Now you've got my curiosity up.....where in Alaska would a Maule like that not be useable? Maybe SE, Kodiak, or ???

Inquiring minds want to know.....

MTV

Your first intuition was correct - southeast. The most southeast to be specific. Flying an otter in Ketchikan. The maule still sits safe and sound in Colorado until I’m done serving my time in the salt box

I concur that's not a very friendly spot for any wheel plane, and not great for personal use floats either. But, shore is pretty country!

Fly safe, Dude.....that weather.....

MTV

mtv wrote:I concur that's not a very friendly spot for any wheel plane, and not great for personal use floats either. But, shore is pretty country!

Fly safe, Dude.....that weather.....

MTV

It’s beautiful here for sure. I got here in January and honestly the weather has not been as bad as the legends made me believe it would be. Sure there are bad days but nothing compares to what I was flying in during my time in southwest ak. I bought a sailboat as housing while I’m here so learning that (I have no idea how to sail) has replaced my maule as my hobby. Flying for a company with likely the worst safety reputation in Alaska has been a change for me. But it pays well and the float flying is year round.











Lots of sun since I got here but a bit of this too.

Resurrecting this thread. I’m deep into my Bearhawk Patrol build and was looking for inspiration. It worked. Thanks for taking us on this journey Asa.

Another annual under the belt - two years since finishing the project and still going strong. My plane lives outside at a tie down all year wherever it may be, so little preference squawks don't get addressed if they require things being taken apart. I was able to get into a hangar for a week under the guise of an annual and got so many tiny little projects completed. The annual itself revealed nothing of note.







The little projects I mention were really too meaningless to post but here is one I already love so much. Maules didn't come with seatbelt reel guides (that I know of), so the 3 point belt often gets bunched going into the reel. So I made one and it works fantastically. Screws are a little long.. oops.



A big area of change lately has been in the wheel and landing gear department. Got a T3 approved through a DAR friend recently so I installed that. Seems neat. The irony of running a solid tailwheel tire with a T3 humors me.



I also found a set of used AeroSki R2800's rigged for a maule so I drove to Wisconsin to get those a while back. I made the deal with a widow with minimal knowledge or pictures or anything, but a heart of gold. Thought I was just buying the skis and was happy with the price, but I got there and it included a set of landing gear, wheels/brakes/tires, tail ski, and even some wing covers.... BINGO. Will be a long road to getting them rigged. There's not a bolt-on solution for extended gear so I can rig that up myself or I could use the stock length gear they came with, but I would need to purchase a set of stock length oleos. Not sure what I'll do yet, I'm not in a rush.



Also through a work-trade I got another set of used wheels and tailwheel head so I have finally reached the point that I don't need to remove tires from wheels when I do a tire/gear swap. Have 3 sets of wheels, one for 31's, one for 850's, and one for 600's (skis), as well as two complete tailwheel assemblies for wide and narrow. I never thought I'd reach this point. Heading to Alaska soon so everything is getting serviced and prepped. 31's vs 6's

If you do decide to go with the stock gear legs and need a set of stock oleos, let me know. Gives you a good reason to stop and visit on one of your trips to Alaska or south.

I have 2800s on extended gear. Let me know if you need measurements, pics, ect. Troy at aeroski was a huge help since I was the first to do so

gassman wrote:I have 2800s on extended gear. Let me know if you need measurements, pics, ect. Troy at aeroski was a huge help since I was the first to do so

Thanks for the offer! My IA has the same setup as well as a couple other coworkers, so I should have what I need but I'll reach out if not. One of them made bolt-on inboard fittings and the others are welded. Not sure what direction I'll go but Troy is currently making the parts for mine. Long term I definitely want the skis on the extended gear but am considering maybe taking a short cut and using the stock gear as an intermediary. The skis could use some new bottoms and there are some alaska mods I will probably do to them at that time as well. So maybe I'll give up this season on skis.... who knows.

Making two runs to Alaska this spring, the first in my truck this week and the second in the maule in late march. Started loading the truck and anaged to fit the skis, gear legs, bushwheels, and my 190cc CT70 clone in a 5ft long first gen Tacoma bed. The skis are 73" long and none of these items lend themselves to efficient packing so I'm pretty proud. Have all my climbing gear and tool/recovery kits in the backseat. Might be able to squeeze in my toothbrush in the glove box.

Post some more pictures and info on your CT70 clone. I love those Trail 70’s!

Good score on the skis and accessories!


Kurt

Asa,
Those skis appear to have the older style actuator fork, I think....those are great skis to help you get stuck. Aero Ski came out with longer (I think) forks, which push the skis further down/wheels further up in the "ski position". Major improvement. So, you may want to contact Aero Ski and ask if the later forks can be substituted. I know at least one person who's done so, but.....don't know what it took.

If you're going to do so, I'd get it done before you rig the skis to the plane.....not sure it makes a difference, but again, Aero Ski can tell you.

Congratulations on the packing job. Moving south from Fairbanks had my truck looking pretty much like that, only no topper....

MTV

G44 wrote:Post some more pictures and info on your CT70 clone. I love those Trail 70’s!

Good score on the skis and accessories!


Kurt

Now we’re talking. It’s a 2020 Ice Bear Champion. Street legal Chinese clone of a 70’s CT70. They are sold under a bunch of different names over the years, this one happens to be “Ice Bear Champion”, but all the clones come with 125cc engines. Mine was modified to fit a 190cc engine which honestly is ridiculous. It makes the bike super heavy, and is too much power for the quality of the parts.

Below is how I bought it. My original intent was to be able to put it in the Maule and go somewhere to explore. The engine upgrade sounded fun but the increased weight makes it harder to load alone.



I got bigger slightly knobbier tires, put some eBay Honda decals on it, and removed the rear rack and most of the “junk” back there which shortened it up quite a bit and makes it look cooler/funnier I think. I love it.

SWEET!!! I love it!

Kurt

Like most of my stuff it’s a little rough but I did find it at the dump.its my airport runabout.



And my mate Mark Marquez giving it a spin.

It will buff out; the Trail 70, not so sure about the operator.

New bottoms on skis, skis on maule, maule on glaciers.

Didn’t want to waste the remaining ski season by taking the time to weld brackets on my extended gear so I just threw on the stock gear they came with and some borrowed yellow oleos. Matches my plane perfectly.

Did my first landing on a strip accessible by road in case I installed something wrong. Guess I was right enough.

Very nice. Glad you got it together!

More fun on skis. First landing in aeroskis is with skis up, and with steep glaciers, deep powder, and a plane loaded with friends, it’s almost a guarantee to get stuck the first landing. Plop it in the powder, unload friends/gear, dig it out a bit, fire it back up to do some T&g’s to make a runway, then go skiing.

That looks like a truly AWESOME day:)

God damn. That's so cool!

How does one tie down a ski plane on top of a glacier?