AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2016 - 48

PILOT BRIEFING
BUDGET BUY

VREF VALUE

Vref, the AOPA partner
offering aircraft value estimates, suggests a base value
for the Maule M-5-210C of
$25,000 for a 1973 model and
$29,000 for a 1977 model.
RECENT ADVERTISED PRICES

Listed in Trade-A-Plane at
the time this was written
was one Maule M-5-210
costing $67,000. There were
14 on Barnstormers.com ranging in price from $40,000 to
$85,000. The average price
was $65,000.
INSURANCE COSTS

AOPA Insurance Services
estimates a $65,000 Maule
M-5-210 flown by a low-time
pilot will cost $4,400 per year
to insure. You may be able to
insure it at a lower value of
$45,000. If you have more total time, say 2,000 hours, and
a couple of hundred hours of
tailwheel time, you might pay
$1,800 to $2,200 per year.

Trick truck
Maule M-5-210C
B Y A LTO N K . M A R S H

MIX AND MATCH, slice and dice. That's how the original Maule evolved into many models

from the M-4 through the M-7, most of them tailwheel models. The 210-horsepower fabriccovered M-5-210C was certified in the early 1970s and meets a budget of $50,000. A dealer
said that the top model costs $350,000.
Two things to know about a Maule: It can climb, and it can haul a load. We're stretching
it a little to suggest you will find an M-5-210 for $50,000. The price is more like $65,000 to
$85,000, but it is in the ballpark that defines our "budget buy." Well, close. You might have
to dip down to the M-4 series for a top-value $50,000 airplane, and even then you will need
a motivated seller. Remember what I said about mix and match? Even if you get an M-4 it
might be so similar to the M-5 that no one could tell the difference.
THE REAL WORLD

Dr. Dale E. Long of Lewisburg, Kentucky, got his Maule M-5-210 for $28,500 four years ago
but has way more than that in it. "I probably have $75,000 in it, and it's worth $45,000," he
said. The insurance company will only cover $45,000. "It is not your typical Cessna or Piper
when it comes in for a proper landing to do a short, STOL [short takeoff and landing] landing,"
he said. "It's kind of intense and it takes a little while to learn that." (Another source, Dave
Leisner of Sutton Aircraft Salvage in Palmer, Alaska, said his mechanic warned that you lose
a lot of control close to the ground.) Long gets a lot of information online (www.maules.com
and www.maulepilots.org). He put a new elevator and horizontal stabilizer on it that came
already covered. It's not a hands-off airplane. "You fly the thing, all the time. You don't let go
of [it] much," he said. It burns 7.5 gallons per hour at 57-percent horsepower. If you don't let
the power come back slowly, you will ka-thunk, and hit really hard. That can shear the bolts
on the landing gear, Long said. There was an airworthiness directive to change the bolts to a
better quality bolt. "If you're good at wheel landings it does fine,"
he said. "It's a little fussy, but it's a good price. I think it's a good
WHOM TO CONTACT
Maule Air, 2099 Georgia
deal if somebody buys one that somebody else fixed.
EMAIL alton.marsh@aopa.org

48 | AOPA PILOT February 2016

Highway 133 South, Moultrie,
Georgia; 229-985-2045; e-mail
info@mauleflight.com.

HOW MANY IN THE FLEET?

AIRPAC PlaneBase shows an
FAA-registered fleet of 109
Maule M-5-210 aircraft.
FINANCING

AOPA Finance estimates $450
per month for a $65,000 loan
at 5.5 percent with 15 percent
down.
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

There are lots of airworthiness directives, but no hard
ones. You'll find most have
been complied with. Check
the bolts in the landing gear
to see if the aircraft had a hard
landing.
BIGGEST PLUS

Hauls a lot.

BIGGEST MINUS

Has Cessna 172 speed.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Assume the aircraft has had
a hard landing and replace
landing-gear bolts.
WHAT ELSE TO CONSIDER

American Champion Scout,
Aviat Husky, American Legend
Cub, CubCrafters Top Cub

http://www.Barnstormers.com http://www.maules.com http://www.maulepilots.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2016