Aircraft model
MAULE M-7-235
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.
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.
Compare with…
Put MAULE M-7-235 side by side with up to two other models.
- MAULE M-7-235
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-540-J1A5D |
| Horsepower | 235 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1984 |
| Production end | 1990 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 148 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 478 nm |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,350 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 30 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 600 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 600 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 760 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,500 lb |
| Usable fuel | 40 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 13.2 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $95,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $180,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $45,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $64,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 105 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 49 |
| Median year built | 1989.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 81.63 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 61.22 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 12 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 24.49 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 4 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 49 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 49 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 49 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 0.3 of 103 |
| Support | 1.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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.