20 | 17 | 18 |
| KHVN | Tweed-New Haven, CT | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| KMHT | Manchester-Boston Regional, NH | 4 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| KGON | Groton-New London, CT | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| KHFD | Hartford-Brainard, CT | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| KAPA | Centennial, CO | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| KBDL | Bradley Intl, CT | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| KSDF | Louisville Intl, KY | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Method
Positions come from the adsb.lol daily archive plus a live feed. Airborne hours add up gaps of five minutes or less between airborne reports inside the US. Altitudes are barometric, compared with each field's elevation without a pressure correction. A machine-readable summary is at summary.json. Last updated 11 Oct 2026.