We have had a MXT-180A for a couple of years. My son and I have enjoyed many great trips in it and both he (22) and my daughter (20) got their pilot's license in it. It's been an awesome plane and my daughter continues to build time in it. I feel very comfortable with her flying it and she loves it.
When I bought it, I only had about 100 hours and didn't think I was ready for the tail wheel. But ever since, my son and I have dreamed about going all the way with a Maule. We wanted the real deal, a tail dragger on Alaska Bush Wheels! We constantly watched videos of some guy who calls himself lameusernameguy! Can you believe that? I bet no one else does that! Ha!
So this spring we started the search for a tail wheel maule. We knew we wanted the 235 (love that hp), and the longer wing. But we really liked the profile of the old M6 which was the same as our MXT. So we started our nightly barnstormer.com, trade-a-plane.com search evaluating every used Maule in the country. And then I made my first big mistake. I called Rautgunde at Maule flight. I had some questions about features and specs on some of the older M6 planes and I told her how we were looking to find a great used Maule to put ABW's new extended gear on it and 31's. That's when she went into sales mode.
So the story of the new M6 began. She began telling me that there was a plane in production at the factory that they were in a position to make me a very good deal on, and I took the bait. But I asked, "What's the catch?" You guys remember in 2011 when the storm came through Sun and Fun and damaged several,aircraft? Maules brand new MX-180 was one of them.
Another airplane was blown into it and the left wing and tail section were damaged. That plane was put on a trailer and hauled back to Moultrie where it was completely disassembled. The customer it was sold to prior to the show, basically just took the next MX-180 off the line and the engine and avionics and interior from the damaged plane were all used. So there sat what was left. Really just an uncovered tube fuselage.
I would then say that the need for cash flow then inspired an idea at Maule Air. That's my take anyway. Rautgunde quickly handed the phone over to Brent and he proceeded to tell me his vision. He was not surprised that I was looking for an M6. He believed that plane is really what made Maule famous. And more and more buyers were calling looking for that profile in a 235 horse that was lighter and outfitted for the way people want to use them these days (meaning just cool looking with a GoPro mounted on the strut so we could think we were Bushwhacker! Lol) He invited us to the shop to see the plane in production. I figured, what the heck, how cool would it be to go to the factory? After all, its not like I was committed to buy a new plane. Ha! (word of advice, don't go to the factory if you really love Maules!) so I cashed in Aadvantage miles for my son and I and off we went.
We began our tour with Brent and he took us back to where there sat a freshly covered fuselage with the avionics guys beginning to install the new panel.
Then he took and showed us the wings that would go on the M6. It was the actual prototype set that they used to test and develop the new M9 wing with a 2800lb gross. I thought that was great even though this plane wouldn't get the actual 2800 lb rating. After he showed us the brand new Lycoming IO 540 still in its crate he then topped off the presentation with a computer generated drawing of his idea for the paint scheme.
I think that's when my son and I were hooked. We loved the yellow and white paint and thought the idea for the digital camo stripe created with little Maule airplanes was amazing. My son and I suggested adding a black leading edge when Brent said we should black out the struts and gear. The new drawing printed out and I knew we were about to commit to coolest Maule we had ever seen.
We then started talking about how we wanted the panel. Brent's original idea was to have only the required instruments (tack, airspeed indicator, and vertical speed indicator) and to use the Garmin 796. This would keep the plane light. I liked the idea for that reason but knew this would be a plane my son and I would fly all over the country. So we added gauges to complete the 6 pack, upgraded to the awesome JPI 930 for engine gauges and then chose a single garmin SL 30 and glide slope head to make the plane minimally IFR capable, just in case (proved worthwhile on our first landing after leaving the factory. 900' overcast).
We settled on a price and headed back home trying figure out how we were going to learn to fly a tail dragger. Or should I say land one. I was fortunate to have a small flight school at my home airport that had just put a Citabria in the fleet. I knocked out my endorsement and had 10 hours and 100 landings in a couple weeks. My son was out at college and couldn't find the same opportunity. I remembered seeing an ad on Barnstormers for a guy in Montana that offered Maule transition training. I called him and set my son up to go to Cut Bank, Montana and fly for a week. That turned out to be an amazing situation and Rick Gieger of Montana by Air was amazing. He flies an older M6-235 with ABW 31's, exactly the setup we would soon have.
He makes his living with that plane every day flying pipelines and tracking wildlife for the forest service. Cade got his endorsement and over 100 landings in all kinds of conditions never once landing on a runway. It was an amazing experience that I highly recommend. I actually got to go up the last day and fly with Rick half the day.
So know all we had to do know was wait. Brent did a great job of sending us pics as the plane moved through each stage of production.
We originally thought it was going to be ready for the Texas Maule fly in on Mothers Day but soon realized that it was going to be July. Brent was so excited about how the plane was coming together he asked if we would be willing to let him use our new M6 as the display in their booth at Oshkosh. We were so excited. We had never been and this was our chance. As Oshkosh approached the schedule got tighter and tighter and we were afraid the plane wasn't going to be ready. But all the amazing folks at Maule and also a ton of last minute help from David Wright (lived up
to his reputation) pulled off the impossible.
To get the plane in Maules booth at Oshkosh, we had to leave Saturday morning early. The plane was finished at 6:30 the night before. My son and I got in a total of 5 landings with Ray Maule that Friday evening and they handed us the key to factory so we could come in early Saturday morning, pull the plane out and depart for Oshkosh. It was unreal. Five landings! I know what you are thinking, but the two days we waited around the factory we were fortunate to be able to fly many hours with Ray Maule himself in his personal M4-180.
My son and I are so proud to have his signature in our log books. He is an amazing man, and so is everyone else at Maule including his son Brent, his wife Rautgunde, his brother David (the humble, soft spoken CEO of Maule Air Inc.) and all the staff. Every employee at Maule even signed an awesome backpack that Brent got for us as a gift to use for a survival kit!
There was no way that plane was going to be ready without everyone going the extra mile, including a man named Stephen DaCosta from the Atlanta FSDO who personally came down and spent all day helping with the paperwork so he could sign the Airworthiness Certificate.
So that's it. We were now the proud new owners of N3448Q, the coolest, best looking Maule my son and I have ever seen. On our way to camp out at Oshkosh for 9 days.
The M6 was in pretty good company while on display!
That is actually the short version. There are a dozen really cool stories I could tell within that story, but let's just end it by saying we may be the biggest Maule fans in the world. I hope you enjoy the post. I'll try to post more on week in Oshkosh. It was one of the best weeks I have ever spent with my son where I was fortunate to meet many Maule owners from around the world.
