Aircraft model
MAULE M-4
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
A Maule is a four-seat fabric-and-tube taildragger with enormous flaps, a very short takeoff run and a reputation for being trickier on the ground than the Cessnas and Pipers its buyers come from. It will get into places a 180 will not and it costs considerably less to buy. The M-4 is where the line starts: the 1962 Bee Dee M-4 and the M-4C Jetasen with a 145 hp Continental O-300, a 2,100 lb maximum weight and the short 30 ft 8 in wing.
Ownership is straightforward mechanically and demanding in the cockpit. The engine is a common Lycoming or Continental with no surprises, the airframe is fabric over steel tube with the recover as the periodic bill, and the parts come from a factory that is still in business. The handling is the thing: the gear is narrow, the aeroplane is light behind and the flaps are powerful enough to change the picture completely, so tailwheel time and Maule-specific instruction are both worth paying for. Insurers agree. On a 145 hp M-4 specifically, the power is modest for four seats and the aeroplane is best thought of as a two-plus-baggage machine, which is how most owners fly it.
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Put MAULE M-4 side by side with up to two other models.
- MAULE M-4
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental O-300-A |
| Horsepower | 145 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1962 |
| Production end | 1968 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 130 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 750 nm |
| Service ceiling | 12,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 700 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 35 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 900 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 600 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 748 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,100 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,100 lb |
| Usable fuel | 42 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $55,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $95,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $30,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $42,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 81 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 42 |
| Median year built | 1964.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 23.81 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 23.81 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 5 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 11.9 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 3 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 42 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 42 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 42 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 3.8 of 103 |
| Support | 1.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.5 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 28.36 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 11.65.
- Access: class median 767.75.
- Support: class median 141.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.57.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.