M4 Handling
Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2023 2:14 pm
Hey Maule family,
I bought a 1968 M4 in May of this year and have spent the summer trying to fall in love with it. Just a quick note about my background, I have over 18,000hrs and have flown airliners and bush planes for years. I had a Stinson 108 for the last 3 years with a 180hp engine but have always loved Maules so jumped at the opportunity to get a M4 210C. I really have enjoyed the performance of the plane in almost all environments except one. I loaded the plane up with full fuel, my wife and I in the front, sister along with 90lbs of dogs in the back seat then about 80 pounds of gear in the cargo area. Once we were up in cruise, over the Georgia Straight in BC, I noticed that the plane was very, very pitch sensitive and almost unstable. Even with slight turbulence the plane would cause the plane to almost start porpoising. To me it really felt like a plane that was way out of C of G to the rear of the plane. The pitch sensitivity made it quite tricky on approach and landing at slower speeds as well. Once on the ground I rechecked my weight and balance numbers expecting to find something out of wack but the numbers were right on center. When I fly the plane with two people up front and keep all the cargo weight up as close to the back of the front seats the planes is an absolute dream to fly. My concern is that I really want to have a true 4 seater airplane but am hesitant to load up 4 adults and a small amount of gear in the cargo.
As far as mods on the plane it has VG's and elevator gap seals. The trim indication never seems to be far off the neutral postilion during cruise or approach as well. I have thourolly looked through entire plane looking for something odd but haven't found anything unusual. Also removed flooring and panels to verify that there is no weight added in the tail or anywhere else.
What I am trying to find out is if these are normal characteristics for the M4? I know that it is generally know to be a bit more tail heavy compared to the M6 and later models but again looking at my C of G everything looks normal. I am really looking for some input from long time M4 owners who could point me in the right direction to make the plane fly more stable. Any ideas fixes that anyone has found helped make a big difference like moving the battery forward ect. Also if there is anyone who has a significant amount of time on the M4 as well as other models like the M6 I would love to hear there experience. Please let me know if there is something I can do or if this is just normal for the M4
In the end I want to fall in love with the M4 and invest some of time and money fixing it up so it could be my long term plane but I also want a true 4 seater and need to be comfortable with its handling capabilities.
Thanks for your time gang.
I bought a 1968 M4 in May of this year and have spent the summer trying to fall in love with it. Just a quick note about my background, I have over 18,000hrs and have flown airliners and bush planes for years. I had a Stinson 108 for the last 3 years with a 180hp engine but have always loved Maules so jumped at the opportunity to get a M4 210C. I really have enjoyed the performance of the plane in almost all environments except one. I loaded the plane up with full fuel, my wife and I in the front, sister along with 90lbs of dogs in the back seat then about 80 pounds of gear in the cargo area. Once we were up in cruise, over the Georgia Straight in BC, I noticed that the plane was very, very pitch sensitive and almost unstable. Even with slight turbulence the plane would cause the plane to almost start porpoising. To me it really felt like a plane that was way out of C of G to the rear of the plane. The pitch sensitivity made it quite tricky on approach and landing at slower speeds as well. Once on the ground I rechecked my weight and balance numbers expecting to find something out of wack but the numbers were right on center. When I fly the plane with two people up front and keep all the cargo weight up as close to the back of the front seats the planes is an absolute dream to fly. My concern is that I really want to have a true 4 seater airplane but am hesitant to load up 4 adults and a small amount of gear in the cargo.
As far as mods on the plane it has VG's and elevator gap seals. The trim indication never seems to be far off the neutral postilion during cruise or approach as well. I have thourolly looked through entire plane looking for something odd but haven't found anything unusual. Also removed flooring and panels to verify that there is no weight added in the tail or anywhere else.
What I am trying to find out is if these are normal characteristics for the M4? I know that it is generally know to be a bit more tail heavy compared to the M6 and later models but again looking at my C of G everything looks normal. I am really looking for some input from long time M4 owners who could point me in the right direction to make the plane fly more stable. Any ideas fixes that anyone has found helped make a big difference like moving the battery forward ect. Also if there is anyone who has a significant amount of time on the M4 as well as other models like the M6 I would love to hear there experience. Please let me know if there is something I can do or if this is just normal for the M4
In the end I want to fall in love with the M4 and invest some of time and money fixing it up so it could be my long term plane but I also want a true 4 seater and need to be comfortable with its handling capabilities.
Thanks for your time gang.