Guys!!

[LT4247]

Raymond says:
"Fly a Maule tri gear the same as a conventional and you won't have any trouble". I fly them both and there really isnt that much difference until taxi time. A proper tri gear landing feels just like a conventional 3 point (until the nose gear touches).

Apparently tri gears still get wrecked just not near as often, hence the much cheaper insurance! (which still ain't cheap).

[MauleMechanic]

Raymond says:
"Fly a Maule tri gear the same as a conventional and you won't have any trouble". I fly them both and there really isnt that much difference until taxi time. A proper tri gear landing feels just like a conventional 3 point (until the nose gear touches).

Apparently tri gears still get wrecked just not near as often, hence the much cheaper insurance! (which still ain't cheap).

exactly however, in reference to Cessna, the maule tri gear, just as does the tail dragger, has a high lift wing large flaps short ailerons and demands to be flown and landed much different then a Cessna. There is more to it then just "holding it off " during landing

[MauleMechanic]

as a matter of fact if a guy or girl is going to crash as cessna during landing or a Piper Cherokee during landing he shall kill himself in a maule with the same conditions.

[Mountain Doctor]

haven't flown a nose wheel in a while, but if I remember correctly, if the surface is rough use a little less flap to assist with keeping the nose of the ground

Is that why nosewheel models don't have 48 degree flaps?

That is a good consideration, and Chris has a good point as well. I bet you are right. I've wondered about that myself.

I usually land flaps 24* on mine. I save the 40* for when I need a maximum performance landing or I come in with a higher than desired glideslope.

[Mountain Doctor]

Actually two....when folks try to land them like a Cessna, it shows them just how unlike a Cessna it really is.

I'm intrigued. Shouldn't all tricycle undercarriage aircraft be landed main gear first with the nose gear kept off as long as possible? Having said that, I regularly see people land tricycle aircraft 3-point. Once, I even witnessed an instructor wheelbarrow a PA28 on take-off!

How is landing a Cessna different to a Maule?

I fly a 172 regularly as well as my Maule of course.

The Cessna is easier to land. I think it's because of the efficiency of the Fowler flaps, and the higher dihedral of the wing, and the taper or the wing, as well as the aerofoil itself.

The Cessna will run out of up elevator on a soft field takeoff.

[LT4247]

You know, now that i think about this more, it would probably be best if new Maule tri gear pilots get 5-10 hours of MAULE conventional time in addition to their regular check out time before striking out. Could solve some problems. Getting them to do it is a whole different thang.

as a matter of fact if a guy or girl is going to crash as cessna during landing or a Piper Cherokee during landing he shall kill himself in a maule with the same conditions.

[Mountain Doctor]

as a matter of fact if a guy or girl is going to crash as cessna during landing or a Piper Cherokee during landing he shall kill himself in a maule with the same conditions.

I literally laughed out loud when I read this. Very true.

The Cessna is designed to help the pilot fly safely. The Maule is designed for performance and requires much more attention.

[MauleMechanic]

You know, now that i think about this more, it would probably be best if new Maule tri gear pilots get 5-10 hours of MAULE conventional time in addition to their regular check out time before striking out. Could solve some problems. Getting them to do it is a whole different thang.

as a matter of fact if a guy or girl is going to crash as cessna during landing or a Piper Cherokee during landing he shall kill himself in a maule with the same conditions.

Just had a guy leave Friday after getting 15 hours tailwheel duel. He already decided to buy a tri-gear but wanted the dual in the TW. Even with a nose wheel, pilots that break them fail to properly fly them because they do not understand the design of the airplane. Quite frankly, it really has nothing to do with which end of the airplane the ground steering is on.

Lets just say I know where there are 40 wings, yes 40!, that belong to Maules that made bad landings....as well as a pile of bent props and even a few bent spring gear both TW and NW


I had one owner who could not fly the airplane (tailwheel) accuse me of installing the tailwheel backwards. I kid you not!

[Maulehigh]

as a matter of fact if a guy or girl is going to crash as cessna during landing or a Piper Cherokee during landing he shall kill himself in a maule with the same conditions.

I apologise in advance if I offend anyone in my comments. That is not my intention.

There is a lot of bar-room nonsense written and spoken about the difficulties in handling various aircraft types (Maules, Pitts Specials, Austers and even the Kitfox, etc.) and this sort of conversation does not help the insurance premiums or sales figures. It's been 20+ years since I last flew a Cessna and like Chris, I'm not an aficionado on the technical aspects of flying, but I don't consider the Maule a particularly difficult aircraft to land. To perform a perfect greaser every time, yes, but to just get safely on the ground, no.

The increased accident rate with Maules may be attributed to what pilots are trying to do with them and where they go, rather than the handling characteristics themselves. YouTube is testament to that.

Over the years I have seen various Cessnas and Pipers (as well as others) on their backs after landing incidents, with no significant injuries. In fact, there seems to be a generally increasing trend of breaking nose-wheel aircraft during landing and this may be attributed to the quality of ab initio instructors, who themselves do not know how to flare correctly - there are increasingly less instructors with tail-wheel experience.

If the quote above is actually true, then perhaps Maule ought to think of increasing the structural integrity of their aircraft such that people don't get killed in them.

