Hey guy's, I'm thinking of ditching the 172 for an M5-210C and wondering what they're like with kids and car seats? The 172 is ideal for the family but I'm really stretching it for work use, some of the loads and short, rough strips are not cool.. I know Maules well but never had to worry about cabin noise etc previously. I had an M5-180 a few years ago and it was great but I only used it for a work hack

I need to get the sign off from the Minister for Fun and Finance so that means family friendly!

Cheers!

not much difference in creature comforts between the two. but the rear cargo door will come in more handy than the cessna's when loading stuff.. I love mine although i'm in a M4 210 C.. power difference from my old Tripacer to this was impressive...and i've been told removing the rear seat of a cessna is a bear whereas the Maule rear seat comes out that back door rather easily after being unbolted... my rear seat has been in the hangar since I brought the plane home 6 years ago...

I'm flying an M5 right now with kids age 4 and 5. Both in boosters. The M5 only has one lap belt in the back, but it reaches fine around both seats. In my old M4, the belt was shorter and wouldn't reach around 2 seats.
It is a little drafty in cold weather, but a blanket has solved that problem. It is a little noisy, but Bose has seemed to spoil my children with ANR headsets. So now we can't peacefully leave the ground without them.
The back doors really make getting the seats and kids in and out easy as compared to a Cessna back seat. You can stand beside the seat and buckle them in as opposed to doing it through the front door or over the front seat.
Over all, we get along great in it and the day in day out advantages far outweigh the minor inconveniences found in traveling with the family.

Thanks for the replies, that's about what I figured.. I might have to load them in for a test run first, can you reach them from the front to adjust headsets etc?

onefitty wrote:can you reach them from the front to adjust headsets etc?

Yes...that hasn't been a problem. However, about half of the time, my son convinces Mom to ride in the back with sis so he can "drive". That actually works pretty good too.

onefitty wrote:Hey guy's, I'm thinking of ditching the 172 for an M5-210C and wondering what they're like with kids and car seats? The 172 is ideal for the family but I'm really stretching it for work use, some of the loads and short, rough strips are not cool.. I know Maules well but never had to worry about cabin noise etc previously. I had an M5-180 a few years ago and it was great but I only used it for a work hack

I need to get the sign off from the Minister for Fun and Finance so that means family friendly!

Cheers!

Are you still looking at one? That 235 that just came back up for sale is interesting, I wonder why ... it's been sold twice in 1 year.

Yeah, that ones a bit spendy for me. Not enough Maules in NZ so I think asking prices are artificially high

Was it that other Lunar Rocket then?

There isn't enough of anything in NZ, look at the price of a 185F ....... for anything tidy it's starting at a quarter million

The price of paradise.