Opinions Wanted

[lmasser]

I am looking for opinions on the "right" airplane for my situation. I am a low time private pilot with experience in 172s and Archers (no tail dragger time). My goal is to fly in and out of our cental PA farm. We have room for a 1600 foot grass strip. I've never flown a Maule , but performance specs seem to indicate that a Maule is the right plane for me. What should I look for in the different models? I am definitely in the used market and cannot justify new. I am not IFR rated, but would like to learn. Most of my flying would be recreational with some longer trips to look at equipment or fetch repair parts for the farm. I appreciate any advice or tips you can provide. I'd also love to bum a ride in a Maule if anyone nearby is interested. Thanks for your help!

[MauleMechanic]

I am looking for opinions on the "right" airplane for my situation. I am a low time private pilot with experience in 172s and Archers (no tail dragger time). My goal is to fly in and out of our cental PA farm. We have room for a 1600 foot grass strip. I've never flown a Maule , but performance specs seem to indicate that a Maule is the right plane for me. What should I look for in the different models? I am definitely in the used market and cannot justify new. I am not IFR rated, but would like to learn. Most of my flying would be recreational with some longer trips to look at equipment or fetch repair parts for the farm. I appreciate any advice or tips you can provide. I'd also love to bum a ride in a Maule if anyone nearby is interested. Thanks for your help!

We all have biased opinions...lol

But to answer your questions......if close to sea level an MXT-7-160 is good for putt putting around but if you plan on hauling "cargo" you might want the MXT-7-180. Decent radios but if you plan on any upgrades you might as well get an M-7-235

All Tri-Gears
160hp fixed pitch
180hp constant speed for higher altitudes and hauling equipment.

235hp with more rear head room hence no X in the model description.

[Curtis]

If you want performance get a M4 with a 220 Franklin. I have flown many planes in the bush I have seen the M4, loaded, go in and out of places that only a Super Cub could go. It will out perform a 235 Lyc especially if it has the 201 prop installed. Also, the 220 will out perform the 235 at altitudes because the Franklin has a compression ratio of 10.5:1. So, it does not lose HP as quickly as the low compression 235 Lyc. At 8000 ft with the throttle wide open, on the Lyc and the Frank, the Franklin because of its higher compression has the HP advantage over the Lyc. The negative is that Franklin parts are almost impossible to find and there are not many machanics that have the "Know How" to work on them.

[MauleMechanic]

If you want performance get a M4 with a 220 Franklin. I have flown many planes in the bush I have seen the M4, loaded, go in and out of places that only a Super Cub could go. It will out perform a 235 Lyc especially if it has the 201 prop installed. Also, the 220 will out perform the 235 at altitudes because the Franklin has a compression ratio of 10.5:1. So, it does not lose HP as quickly as the low compression 235 Lyc. At 8000 ft with the throttle wide open, on the Lyc and the Frank, the Franklin because of its higher compression has the HP advantage over the Lyc. The negative is that Franklin parts are almost impossible to find and there are not many machanics that have the "Know How" to work on them.

Yeap, pretty good choice if he decides to get a tailwheel endorsement and some tailwheel time under his belt. (thumbs up)

[rjb]

In 2006, I bought a new Maule MX-7-180C; I wanted safe, tailwheel, side by side seating, lots of luggage for our dog and two people and easy access to it, and I wanted to use it to finish up my IFR rating.

Often, I fly over small farms that are very remote by road when I fly to lunch up and down the coast, the Sierra foothills and in central valley. 50 years ago, I would have wondered why there wasn't a Piper cub visible on those farms.

FAA and age are not my good buddies; these days I wonder why there isn't a Zenith STOL CH701 visible nearby:
http://www.eaa.org/experimenter/article ... 5_stol.asp

Do you need 4 seats? Must it be certified?

An IFR rating is a worthy endeavor. You learn precision, distrust of instruments and controllers: all good.

Planning to fly in instrument conditions is a completely different mindset to being able to fly in instrument conditions -- my viewpoint is you can get graded A, A+, or get graded C, or dead. If flying in instrument conditions is a sometime thing, wait until tomorrow or drive to pick up the replacement part.

-Dick

[Mountain Doctor]

A 180 with a C/S prop would be a good choice if you have the extra money for the plane and upkeep.

[andy]

There are lots of posts on this forum from people who have asked the same question. You should spend some time searching the forum. The best Maule for you depends on a lot of factors, not the least of which are: cost, insurance, loading, climb power desired, passenger comfort and configuration options (floats, skis, bushwheels, etc.) In your search you will probably modify your list of desired features several times as you learn more about Maules.

My personal favorite is the M7-235B with the IO-540 engine. There are so many options that finding one equipped with good options may make your decision even if the basic model is not the one that you want.

[lmasser]

I know that Maules are constructed with fabric over tube. How long will it last and is any special maintenance needed. Are there any words of wisdom or caution of what to watch out for in a used Maule? Do any have a better or worse record for repairs? Have any books been written to assist in the evaluation of Maules?

Thanks, Lamot

[aero101]

Fabric duration will vary some depending upon exposure to WX elements like sun, cold wx, wind, etc, etc and how well you maintain. Up here it is quite common to see 25-30yr old fabric still flying around, but at that point they're usually pretty much ready for recover....

I would highly recommend paying for a pre-purchase inspection or preferably an annual inspection by an experienced Maule mechanic if purchasing anything more then a couple of years old. Even though it will cost you $$$, in the long run it could save much more $$$? This would go for purchase of any airplane, Maule or otherwise unless you're very experienced with aircraft purchasing? You will sometimes find stuff purposefully hidden, or quite often stuff that current owner was not aware of, and once you own it, there's usually no warranty to fall back on. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it as I've seen some proud new aircraft owners get pretty discouraged after finding that what they bought has turned into a major money pit after having just spent thousands...

