- Maule Air
-
Maule Air 
Type Incorporation Industry Aviation Founded 1941 Headquarters Moultrie, Georgia, USA Products Aircraft Employees 36 Website mauleairinc.com Maule Air, Inc. is a manufacturer of light, single-engined, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft, based in Moultrie, Georgia, USA. Maule has delivered 2,500 aircraft in its first 50 years of business.
Contents
History
Founded in 1941 by Belford D. Maule (1911–1995), it is still a family-owned enterprise. The company's owner, June Maule, widow of B.D. Maule, died in 2009 at the age of 92.[1] She remained directly involved with Maule Air's factory production until her death.[1]
Products
B.D. Maule designed his own aircraft, the M-1 starting at age 19. He started the company Mechanical Products Co. in Jackson, Michigan to market his own starter design. In 1941 The B.D. Maule Co. was founded. [2] Maule produced tailwheels and fabric testers. In 1953 Maule started design work, and started aircraft production with the "Bee-Dee" M-4 in 1957.[3] The aircraft produced by Maule Air are tube-and-fabric designs and are popular with bush pilots, thanks to their very low stall speed, their tundra tires and very forgiving oleo strut landing gear. Most Maules are built with tailwheel or amphibious configurations, although the newer MXT models have tricycle gear.
Aircraft models
Model Wingspan Engine Gross weight Vso VLD M4-210 29'8" 210 HP Continental 2300 lbs 28 MPH 145 MPH M4-220 220 HP Franklin M-5-180C 30'10" 180 HP Lycoming Carb 2400 lbs 38 MPH 135 MPH M-5-200C 200 HP Lycoming Injected 2500 lbs 38 MPH 140 MPH M-5-210TC 210 HP Lycoming Turbo 2500 lbs 38 mph 196 mph M-5-210C 210 HP Continental Injected 2500 lbs 38 mph 145 mph M-5-235C 235 HP Lycoming carb 2500 lbs 38 mph 158 mph M-5-235C 235 HP Lycoming injected 2500 lbs 39 mph 158 mph M-6-235 32' 11" 235 HP Lycoming O-540-J1A5D 2500 lbs 35 mph 160 mph M-6-235 235 HP Lycoming IO-540-W1A5D M-7 33' 6" 235 HP Lycoming IO-540-W M-9 230 HP SMA SR305 Diesel Maule aircraft in popular culture
A Maule MT-7-235 owned by the Civil Air Patrol
A Maule M-5 was featured in the Burt Reynolds movie The Cannonball Run. The aircraft demonstrates its extraordinary STOL capabilities by executing a landing and later take-off from a small town street among trees, buildings, and skirting under power lines.
An amphibious Maule crashes into a tower on an oil tanker in the Sandra Bullock movie Speed 2: Cruise Control. An amphibious Maule was also featured in the Danny Glover movie Gone Fishin'.
The Maule M-7 is one of the default aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator X, both with and without skis.
Gallery
-
Maule MX-7-235 Super Rocket, built 1987
-
A Maule amphibian
-
Maule M7-235B Super Rocket, built 1999
References
- ^ a b Marsh, Alton K. (2009-10-30). "Matriarch of Maule Air dies at 92". Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2009/091030maule.html. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
- ^ General Aviation News. 8 July 2011.
- ^ experimenter. November 1957.
External links
Aircraft designed by Belford Maule or produced by Maule Air Lists relating to aviation General Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Airlines (defunct) · Airports · Civil authorities · Museums · Registration prefixes · Rotorcraft (manufacturers) · TimelineMilitary Accidents/incidents Records Categories:- Aircraft manufacturers of the United States
- Companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
-
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
