Hey everyone,

Quick confession I am not a pilot and as you will probably guess from my questions do not know much about planes.
I have a export business in Portland Oregon and one of my clients has asked me to find and ship a Bush plain to him, in Russia.
I have researched and I believe I have found the best option for him but I would appreciate some of the experts to weigh in with their opinions.

The requirements are as follows:
Bush plain able to land on any relatively flat surface.
Short take off and landing: example video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBD1XOY5Xic
Able to quickly change from large tires to floats.
4 seater plane
Able to fly in Russian winter conditions: (think Alaska);
budget: no real sealing on how much to spend!! $-) but it has to be a good deal.

So what I found was a maul m7 260 hp or a maule m9 260hp models.
To build a brand new the m7 is $305,000 and the m9 is $320,000. The build time is 9 months.
Apparently the only difference between the m7 and m9 is the amount of load they can take on so he is leaning towards the m7.

I was told that these 2 planes have everything I am looking for except the ice problem.
There are 3 types of de-ice systems: coil heater, alcohol and balloon or lung that breaks the ice when it forms on the wings.
Maule rep told me they are not able to install any of the ice systems and that they are usually made for special planes.

Couple of questions:
Do you think the Maule is the perfect plane for the requirements I got. Would you suggest anything else.
How short is the take off for the Maule?
Are there any mechanics that can install one of the ice systems after market?

Troll?

Um i'm not a troll.
Just looking for someones opinions who is more informed than I am.
Here is my business website: http://www.portlandcartrader.com/

jester wrote:Um i'm not a troll.
Just looking for someones opinions who is more informed than I am.
Here is my business website: http://www.portlandcartrader.com/

Verified. Not a troll. Apologies for jumping to that conclusion. Good to chat with you on the phone and good luck with the search.

It would be very hard to respond based on a third-hand statement of needs without knowing more specifics about the pilot that will be flying and the sorts of places he wants to land.

But in general, there are some really capable planes that can accomplish most of what you are asking, including Maules, Helio Courier, Cessna 180, etc.

But if you are wanting a new airplane, it is probably the Maule.

And if you want to fly in icing conditions, none of them is the right airplane. In my opinion, anyway. Flying in the winter, sure. But not without carefully evaluating weather and scheduling options.

Is hydroplaning the wheels important to your client?

When I spoke with him I suggested that if the customer is willing to ditch the anti-ice system then a Maule might be ok (the broker needs to check how many people the customer is actually wanting to carry) and that if he *must* have anti-ice, then a 206 would be a plane to look at as it would carry four grown-ass russians plus still be a good back country plane for most missions.

Zzz wrote:Is hydroplaning the wheels important to your client?

ROTFLMFAO!!!!!

Classic right there.

jester wrote:Hey everyone,

Quick confession I am not a pilot and as you will probably guess from my questions do not know much about planes.
I have a export business in Portland Oregon and one of my clients has asked me to find and ship a Bush plain to him, in Russia.
I have researched and I believe I have found the best option for him but I would appreciate some of the experts to weigh in with their opinions.

The requirements are as follows:
Bush plain able to land on any relatively flat surface.
Short take off and landing: example video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBD1XOY5Xic
Able to quickly change from large tires to floats.
4 seater plane
Able to fly in Russian winter conditions: (think Alaska);
budget: no real sealing on how much to spend!! $-) but it has to be a good deal.

So what I found was a maul m7 260 hp or a maule m9 260hp models.
To build a brand new the m7 is $305,000 and the m9 is $320,000. The build time is 9 months.
Apparently the only difference between the m7 and m9 is the amount of load they can take on so he is leaning towards the m7.

I was told that these 2 planes have everything I am looking for except the ice problem.
There are 3 types of de-ice systems: coil heater, alcohol and balloon or lung that breaks the ice when it forms on the wings.
Maule rep told me they are not able to install any of the ice systems and that they are usually made for special planes.

Couple of questions:
Do you think the Maule is the perfect plane for the requirements I got. Would you suggest anything else.
How short is the take off for the Maule?
Are there any mechanics that can install one of the ice systems after market?

If you want to find out everything there uis to know about a Maule, Get in contact with Jeremy Ainsworth.
http://maules.com/
He knows more about Maules than just about anyone including the folks at Maule.
He is a straight shooter and will be truthful with you.
Also he has flown a bunch all over the world, cratd them up and put them back together when they get to there destination and will go and teach the owner how to fly it as they are not your average airplane to just get into and fly.
Good Luck, I think just about the best new plane for the buck out there.
IMHO $0.02

Ditto, get in touch with Jeremy. He sometimes frequents this site.

