New Maule Dreamer

[Hooker]

Hello,

Alright, I am not only new to Maule, but new to GA. The majority of my flying is military (CH-47 Chinooks), about 1400 hrs worth. I have about 25 hrs in fixed wing, 172 type.

My dream is to own my own airplane, and have finally talked my wife into sharing this dream(surprisingly easy). The only requirement...no financing, only cash. Deal!! So I have about a year and a half to find the right plane, and I am almost certain the Maule is it, specifically the MX/MXT-180. It will mostly be used for recreation, with a little business use. 200-400 nm trips, lunches, some back country flying. Mostly all in the Midwest...Nebraska area specifically.

I don' really have any specific questions right now. I am having an internal battle between a tail dragger and a nose dragger. The tail dragger in me has plans to land anywhere and everywhere legally, and safely possible. But I want to keep fixed cost as low as possible, and with no TD time and no time in make and model, insurance will eat me alive. So the logic in me says you will rarely be doing backcountry flying, and airport to airport fits the 80% rule.

So why a Maule, truck kind of guys, I have a 1979 Chevy Scottsdale that is my pride and joy(until the Maule Purchase of course). Plus you can't beat the performance vs price and it just looks cool.

I would appreciate any advice on maules and on buying your first airplane. I look forward to the wealth of knowledge and experiance you all have to offer. I have already learned so much from this forum.

[Mike Mac]

Hooker,

I bought a Maule last August and just think it is a very cool aerocraft !
I have 1100 hrs in GA...some corporate, a lot of CFI work and just buzzing around in Cessnas.

I just did not want a Cessna 182 or similar. I sold a cessna turbo 206 and got the Maule....about half the price, half the maintenance, half the fuel consumption and HALF the insurance. No more hauling grand gaughters around....they did not appreciate flying anyway.

Always wanted a TD....I live in the Florida Keys and based at Marathon....only one runway and always a stiff seabreeze cross wind. I wanted a Husky. The locals here advised me away from the TD mostly due to no TD time. Even the LSA TD owners have to pick their days to fly due to crosswinds. The Maule is a special bird to learn to fly...no use starting from scratch with a TD.

But the crowning reason for me for a nosepicker is INSURANCE ! It is hard to get for low time TD pilots and even then it is expensive.

All I do is fool around looking at the water in the Keys or a hamburger trip with my Bride. I don't feel guilty when I don't fly. My wife is learning to fly and a TD would be out of the question.

So...my decision was a nose picker....bought an 07 MXT-235 with 185 hrs on engine and AF. One option I would strongly recommend is the patroller doors.
Nice to look down with these clear door panels.

The folks at Maule and Maule Flight in Moultrie are great folks...also nice because my wife's family live in Moultrie.

There is also a good Maule CFI there

Good luck...keep us posted.

Mike
Islamorada, FL

[Paul Amstutz]

We have enjoyed a Maule, M7, in the family for 3 years, 220 hours. About half of that flying alone, with my wife most of the rest of the time, about 5% of the time with 3 or 4 in the plane. With 120 hours non-Maule TW time, 100K hull insurance was still pushing 5K/year. Decided this year to go liability only, 0.5K/year.

I fly mostly in Utah, high elevations, and hot in the summer. This would be in the 20% of what you want to do. With a 180, fixed pitch, nosewheel airplane, 8.5 tires, you and a passenger with light camping gear (light is a foreign language to my dear wife) using good sense about flying early when it is cooler, could still do 80% of what I do in the back country. At least once you get some situation specific instruction and practice-you would be safer and have a better time spending some money on this than spending it all on a bigger motor and big tires and TW insurance. I have had the honor of some desert flying instruction with Lavar Wells, Hanksville, UT, that was worth 10 times what I paid him. Lavar has been flying there for 60 years, much of it in a C172, 160HP, CS prop, common tires. Have fun flying with your co-pilot, and an aircraft upgrade in the future shouldn't be too hard.

