Maule M-4

Piston single engine • High Wing • Conventional gear

Range Map

Origin:

• nm at current load

• click map to move • two fingers to move map

Payload vs. Range

Configure weights

Occupants

lb + lbs / pax

Select payload

gal

Fuel on board

lbs

Extra weight

Range

Available Range / nm

Mission capable. Aircraft can handle the current load with full fuel tanks.

Fuel capacity reduced by gallons ( gal usable for nm range).

Over max gross weight. Reduce payload by lbs to safely operate this aircraft.

Extra weight is the additional payload available with your selected passengers.

Mission Profile

Used market

132

KTAS

Cruise Speed

335

Max Range

19,000

Service Ceiling

Occupants

780

lbs

Wet Payload

Endorsements & ratings:

Tailwheel
High-Performance

Maule M-4-220C Strata Rocket (N56HB). Photo: Tomas Del Coro, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Estimated Ownership Costs

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About the Maule M-4

Type certificated 1966

Overview

The Maule M-4-220C Strata Rocket is the original Maule design carried to its highest-power form, a four-seat high-wing STOL taildragger. Belford Maule certified the M-4 line in the early 1960s; this 220 hp Franklin-powered Strata Rocket, type-certified in 1966, was the most-built M-4 and the direct ancestor of every later Maule. A welded steel-tube and fabric airframe on a short, light wing gives it the short-field manners the marque became known for.

Built from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s and long out of production, the M-4 offers genuine bush capability in a simple vintage airframe, without the systems or support of a modern single. Its Franklin engine is the main ownership consideration: out of production, with a small pool of overhaul shops and scarce parts. It suits the buyer who wants a straightforward, capable STOL taildragger with real backcountry manners, and who will take on an orphaned engine and a fabric airframe to get it.

Key Features for GA Buyers

Original STOL taildragger. The M-4 is where the Maule STOL formula began, with the same short-field manners refined across the later M-5 through M-9.
220 hp for the size. The Franklin 6A-350 gives the 2,300 lb M-4-220C strong climb, about 1,250 ft/min at gross.
Four-place utility. Roughly 1,000 lb useful load and a fabric-and-tube cabin built for rough use.
Short, simple airframe. A light, short-coupled taildragger that gets in and out of small strips.

Trade-offs

Orphaned Franklin engine. The Franklin 6A-350 is out of production; overhauls go through a few specialists and parts can be scarce, so engine history matters at pre-buy.
Vintage fabric airframe. A 1960s-70s fabric-covered airframe needs eventual recovering and careful storage.
Tailwheel and high-performance. Requires a tailwheel endorsement and, at 220 hp, a high-performance endorsement.
No published clean stall. Maule did not publish a flaps-up stall for the M-4-220C, so its slow-flight margins are less documented than a modern type’s.

Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Height: 6.2 ft
Length: 22.0 ft
Parking area (ft²): 1101.6 ft²

Max Takeoff Weight: 2,300 lbs
Useful Load: 1,020 lbs
Fuel Capacity: 40 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed: 132 KTAS
Never-Exceed (V_NE): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 156 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (V_NO): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 126 KIAS
Range: 335 NM
Service Ceiling: 19,000 ft
Rate of Climb: 1250 fpm
Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle: 600 ft
Landing ground roll: 500 ft

Engine

Sources

Where the figures on this page come from. Maule M-4 specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.