Eric Olsen
I met Merrill when I moved into my house in Bountiful back in 2010. I had just left helicopter school, and he one of the first neighbors I met. We clicked immediately because we had so much in common; home projects, helicopters, and anything to do with experimental fixed-wing airplanes.
He once told me a story about flying a Huey in Vietnam and having to autorotate into a field with no hydraulics. Apparently the Army adopted an SOP to train autorotations without hydraulics because of Merrill. A switch was even added so pilots could disable the hydraulics during training because of him.
He and I worked on each other’s airplanes, traded tools, and helped each other with projects around the house. He spent hours working on things with me, and he’d just show up so we could hang out and get stuff done. I never got the chance to take him up in my plane, but I did get to fly in his. He was a steady friend to me, and he was wonderful with my kids.
I learned something about “Mel” last night from his amazing siblings. His second wife was from the South and pronounced Merrill as “Mel” and the name stuck as his nickname. Mel’s siblings reminded me so much of him last night, and I’m grateful I was able to visit with them.
Margie, you’ve been so wonderful to me. So much love to you and the rest of the family.