Context for above: 60 years old now, at 20 years old learned to fly in Citabria, owned a Taylorcraft and terrorized the high desert country, stopped flying for 33 years, took it up again in a C172, that wasn't too hard, bought a Maule taildragger, that was a LOT harder than it was supposed to be , got instruction by a guy with 4000H in Maules, at 220 hours enjoy flying to the back country and not seeing anyone else for 2-3 days at a time, stay on the ground if conditions aren't good, threshold to high anxiety has risen but not disappeared by any means-doing more enjoying than sweating though. No doubt in my mind what I want to do when I retire

[FARMAULE]

Hooker, I too consider myself very new too GA and to a Maule. I really didn't know much about Maules or any stol aircraft but, once I began researching planes in my price range it was a no brainer that the maule lineup gave the best performance for my flying tasks. I wanted to keep it at my farm and fly off a little sliver of property my father allowed for a runway. I could have bought a champ or cub in the same price range but the useful load wouldn't carry my father and I. The biggest issue I had was with insurance. For 40k hull coverage I was paying $3400 a year that was zero TD time and they required 25hrs dual before I could solo with ins. The 25 hrs was needed before I felt comfortable on my strip anyway so I didn't have a problem with that. I now pay 1400 a year with a different company. No regrets on my purchase 1973 M4 220c. Good luck in your purchase. Don't be afraid of the little wheel out back. I love it.

[flyfish1]

Hooker,
I bought a Maule M4-220C last year. It was a pending repo which I got for half of what the previous owner paid 7 years ago. Although not new to GA I have been out of small airplanes for a while. I currently command a C-26 detachment for the Wisconsin Army National Guard(go army). Before you decide against the taildragger check out the EAA insurance. My quotes ranged from 3400.00 to 950.00 for 40,000 hull with zero deductible. I only had about 50 hours of tailwheel time and no Maule time when I bought the Maule. Now my total time was around 11,000 so these factors seem to be weighed differently by different insurance companies. I recieved a 3 1/2 hour checkout and the insurance which I got through the EAA (Falcon Insurance) is just under a thousand annually. Being a fellow army helicopter pilot I know you can use your feet and would not have much trouble transitioning. I think the tailwheel option opens up a lot of possibilities. I had my Maule out to Montana last year flyfishing and have a set of 31 inch ABW in the basement which will go on this year. I hope this helps with your decision.

[multimauler]

Hooker
I am 3 1/2 years into GA with about 550 hours now and an instrument rating. I am fortunate to be able to own 2 airplanes, a Cessna 182 and an MXT-180A. I have most of my time in the 182 which is an incredible "go somewhere" IFR plane. I bought the Maule 2 years ago as an adventure plane for my son and I shortly after he earned his pilots license. We have had a blast landing on every grass runway in North Texas, sand bars on the Red river, coastal fields, and on small islands on the Texas Coast. And this past Monday my 20 year old daughter just passed her checkride in it. It proved to be an excellent trainer. We specifically bought the tri-gear because we didn't think we were ready for the TD yet. But we kept dreaming of conquering the TD challenge and have just made a deal on a great M-6-235. And my son and I returned yesterday from Cut Bank Montana where we spent a week with MontanaMaule getting our tail wheel endorsements in his M6 while we wait for ours to be ready. It was an amazing experience. What Rick can do with His M6-235 on 31" ABW's along with his 6000+hrs should be the marketing campaign for Maule. I don't regret buying the tri-gear 180 first. It has done nothing but make me a raving fan of Maules. I think they are one of the best kept secrets in GA. Long story short, you won't go wrong either way. My best advice would be to get an M6 or M7 (TD or Tri). It seems most buyers want that big wing and a lycoming. In our exhaustive searches we couldn't believe how quickly those sold as soon as they were listed. My dad always said, "buy what the next guy wants". Good luck on your search and feel free to email or message me if you have questions. If you can come to Llano TX in May you could meet over 30 maule owners and talk to them and see their planes.

[Sam Rutherford]

You can dream of mine if you like??!!

