Years ago, I owned a ragwing 170 and wanted to upgrade to a 180, but couldn't afford a good one. I happened to read a pirep in an old Affordable Flying magazine touting the Maule M4-220, thought it sounded pretty good. There happened to be one for sale near me so I called the guy and went to check it out. When it came time to fly it, I figured it's only a couple hp less than the 180's that I'd flown in (225 & 230 hp) and weighs less so it oughta perform about the same. I was less than impressed. Something about the horsepower, size, weight, wing area and airfoil shape of a C180 just works! They got it right back in 1953, that's why there's just been a series of small changes along the way and no big revamping.
FWIW about a month ago I finally bought a 180 after wanting one for years, and am very pleased with it.
"Cessna 180 -- accept no substitutes!"

hotrod180 wrote:Years ago, I owned a ragwing 170 and wanted to upgrade to a 180, but couldn't afford a good one. I happened to read a pirep in an old Affordable Flying magazine touting the Maule M4-220, thought it sounded pretty good. There happened to be one for sale near me so I called the guy and went to check it out. When it came time to fly it, I figured it's only a couple hp less than the 180's that I'd flown in (225 & 230 hp) and weighs less so it oughta perform about the same. I was less than impressed. Something about the horsepower, size, weight, wing area and airfoil shape of a C180 just works! They got it right back in 1953, that's why there's just been a series of small changes along the way and no big revamping.
FWIW about a month ago I finally bought a 180 after wanting one for years, and am very pleased with it.
"Cessna 180 -- accept no substitutes!"

I do not have much Maule time, but I know for sure that the 180 is one very well designed machine. There is no other aircraft that I've flown that I'd rather go adventuring in.

There will be blowback from this thread

Curious to know what prop you had on and if it was rigged correctly..... Never heard anyone not love a long wing it it has the 86 on it....

FWIW; my Maule is 30 years old, left the factory on floats, spent time in Florida before going to AK. In AK it was on wheels and floats and when I bought it it had been working for a living in Kotzebue. And since I've had it has been beat around all kinds of crappy landing spots and it has zero damage history. I can't think of very many 180's I've ever seen without some damage history, and usually a crooked wing to show for it.

Your post seems pretty Maules suckish....... I think 180's are badass, wish I had one. But my Maule delivers a ton of bang for my buck, and performs really well.

I'm also surprised to read your comments about how hard it is to get parts for a maule. You haven't had that 180 very long have you?

I can't explain why they don't make long wing maules any more - except for the fact that they aren't selling ANY airplanes anymore - maybe 1-2 a year is what the rumor mill is saying. But i can tell you that they 33'8" wing maules command a strong price premium and rarely hit the open market. They are far more desirable for some reason - and it's not because they don't make them any more.

I'd take either....

I chose.... neither.

soyAnarchisto wrote:...except for the fact that they aren't selling ANY airplanes anymore - maybe 1-2 a year is what the rumor mill is saying.......

Are you referencing Maule sales specifically?

If so, I was at the "factory" in the spring of this year and there 11 planes in various stages and "an order of 9 due by the end of the year" for some government project. So, while GA is doing poorly and Maule may not being doing as well as it did in years past, they have sold many more than 2 planes this year.

(Now back to the Maule bashing. )

Yep,,,, Maules suck. We just needed our monthly reminder.

motosix wrote:Are you referencing Maule sales specifically?

If so, I was at the "factory" in the spring of this year and there 11 planes in various stages and "an order of 9 due by the end of the year" for some government project. So, while GA is doing poorly and Maule may not being doing as well as it did in years past, they have sold many more than 2 planes this year.

New planes? Or repairs/rebuilds? I only have second hand information, so I probably shouldn't have even repeated it. Sorry.

Best part of a 180, aside from that 13gph fuel burn.... is stuffing all your gear in the back without a suicide door making it all too easy.

malls suck yeah

soyAnarchisto wrote:

motosix wrote:Are you referencing Maule sales specifically?

If so, I was at the "factory" in the spring of this year and there 11 planes in various stages and "an order of 9 due by the end of the year" for some government project. So, while GA is doing poorly and Maule may not being doing as well as it did in years past, they have sold many more than 2 planes this year.

New planes? Or repairs/rebuilds? I only have second hand information, so I probably shouldn't have even repeated it. Sorry.

Best part of a 180, aside from that 13gph fuel burn.... is stuffing all your gear in the back without a suicide door making it all too easy.

malls suck yeah

There were a few oddball planes like the diesel M7 (yes, it was wicked cool) scattered about, but I counted 11 new builds in process. Well, 10 -- one fuselage was in the jig still. There were 3 that were at the "end of the line" just sitting there, all pretty like, begging for some fun. To be honest with you though, I don't know how many of those were sold with money-in-hand. I loved every minute of it at the plant.