BUT, the biggest problem this individual is apt to encounter operating in Russia is the almost total absence of aviation gasoline there. Lots of jet fuel, but avgas is hard to come by, and the auto fuel is REALLY crappy.

MTV

So a guy from Russia, who is capable of spending $250-300K on a bush plane, and who is probably within walking distance of several AN-2 biplanes for sale at the equivalent of US $25-50K, and knowing full well that the AN-2 has been succeeding in this role, in Russian weather, running on Russian gasoline, being maintained by Russian mechanics, for oh... about 55 years... and the purchase of such an AN-2 would leave him with over US$200,000 in change compared to a new Maule purchase, wants a car dealer in Oregon, who has no background whatsoever in aircraft, to go off and buy him a Maule in Georgia, and ship it in a crate up to Russia.

And you guys think I'm strange

Sheesh! All the guy wants is a Mall! So let him "just get a Mall!"

BTW, doesn't Mall make a turbine model?

I would put Mr. Russian in direct contact with J. Ainsworth, to let them work out a satisfactory arrangement, then bow out of the deal.
I would suggest you are entering very deep waters to complete this deal yourself.

FWIW

Theres a turbine mall for sale on barnstormers.

EZFlap wrote:And you guys think I'm strange

You Are....

But that's one of the reasons why I like this site.

Gump

#1 Get your pilots license and fly on wheels,floats etc for at least 200 hours in whatever airplane they'll rent you . Try and fly a Maule and see if it works for your mission 80% of the time. You can buy a helluva lot of 100 LL for 20 grand and find out if flying is for you. Get a 180/185 for third or half the expected 300 + grand you'd like to spend. I don't have anything against maules even flew a few - I just don't plan on spending 300+ grand for one . I finally went back and read the original post - seems Russians want the Maule this guy is just the broke r . more power to him . In the case of other people's money spend like it's water, had a similar incident years ago when Russian skydiving club wanted a brand new from factory 182 for skydiving ! They spent like 400 grand to take out the interior ,radios etc. To add a jump door .

182 STOL driver wrote:#1 Get your pilots license and fly on wheels,floats etc for at least 200 hours in whatever airplane they'll rent you . Try and fly a Maule and see if it works for your mission 80% of the time. You can buy a helluva lot of 100 LL for 20 grand and find out if flying is for you. Get a 180/185 for third or half the expected 300 + grand you'd like to spend. I don't have anything against maules even flew a few - I just don't plan on spending 300+ grand for one .

The poster isn't the end user. He's just a customs broker and shipper trying to find something for one of his clients.

When we spoke on the phone I also suggested that there are less expensive options than buying new, but that seems to be what his customers heart is set on.

EZFlap wrote:So a guy from Russia, who is capable of spending $250-300K on a bush plane, and who is probably within walking distance of several AN-2 biplanes for sale at the equivalent of US $25-50K, and knowing full well that the AN-2 has been succeeding in this role, in Russian weather, running on Russian gasoline, being maintained by Russian mechanics, for oh... about 55 years... and the purchase of such an AN-2 would leave him with over US$200,000 in change compared to a new Maule purchase, wants a car dealer in Oregon, who has no background whatsoever in aircraft, to go off and buy him a Maule in Georgia, and ship it in a crate up to Russia.

And you guys think I'm strange

AN-2 was the first thing that popped into my mind as well. I'm with your and MTV's thoughts on this one. Besides, the propellor turns the wrong way on a Maule.

If I had a budget of 300K I would referb a 206. I'll bet you could get a good machine for that. I figure 60K avionics, 25K paint, 10K Interior, 70K factory new engine and prop. That is 165K that leaves 135K for a core.

That's probably cutting it close and you still have a lot of parts with a lot of hours on them.

If you don't need to haul more than a new Maule can handle,,, it is ALL new!!

G'Day

Thanks everyone for all the feed back

I did get a clearer picture of how much cargo he needs.

He would like a plane that fits a 3 people and cargo, cargo being camping gear and lots of Vodka! =)
The m-7 has only 800 pounds useful load which is really small, the m-9 has 1100 pounds.
Also I read the specifications and the m-9 and it needs 791 ft to take off fully loaded and 900 ft to land fully loaded.
This seams like a lot if you are landing were there is no runway?


Also he is not a pilot currently. He will hire one to give him private lessons and fly him around till he gets learns the ropes.

So i think the AN-2 or 206 is too big for him to start out on.

Big thanks for recommending Jeremy Ainsworth.
He seams very competent and knowing in his field.