[chris erasmus]

I think I have figured it out:
went to pick up the Maule from the AMO and caught a ride with a mate in his C 172. I was in the R/H seat so I could observe at leisure.

Everything was standard operating procedure, take off, cruise (20 min) line up and landing. The plane was beautifully flared, it touched down in a three point attitude (greaser) and then I watched what he did. The moment we were on the ground, he let go of the yoke, maybe that is why nose draggers come unstuck

[st8cop166]

I'm either over-confident or unaware of how dangerous my tri-gear is, but I don't have any trouble landing it. I'm certainly not a "skilled" pilot by any means and the first time I claim to be, somebody needs to call me out. Maybe it's because of a couple of hundred hours in a Tri-Pacer which has very similar landing characteristics, in my opinion. I made one REALLY squirrelly landing in the Maule when I first bought it because I was WAY too hot over the numbers. I find x-wind landings a little more challenging than in C**sna's and P**ers but I think it handles very nicely.

[chris erasmus]

Tri pacer, man that brings back memories

[MauleMechanic]

I think I have figured it out:
went to pick up the Maule from the AMO and caught a ride with a mate in his C 172. I was in the R/H seat so I could observe at leisure.

Everything was standard operating procedure, take off, cruise (20 min) line up and landing. The plane was beautifully flared, it touched down in a three point attitude (greaser) and then I watched what he did. The moment we were on the ground, he let go of the yoke, maybe that is why nose draggers come unstuck

Once again when someone that knows tries to spread the information, others ignor and throw out the truth and then can not figure out the problem that has already been answered.

Yeap Chris, that is a big part of it. "Cessna drivers", only as an example, stop flying the airplane as early as on short final. All you guys have to do is observe and watch them. For some reason folks still cant get the idea out of their heads that flaps are not spoilers. Flaps change the angle of attack for a given approach and landing distance used. Flaps highly increase airfoil while spoilers highly decrease airfoil so to speak. When one flares you become a kite.

Maulehigh, you fail to understand the design of the airplane. You should come visit so I can show you around the place, at all the "trophies" hanging on the walls and lying on the floors around the shop. Again, the airplane was designed for a purpose and pilots need to learn to fly them for that purpose and adjust when flown otherwise or go by an airplane that even a cave man can fly. Try to drive a Cadillac like and in places you drive a jeep and a person just got real stupid! A person can not fix stupid but can always offer the information needed to understand and overcome.

My purpose of coming on this forum is to help and give information that many here want, it is not a hobby. I could almost care less at times when folks are bullheaded and because I get off work at 4:30 and don't get paid for what I do here. I do not own a Maule or for that matter any airplane any more.
I have tons of information I can share or take to my grave. I can help keep you from breaking your airplane or yell duh huh when you do

[wtxdragger]

I have reposted this before, but some might not have read it.

This was a description of the Maule that Brenton C posted after getting his first taste of the Maule. I thought it was spot on!

Greetings gentlemen and (you all too few) gentlewomen flyers,

I'm now about 3 months into ownership of my first airplane, a Maule M5-210C.

Whilst the insurance company asked for a mere 10 hours training . . . I would have destroyed the aircraft if cut loose at 10. I havent counted...its probably over 25 hours and counting.

Here are some thoughts so far: cross wind? Holy Carp! This is no 172 in a cross wind! 3 kt, and careful not to pirohette into a ground loop!

Suddenly my least favorite song is "wind beneath my wing". Yeah, you are the wind beneath my wing that wants to flip me over!

Apart from death defying 3 kt cross wind landings, i am just thrilled with what a sweet sweet airplane this is. I expect this is a love affair tha will last. Or it will kill me. Like any passionate love affair I suppose.

In the air this plane just flies. And if this is "flying", then I can tell you from 192 hours in a 172, that that's more like being in a coma. Ok, I dramatize. The M5 is tight and responsive like a sports car. It's cozy, It feels solid, itz's fun.

I had a fantasy when buying it that this would b my one plane, but I think it might be true. Itz's plenty fast, slows down plenty slow, feels as stable as it does responsive, and once I master these pesky landings, I'm convinced it's a safer ride than, say, the Long Ez I'd Long Dreamed about!

Even though this plane is a 1974 model, it is so pretty, I dare not post a picture of it--admiring comments at the home airport frm young ladies and old men alike begin to make me a bit uncomfortable.

Ok, the latter make me uncomfortable, and the former make me perilously hopeful.

I'm not usd to this kind of admiration, frankly. I don't don't quite get whats so sexy about this plane. But maybe my own enthusiasm is a hint!

For you single gentlemen may I suggest that as part of your standard survival gear, you include some non-perishable eadibles, a blanket and a bottle,or two of wine?

Imcan hardly wait to take my fiance to a scenic mountain strip for a picnic in the rockies . . . And that's for sure nothing I ever thought of when I was fixated on a Long EZ, and it's requirement for a longgggggg paved runway.

So the adventure continues.

I thank those on the list for encouraging me toward the Maule when it was in the consideration phase. A welcome difference from, say, the Grumman folks whose "piss off and die" attitude, by contrast .. . failed to inspire me.

[MauleMechanic]

wtxdragger, excellent post. Well said. Proves again that I fail at public relations...lol I should have been an English Major instead of Aviation Technology!!! If one can not laugh at himself, whom can he laugh at right?