Maule M4 210C

[Kiwi123]

Hi guys new to the forum so I apologise if this has been asked several times before.
I’ve recently started my first tail dragger rating in the local Maule M4. I really enjoyed it and was surprised with the power of it. I’m new to fixed wing However I do fly helicopters commercially so I’m not new to flying.
A couple of questions as the M4 in flying is coming up for sale, wanted to get some advice from people who knew
Besides usual corrosion in the tail is there anything I should be looking for ?
The M4 is very original and been in the same family for over 30 years, any M4 issues I should know about
Has the continental 210 in it, very original has good compression tests but is there any info on these ?
On a separate note does anyone have an M4 checklist etc or tips for flying and preflight etc?
Any advice would be great
Cheers

[Mog]

M4's are great, and you're dealing with a Conti so that's a debatable bonus over the Franklin variant.

Fabric condition is always a concern, but I'm not aware of any Maule specific problems let alone M4 specific issues. If it's straight and clean then it comes down to engine condition. You really are just buying an engine with about $12k worth of fabric, aluminum and steel wrapped around it.

Additionally, I am not aware of any Maule specific official check list of any kind for the M4. Just not much to it really. There is a flight manual that will give you the jist of it.

[Flyjohnny]

I have an M4 210C that I have been flying for the last couple of years and owned a Stinson 108 for years before that. I love the Continental IO-360 that is in the plane. Runs super smooth and provides good amount of power. Starting sequence tool a little time to figure when starting cold vs hot but now that I have it dialed it starts like a charm. M4 flies great and the only technique that I would advise is not to carry too much speed when landing.

As far as corrosion I would make sure you have a very close inspection of the wing struts if they are the originals. The are not sealed and there is an AD that they must be inspected with a scope. When I bought mine the previous owner had recently had them scoped and they were deemed fine. When I took the plane to my mechanic for a pre-buy inspection he stuck a metal ruler into the strut just above the lower attachment point. It turned out that the corrosion was close to the bottom end of the strut that it couldn't be seen with the scope. We replace the original struts with sealed ones from Airframes Alaska.

The POH for the M4 is very minimal so I have a checklist that I have put together for my son who did some of his time building on the plane but it by no means anything official. If you are interested PM and I can email it to you. Still tweaking it here and there but it is a start.

[Andy Young]

As far as corrosion I would make sure you have a very close inspection of the wing struts if they are the originals. The are not sealed and there is an AD that they must be inspected with a scope. When I bought mine the previous owner had recently had them scoped and they were deemed fine.

I am not aware of any provision in the AD for inspecting the struts with a scope. To my knowledge, the only approved methods are:

1. Probing the lower portion of the strut on a 1/4 grid with a Maule punch tester.

Or

2. Ultrasound testing of the same area on a 1/4 grid.