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Maule thread

S2D

MEMBER
Montana
Couldn't believe there are no Maule threads yet !! So I thought I'd start one.
Couldn't get Steve to include a Maule thread years ago so I put my Maule on the Back Burner (Ok that may not be the real reason !!!!)
bought it from Wentworth with the intention of putting a franklin 220 on it.
Acquired the 220 Franklin and most of the Hardware to do it, but Maule never got their paperwork in order and I didn't feel like taking the time or expense of getting it approved.
My Mechanic of approximately 15 years decided to retire Last year and move back to Uganda and wanted something to tinker with while there so I sent the Maule with him.
Its in its final stages of assembly as originally configured . (180 HP)
 
There were some guys that ran a small air service in the Interior of Alaska, they are almost all gone now. Back in their day, they would take their Cubs out and put new hunting strips in. The strips were very short for a Supercub, they called them 'Maule Traps'...
 
Reminds me of being in a group of 8-10 Super Cubs heading to the first Red River Redneck Fly-In. We were jabbering on 122.75 and going about 70 mph and then we started hearing Bill Dincan and a group of Maules coming down from the north west going 170 mph. Met some real characters and life long friends at that get together.
 
Seen a few cubs in cub strips need fixed before getting out also.

What model Maule Brian? I thought there were a couple of Maules with 220s on them, there are plenty of them with smaller Franklins.

Different plane than a cub, but really nice to travel at 130 with big tires and loafing the engine, run her hard and I get 140+, and it cost half of what the 180s are going for.
 
Many decades ago three of us were considering a partnership - choices were a Maule, a C-180, or a Mooney. We wound up with one of each. The Mooney was a B model; relatively slow. The Maule had a 210 HP Continental. And the 180 was a really clean 1956 aircraft. I was the instructor - my very first 180 flight was IFR out of Vero Beach with a coffee grinder radio. Solo.

Ditto the Maule - picked it up in Big Fork. Flew a lot like a Cub. We had these birds for maybe four years.

My choice? For fun, get a 180. For speed get a Mooney. If you are at all inclined to get a Maule, find a good Clipper. Too bad the Pacer didn't come with a stick.

I did have a couple Stinsons. A Franklin 220 Stinson would be really neat! Our 180 Franklin would go straight up with a load, and it was comfortable (and elegant).
 
Tjere are some 0-470 powered Stinsons around here that kick ass. And its amazing since the wing looks so smalll.
 
That’s a sure nice M6 on 35s for sale in the classifieds. If you look at the results from STOL Roundup, it didn’t use much more runway than a lot of the -18s....if I had more than one friend or girlfriend(s) I’d have to have it:p 300ft and 70mph is about as high and fast as my wife will tolerate
 
I did have a couple Stinsons. A Franklin 220 Stinson would be really neat! Our 180 Franklin would go straight up

Yea. Maybe someday I'll find something like a Stinson to put the 220 in.

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk
 
Maybe someday? Stinsons with runout 165s have to be a dime a dozen. Isn't this a bolt-on STC? It would be an elegant screamer!
 
We had a M4 around here with a 220 Franklin in it years ago, maybe Skippy remembers as the guy Pete was from over by him. Climbed more vertical then any Carbon Cub I've ever seen.

Glenn
 
Just sold an M7 235.
Yes, it would out climb, out haul, and outrun, and, in the right hands, land and t/o shorter than a lot of PA 18 guys.
No way to get around the 14 gph fuel burn though.
 
Years ago I was flying with Loni (cubdriver749er), we were landing places up a few different drainages here in Washington State. I was asking him if he had ever landed anyplace up this one drainage that I was currently flying up and he said there were only a couple that were long enough. After looking at this one from overhead for a few minutes that terminated into a hillside I decided to land. It was over tall cottonwood trees and pretty short but up hill for landing and downhill for takeoff. I landed it got out and surveyed it a little before taking off out of there. I cleared the trees but with not a lot of extra margin. I got on the radio and said that was exciting, Loni's response was where did you end up landing and I described it for him over the radio and he says I have never landed there. He flew up to watch me do it a second time and said if he was to land there we would have to log some of the trees before he could get back out. There was not very many times that I ever saw Loni pass on a spot I just landed, it was only lack of Horse power that kept him from landing. His Alaskan cub is a real performer so i am sure that would never happen today, same cub just better. Maule beat Super Cub that day!
 
