The first thing you notice when you climb into the Maule MX-7-180 is the spacious cabin. Larger-than-average pilots aren’t going to find themselves fighting each other for shoulder space: there’s plenty of headroom and good seat adjustment allows plenty of extension for those normally hindered by inordinately long legs.

The instrument panel is black metal, and basic instruments are intelligently laid out. All engine controls (throttle, pitch, mixture) are vernier/push operated. The aircraft also has three doors for getting pilot/passengers in and out and one rear door for easy loading and unloading of baggage. Doors can be removed for aerial photography or survey work.

There’s a fair bit of play in the rudders, so unless the pilot uses full rudder deflection, nothing much happens. Steering is heavy but positive. Forward visibility is pretty much unobstructed and unless you’re seriously short, you’re not going to find it necessary to S-turn to identify upcoming obstacles.    

Taking off in a Maule shows how such an aircraft could make life simpler. The Lycoming engine and Hartzell constant speed prop produce an extremely smooth running combination. In fact this is one of the very nice parts of the Maule: at any power setting, in any situation, it’s super smooth. In this little beauty, those ALAs with the strips you’d always considered marginal have just become accessible. You’re in Heaven.

Maule pilots should expect to be constantly harassed by green-gilled passengers complaining that, “there are never enough barf bags on this plane”. A more aggressive approach with the rudders in the turn will solve that problem, making things a lot more comfortable for those weasy travellers.

Incidentally, those big side windows are worth every penny as they not only lighten up the cockpit, but the improvement they make in sight-seeing visibility is phenomenal.

The MX-7-180 carries 162 litres of gas in its main tanks and 118 litres in the auxillaries. With a fuel burn around 38 to 40 litres an hour that gives the Maule pilot a not-too-shabby six-hour endurance, “including” fixed reserves. Fuel is gravity fed from the main tanks into the carburettor with a backup electric fuel pump for emergencies.

Properly trimmed, the aircraft flies comfortably “hands off” on descent and has a solid feel that belies its relatively small size. Visibility in the circuit is good but the aircraft does need attention to maintain a given airspeed. Between 52 and 60 knots for instance, the little rocket can change personality on more than one occasion; normally when you least expect it. The trick is to concentrate and give the plane due attention lest she bites.        

By tailwheel standards the Maule is an easy aircraft to fly. As with all tailwheels you have to educate yourself to focus a little more than usual when taking off or landing, but most pilots regard this as an attraction of tailwheel flying.

The Maule MX7-180B has a Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) of 1134kg. The aircraft this feature relates to has a Basic Empty Weight (BEW) of 635.5kg, meaning the aircraft could carry four average-sized adults “and” full fuel (baggage in this configuration would unfortunately be limited to nothing than a few helium balloons). Few GA aircraft can make the same boast and many buyers cite this as an important reason for choosing Maule over the competition.

The Maule is a terrific little aeroplane which goes beyond its reputation for good value and excellent STOL performance. Yes, it demands some attention on short final but any pilot worth thier salt will tell you that’s one of the joys of flying anyway. A great workhorse and comfortable cross country machine, this is one aircraft that potential buyers would do well to test fly before making a final decision.

MAULE MX-7-180B STAR ROCKET PERFORMANCE AND SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: Lycoming O-360
Propeller, Hartzel constant speed: 1.930m
Wing Span: 9.98m
Wing Area: 15.38sq m
Length: 7.163m
Height: 1.930m
Cabin Width: 1.07m
Configuration: 4/5 place
Gross Weight: 1134kg
Empty Weight: 620kg
Useful Load: 515kg
Baggage: 114kg
Cargo (seats removed): 250kg
Fuel Capacity: 320l
Stall Speed (1 POB, 1/2 fuel, full flaps): 35kts
Take Off (1 POB, 1/2 fuel): 61m
Take Off at Gross over 50ft Obstacle: 183m
Land at Gross over 50ft Obstacle: 152m
Best Climb Speed: 78kts
Service Ceiling: 15 000ft
Fuel Consumption (65% power): 46lph
Range, max (45min reserve): 800nm
Cruise (75% power opt. alt.): 138kts
Flap Settings: -7, 0, 24, 40, 48°