[andy]

Before Maule Flight re-built my 1986 MX7-180, the fabric was still good at 25 years but the paint was a different story. Unfortunately, repainting a fabric airplane means replacing fabric, which can be $25K - $30K. Maule's paint quality has improved dramatically in the last decade. My Maule originally had Sherwin Williams acryllic enamel with a flex agent. The joke was that the paint started to crack when you left the factory after purchasing a new plane.

I did have to repair some fabric seam tape that was coming loose on the belly and horizontal stabilizer a couple of years before Maule Flight replaced the fabric.

Heed aero101's advice to have a thorough pre-purchase inspection by a shop that knows Maules. I had Maule Flight do mine.

Some people feel that tube and fabric construction is a disadvantage when it comes to maintenance versus aluminum skin. That's true if you only consider the cost to repaint aluminum compared to replacing the fabric and then painting it. However, stripping and re-painting aluminum skin is not cheap. I believe that a welded chrome moly steel tubing cage is stronger than a semi-monocoque riveted aluminum frame and will take more abuse. The cost of repairing wrinkled structural aluminum is much worse than a fabric repair. I have the greatest respect and fondness for the Cessna 185F that I fly at work but my MX7-180 will take more of a beating on a rough landing surface without damage.

[aero101]

I think Andy has hit nail on head... I own a A185E that I'm upgrading right now to sell. I like the Cessna's, but parts are costing outrageous amounts these days. Like all else, the Cessna will do things my MX7-180 won't, but the Maule is much more fun to fly and will do many things the 185 won't as well. To the point that I've got the Maule on my Air Taxi Certificate and not the 185 as there's already a million of them up here on Certificates...

Even just a paint job with 3 colors on the 185 with stripping of old paint is quite comparable cost wise with recover of the Maule including paint!!

We should all be fortunate enough to own about a half dozen aircraft to cover spectrum of specialties as there just isn't any single airplane that does everything well. It's a matter of figuring out your personal priorities and finding the airplane that will fill that niche....

[MauleMechanic]

Before Maule Flight re-built my 1986 MX7-180, the fabric was still good at 25 years but the paint was a different story. Unfortunately, repainting a fabric airplane means replacing fabric, which can be $25K - $30K. Maule's paint quality has improved dramatically in the last decade. My Maule originally had Sherwin Williams acryllic enamel with a flex agent. The joke was that the paint started to crack when you left the factory after purchasing a new plane.

I did have to repair some fabric seam tape that was coming loose on the belly and horizontal stabilizer a couple of years before Maule Flight replaced the fabric.

Heed aero101's advice to have a thorough pre-purchase inspection by a shop that knows Maules. I had Maule Flight do mine.

Some people feel that tube and fabric construction is a disadvantage when it comes to maintenance versus aluminum skin. That's true if you only consider the cost to repaint aluminum compared to replacing the fabric and then painting it. However, stripping and re-painting aluminum skin is not cheap. I believe that a welded chrome moly steel tubing cage is stronger than a semi-monocoque riveted aluminum frame and will take more abuse. The cost of repairing wrinkled structural aluminum is much worse than a fabric repair. I have the greatest respect and fondness for the Cessna 185F that I fly at work but my MX7-180 will take more of a beating on a rough landing surface without damage.

I found the lack of quality paint to be annoying as well as the contact cement used in applying fabric on a structure. I can understand the speed gained by doing such but something happened to the quality of the cement. I also noticed that when the cement gave way from the heat, the heat also shrinks the fabric causing it to pull away from the structure and finishing tape. I discussed this with Kit many times and he and the factory finally went back to aircraft quality fabric procedures. It takes longer to aplly but I hope you guys enjoy the better quality. People want shine and that comes with a price, a quality/time price. It can be done but it takes time and that can be a problem with assembly line manufacturing and time a customer wants his airplane back in the air. My experience with aircraft external coatings stopped many years ago with clear coat over polytone which is what I used on my Fairchild 24G. This gave a nice satin finish using color dope for long lasting durability and finish. I do not apply the primer or paint on our restorations....I just cover them.


cira 1994



Never had a chance to finish my last project.

82% Scale Curtiss P-6E Hawk

[YELLOWMAULE]

Beautiful old Fairchild MM! I have a little time in one of those with the "Super Scarab" engine. Flew it into Boeing once and was "corrected" by the young sounding guy in the tower on using the "wrong" NC tail #. After landing and contacting ground, they sent an apology. A sweet airplane with absolutely no bad habits.

[MAU MAU]

Your Fairchild is absolutely georgous Brian!

It was mentioned above that if you repaint a Maule you must recover it first.

If the fabric and paint are in very good condition, and you have decided on a different color or paint scheme, I would think it would be ok to shoot over the existing paint once it is prepared properly.

Although my Maule's fabric and paint look great, (hangered its whole life) I am contemplating having it repainted to a more unique paint scheme.

What do you experts say?

[MauleMechanic]

Your Fairchild is absolutely georgous Brian!

It was mentioned above that if you repaint a Maule you must recover it first.

If the fabric and paint are in very good condition, and you have decided on a different color or paint scheme, I would think it would be ok to shoot over the existing paint once it is prepared properly.

Although my Maule's fabric and paint look great, (hangered its whole life) I am contemplating having it repainted to a more unique paint scheme.

What do you experts say?

By all means yes, you can paint over existing paint if it is in good shape and prepped correctly. The durability and longevity certainly depends on how the old paint adheres to the new paint. We paint over old paint a lot but the quality of the old paint may hinder how long the new paint will last which is almost uncertain.