40 years ago I had an M-5 235 N393X and it was lots of fun and fast. IFR panel and comfortable to fly same within reason and ice condx. Made several hunting trips on tires at the right weight and it always got me home with a full freezer. Good on Landes 2500 skis. Wanted to try floats but ended up downsizing as money got tight. I'd own another.

Gary
 
Many years ago I flew a homebuilt biplane with a 220 Franklinstein. It was the smoothest piston engine I've ever flown. I like how you can pull the top cover and the oil pan and look at the crankshaft and rods. I'm doing some repair on an airplane with a 220 and C/S now. I'm hoping I get to fly it in the spring. Wish they had a better track record and following. They sound beautiful.
 

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Years ago I was flying with Loni (cubdriver749er), we were landing places up a few different drainages here in Washington State. I was asking him if he had ever landed anyplace up this one drainage that I was currently flying up and he said there were only a couple that were long enough. After looking at this one from overhead for a few minutes that terminated into a hillside I decided to land. It was over tall cottonwood trees and pretty short but up hill for landing and downhill for takeoff. I landed it got out and surveyed it a little before taking off out of there. I cleared the trees but with not a lot of extra margin. I got on the radio and said that was exciting, Loni's response was where did you end up landing and I described it for him over the radio and he says I have never landed there. He flew up to watch me do it a second time and said if he was to land there we would have to log some of the trees before he could get back out. There was not very many times that I ever saw Loni pass on a spot I just landed, it was only lack of Horse power that kept him from landing. His Alaskan cub is a real performer so i am sure that would never happen today, same cub just better. Maule beat Super Cub that day!

I’m not sure it was a Maule beating a super cub, it’s more like big balls beat smaller balls that day. [emoji41]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Back around 2005, Maule introduced a throwback model, the M4-180V.
Only it was a two-seater vs the original M4's four seats.
180hp Lycoming, fixed pitch version for about $95K and constant speed version about $105K.
AOPA Pilot had an article about them in the March 2005 issue.
Price was up to $129K/139K by Dec 2006.
I figured they'd sell scads of them-- comparable to the Husky or Top Cub and at the original price only about half the cost.
And side-by-side seating for those that prefer it vs tandem.
Unfortunately they only made about 12 of them and that was it.
I saw one of these parked on the ramp yesterday and stopped to check it out.
Turns out a guy from the next airport over bought it last fall.
It was very nice-- in fact I wouldn't mind owning one. (you other Skywagon guys never heard that!)
Here's a pic of that airplane I found on the internet.

Maule M4-180V.jpg
 

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Ok my m5 gets me where I need to go and we have had a lot of fun doing it thanks to you the supper cub group I think you when you let us play
skyking
 
The only Maules I've flown are both M-7's , on 235 the other is a 260 on wip 3000's . They are both fun to fly but the 260 is a lot better on floats. The owner has talked about putting the wheels on in the future for a trip, looking forward to flying it in the bush.
 
Someone had posted Maule manuals for sale. The post said it was moved.. can't find it anywhere. Anyone know where it went? Or have Maule manuals for sale?? Many thanks
 
I owned an M5-235 for a while. It had a lot going for it, but it was a short wing and was a lot of work for me to land short. I used to say I could land it in 400' if I had a 1,000' runway. Now I have a student with an M-7-235 and I gotta say it's a nice airplane. Full sized radios, autopilot, fast compared to my PA-18. It won't get in-and-out like the Super Cub, but it's a lot faster and more comfortable. If I found a fuel injected 260HP long wing variant in my price range I'd be pretty tempted.
 
I’ve been doing all the maintenance and flying a few Maule’s. M-7-235, M-7- 260, wheels and floats. Had a MX-7-160. The MX was a very nice flying aircraft but the big HP’s were really powerhouses.
If I can help just message me and I’ll do my best to help out.
Ps I think the MX with a 180 would be a great plane to just fly around grass strips.
 