I agree with Soy; the only thing worse than Maules are Maule-people. We have a guy in Boulder who is blight on our otherwise shiny public image and he even posts articles on this very site. I am surprised he can form complete sentences...

(Hi Patrick!)

I wasn't told he was a blight.

It's his and that funny hat wearing dude's fault, they have caused me so much misery.

Damn the luck!

motosix wrote:There were a few oddball planes like the diesel M7 (yes, it was wicked cool) scattered about, but I counted 11 new builds in process. Well, 10 -- one fuselage was in the jig still. There were 3 that were at the "end of the line" just sitting there, all pretty like, begging for some fun. To be honest with you though, I don't know how many of those were sold with money-in-hand. I loved every minute of it at the plant.

Yeah, this was a good year for them. They actually skipped Airventure because they couldn't afford to take the hit in productivity due to the distractions of the show. They tried to get a few of us to put planes in the booth space they had already paid for just so it wouldn't be empty, but no ones schedules worked out for that plan.

rw2 wrote:

motosix wrote:There were a few oddball planes like the diesel M7 (yes, it was wicked cool) scattered about, but I counted 11 new builds in process. Well, 10 -- one fuselage was in the jig still. There were 3 that were at the "end of the line" just sitting there, all pretty like, begging for some fun. To be honest with you though, I don't know how many of those were sold with money-in-hand. I loved every minute of it at the plant.

Yeah, this was a good year for them. They actually skipped Airventure because they couldn't afford to take the hit in productivity due to the distractions of the show.

This brings joy to my heart.

maulewaco wrote:I might just sell evrything and buy a Beaver and give a report on how it worked for me with a flame suit on.

Maule buddy of mine is doing exactly that right now!

soyAnarchisto wrote:
Best part of a 180, aside from that 13gph fuel burn.... is stuffing all your gear in the back without a suicide door making it all too easy.

[/quote]

A couple comments to add to Maulewaco's observation on cabin size:
I liked the Maule platform and have spent quite a bit of time up at Boulder airport checking out the stable
of long wing M7s when I was in the plane market. I was sold on the off-airport performance, parts cost, and amazing baggage door. At 6' 4" though I couldn't get past the tight fit of the cabin. My knees seemed to be in the way of yoke and flap operation and getting in and out was a little comical. If I were to have another tall passenger sitting next to me it would have been even tougher. Wanted to make it work, but just didn't fit me well.

Ended up buying a 59 180B and have spent a considerable amount of time restoring and modifying it to my configuration. While the baggage door is not as convenient as the Maule, I can still move the seat up (or remove it easily) to load furniture, camping gear, kitchen sink, etc. I haven't run in to a major parts expense issue, but my airplane is fairly stripped down. The most expensive parts have been mods ... Cleveland 199-62 kit, Goodyear tires, Willie's STOL, Continental engine parts, Garmin avionics, etc. I also recall the yearly insurance quote for the Maule being more than double the cessna for lower time drivers.

Btw, on a stock carb 0470R with JPI-700 and E.I. fuel flow, rich of peak, I rarely burn over 9-9.5 GPH in cruise , usually cruising around at 125 Knots G/S. keep in mind I rarely fly below 8k' here in Colorado.

UtahMaule wrote:Yep,,,, Maules suck. We just needed our monthly reminder.

.... And they're ugly too!

The only one I have flown in was pretty awesome and seemed to do whatever it needed. I know it was an M7... not sure which wing it had.

Even though there is much sarcasm in this thread I'm glad maulewaco started it. I almost started a thread last week asking for this exact comparison. I decided not to because I knew it would end up a bash fest like every other Maule vs Cessna thread. I don't have time in either type but was thinking about how I liked the balanced feel of the Luscombe. I wondered if the Maule was better balanced than the Bearhawk and how the C180 compared to both of them. Guess I have one guy's thoughts of the feel of the airplane. My signature line should have given me a clue which airplane was better balanced.

I know a guy with a early C180 wingX/Sportsmans that I'm going to try to go fly with, wish it had a stock wing. Haven't found a local guy with a M6 or 7 but there has to be one around. I'm hoping to find out for myself which airplane I prefer before I spend the money on a project "_____".

Edit: Huh, must have delete my sig line at some point in the past.

I want a 206 with the big cargo doors. I can't afford it. I like my Maule, ugly and slow. Just like me.
Simmons. Which one of you 180 guys has a pic of you at Simmons? Huh?

Thanks for the pilot report! When I was in the market was looking for either and the 180 came up first so that's what I ended up with and couldn't be happier. The Maule cargo door is very appealing for my mission, however the 180 has never let me down so far but loading ranch equipment the Maule cargo door would have been very convenient at times.

Even though I haven't flown a Maule yet I still really like them and hope to own one someday, I also love beavers, but who doesn't hahahaha