But seriously, purely financially:

MXT, more expensive to buy, cheaper to insure
MX, more expensive to insure, cheaper to buy

Might come to the same after 5 years...

But:

Most fun? MX!
Faster? MX!
More payload? MX!
Bush strips etc.? MX!
Become a better pilot? MX!

Cheers, Sam.

[Hooker]

Sam I would love to take it off your hands, but the wife requires me to pay cash and I'm not quite there yet. However, you post has got me looking into the MX's and I am waiting for some ins quotes.

Flyfish1, thanks for your service. I am in the NE National Guard(Go Guard). I am actually in Savannah, GA for some training. I'm thinking about taking a trip out to Moultrie and taking a look around. I figure what better place to start than at the factory.

Thanks for all the great info guys. For those of you who pitched the TD option... You may have succeeded. I'm sure I'll have many more questions. And if anybody sees some great buys don't hesitate to let me know.

[andy]

With low taildragger time and make/model time you may want to go with a nosewheel Maule for insurance and safety reasons. There are more back country options with a taildragger on big wheels, of course. If you decide to get a taildragger, you should plan on getting a fair amount of dual with an experienced Maule instructor in a lot of different landing conditions. That will help your insurance some, but it will definitely improve the safety factor. You won't get much of an insurance break below 500 hrs in make/model. The insurance premiums keep reducing until about 1000 hrs in make/model. Eventually, with no claims you'll get to $1400 - $1600/year in premiums. Still higher than a nosewheel, but closer.

[FARMAULE]

There is a m4 210c on barnstormers right now for 33k and only has 150 smoh. The guys phone number is 308-223-0314 (bill Spagnotti). Not a clue on condition or any info on the plane just saw it popped up and wanted to pass it on.

[8714yy]

I had a few thousand hours in the Army flying OH-58s and hadn't flown since '93. I got my fixed wing 3 yrs ago with minimum required time. Since you fly helicopters, you wil have no problem controlling the TW. It's all about working the feet and FW guys don't understand that. The 25 hrs of instruction for insurance was plenty to be comfortable. Now, 2 years owning and 200+ hrs in the M-4-220C (1968) and quite a few off airport ops in Alaska, no problems. The Maule is the best for price, cost, and function. M-4 with 31" BW still cruises at 125mph with 23 squared. ( same with straight skis and 135mph with 8.50s)[/u]

[DirtDobber]

Don't let the insurance woes scare you away from one of the best things about a recreational, practical, fun, Maule. The taildragger wins my vote hands down.

A Maule was my TW transition plane and I had zero troubles getting into it. As far as insurance....shop around! There are reasonable deals out there. I'm talking $2k and less for zero TW time, transition pilots.

Extra insurance costs are soon forgotten as the pure joy of flying a taildragger takes effect. I've owned two C182 nosedraggers and two Maule taildraggers.....and I will have to have some really, really strong reasons to ever be convinced to put the little wheel back in front.

Good luck and have fun shopping. Either way you go, there's sure to be good times ahead. I also have to commend you for the discipline to save and pay cash.

[Sam Rutherford]

...make great trainers for Maules!

As far as I have found; the trick (if there is one) is simply to be very quick and very active on the pedals (and brakes if necessary) during the landing.

As long as you're not lazy (slow) to keep her straight then it's fine.

Fly safe, Sam;

[Screech]

Ten years ago I became very bored with my Piper Archer, which I had for 22 years and flew all over the country and loved. It was time to up the stakes and get into fun flying again. So having no tail wheel time what ever, I bought a Maule Mx7- 180C. from Moultry which was used, and have not looked back. After a 10 hr. check out, Falcon Ins. started me at $1700.00 with a $8o,000.00 hull coverage, this price has come down every year.
When I bought the Maule I was 63yrs old and have taken it to Idaho the last 8 yrs. Took a Mt. and Canyon course with Lori McNicols out of McCall.The Maule Is the biggest bang you con get for the money and the tail wheel version is by far the most fun. I'm now 73yrs and what with the Medical am starting to look at light sport, but only tail wheel.