Maule Air M-7-260C
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The M-7-260C is the long-cabin, five-seat Maule with the 260 hp fuel-injected Lycoming IO-540-V4A5 and conventional gear, approved in October 1998 as the M-7-235C with a bigger engine. Gross weight is 2,500 lb on wheels and 2,750 lb on floats, with 43 gallons usable standard and up to 42 more in optional wing tanks.
Maule's own type sheet says it: same airframe as the 235C except engine and propeller, so the buying decision is whether the extra 25 hp and fuel injection are worth the IO-540's higher overhaul cost against a 235 that already climbs steeply. The five-seat brochure outruns the real cabin and useful load, and PlanePhD's summary is blunt that the type is for owner-pilots headed to grass and floats, not resale-first buyers; a Super Cub or 180 holds value better. Tailwheel time matters, insurers know it, and the oleo gear and tube-and-fabric fuselage want a hangar. Performance cells are blank because the only figures found were on a listing-aggregator page whose units could not be trusted; the TCDS numbers here are solid.
Variants of the Maule M-7, MX-7 and MXT-7
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 23.1 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 5–6 seat pistons (78 models)
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What it is
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-540-V4A5 |
| Horsepower | 260 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1998 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel;high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | — |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | — |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | — |
| Stall speed (Vso) | — |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | — |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,500 lb |
| Empty weight | — |
| Usable fuel | 43 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 5 or more seats.
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | not counted | |
| Insurance | fixed | $2,800/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $2,200/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
Not in the totals: Maintenance reserve. We have no reliable default for this line; enter your figure to include it.
No fuel burn is on record for this model, so fuel is not included.
No TBO or overhaul cost is on record for this model, so the engine reserve is not included.
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 60 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 48 |
| Median year built | 2004 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 104.17 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 104.17 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 15 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 31.25 · 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 48 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 48 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 48 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 9.1 of 103 |
| Support | 4.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.1 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 23.1 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 39.55 · 78 models in class.
- Severity: class median 16.67.
- Access: class median 1,692.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 18.07.
- 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. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30