The outfit I worked for bought a brand new M-7 235 with the Universal wing, patroller doors, etc. I picked it up with a total on the clock of less than 30 hours, on floats. It was a good performer, but it was a fuel OR cabin load airplane, but not both.

One day I was radio tracking moose with a young biologist aboard. We’d located 17 or so moose, and I landed on a lake for a lunch break. Now, this particular biologist was not only incredibly smart, but a good worker, and tough.

As I ate my lunch, I noticed she was staring at that airplane sitting on the water. I figured the wheels were turning, so I asked her what she thought of that airplane. She thought about it for a while, then replied “I’m just hoping the built the wings better than they did the door latches.”

Im not sure they did, frankly. AMaule that a competent mechanic has recovered, re painted, and fixed a lot of the “cheap” is a nice plane. I never liked the short wing models, the universal wing (all you can get now, I believe) is okay, but I flew a long wing M-6 235 that’d been recovered, repainted, LOTS more rivets in top wing skins, etc, and THAT was a really nice airplane.

The factory workmanship has improved some, but still…..

MTV
 
I don’t know if you still can but I’ve printed up maintenance and operators manuals from Maule’s website. I have an MX7-180. I haven’t looked in years so maybe that has changed.

Yup, fit and finish isn’t great on the maule. There are other positives like parts. Call maule for a new gas cap. They will quote you about $25 and tell you that you can also go to NAPA and buy one for $5…and give you the part number. Try that with any other factory built plane. The last fuel valve I bought from maule was about $50. Add about $500 to that for a Cessna.

Door latches do suck. When they start to pop open in flight they can be tweaked which will last about a hundred hours before a re-tweak is necessary. MTV is correct, fuel or passengers. I’m solo most of the time with the back seat removed and I can stuff it full of camping gear, floor to ceiling, and put about four hours fuel on. But my gear doesn’t weigh as much as three humans.
 
I've got a 2003 Maule MT7-235 and a SuperCub 150. Two different airplanes, with similar emphasis on STOL. 850 tires on both. I love them both.

Sorry to contradict, but every single single aspect of the fit and finish of my Maule is excellent. No problem with door latches, either. It is smooth as butter at startup and in flight, has room on the panel for lots of instruments, it's IFR certified, autopiloted, doesn't rattle, it's fast, the paint is flawless after 20 years, it's got lots of range - it can carry up to 70 gallons with its 2 reserve tanks, it's stable in turbulence, takes off in 250 feet with no stuff and half fuel, it's fuel injected so no carb ice, carries an enormous amount of cargo , stalls at 42 MPH (I've got VG's so it's probably lower) and it is comfortable as hell on long flights if you bring a seat cushion. Sooner or later we all make long flights. Sooner or later we might have to fly through a cloud or two, also. Ya gotta love that the Maule family put in negative flaps for a few extra knots in cruise. Ya gotta love the fact that that you can just pick up the phone and talk to someone with the last name of Maule, too.

Specs - http://maules.com/MauleMT7Specs.htm

The main negatives that I see are a peculiar rudder trim system that I guess I still don't fully understand and a fuel system that tends to draw from one side more than the other. The Maule is not easy to learn to land, but I think that some of that may be just me expecting it to land like my Cub.

There's no point in reviewing the good and bad features of the Supercub; everybody reading this knows all that stuff. Emotionally though, the cub must be as close to experiencing the true joy of flight as possible. Maybe gliders. I haven't tried them yet.

If Saint Peter tells me at the pearly gates that I was only good enough to get one plane for the rest of eternity in heaven, I'd pick a '79 SuperCub with a loaded panel, but I'd be a little pissed off at myself about having to make the choice. I'm trying to be a better person so I won't have to decide.
 
As I ate my lunch, I noticed she was staring at that airplane sitting on the water. I figured the wheels were turning, so I asked her what she thought of that airplane. She thought about it for a while, then replied “I’m just hoping the built the wings better than they did the door latches.”
I had to chuckle on that one Mike. I have had to tweak a couple of brand new Maule door handles over the years. The newer style handles are a drastic improvement. My old boss who grew up in North Florida and could build anything always said the Maule was build by a bunch of farmers in Georgia. 8)
I can say the fit and finish has vastly improved in the new ones.
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