Maule M-5 (M5)
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ICAO M5 Small

Maule M-5

Single Piston· 357 globally registered

The Maule M-5 is a rugged four-seat tailwheel aircraft built by Maule Air in Georgia from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, designed for short-field operations and backcountry flying. Variants include the M-5-180C, M-5-210C (Lunar Rocket), M-5-220C (Lunar Rocket), and M-5-235C (Strata Rocket), each named for its Lycoming engine horsepower. The M-5 features a steel-tube fuselage with fabric covering, a high wing with full-span flaps, and oversized tires that allow operations from unimproved strips, sandbars, and mountain airstrips where most tricycle-gear aircraft cannot venture. Its short takeoff and landing performance (typically under 500 feet over a 50-foot obstacle) made it popular with bush pilots, hunters, and remote-property owners across Alaska, the Mountain West, and Canada. The M-5 can carry four adults and baggage at a cruise speed around 140 mph, with a range of approximately 500 nautical miles depending on configuration. While never produced in large numbers compared to Cessna or Piper models, the M-5 earned a loyal following for its honest handling, simple systems, and ability to get in and out of places other singles cannot. SkyMeter has tracked 112 flights across 51 airframes and 44 operators, with CAPOZZI ROBERT A the largest observed operator.

ACTIVE AIRFRAMES
51
last 7 days
🏢
OPERATORS
44
unique airlines
📊
FLIGHTS
112
tracked
AVG DURATION
40m
per flight
INCIDENT RATE
9.8%
11 flagged

Safety in context

The incident rate counts flights with ANY safety event detected by SkyMeter: go-arounds (a routine response, not a failure), unstable-approach gate flags (advisory thresholds), rejected takeoffs (the system working as designed), and runway events. It is NOT an accident rate or fatality rate. For accident statistics, refer to the NTSB Aviation Accident Database (USA) or the Aviation Safety Network. See methodology for what each event type measures.

Performance

Speed envelope & approach

Vref
43 kt
Vref range
Vmo
Mmo
Vne
152 kt
Vno
130 kt
Vs1 (clean)
43 kt
Vs0 (landing)
38 kt
Vfe
80 kt
Approach category
A

Dimensions

Airframe geometry

Wingspan
31 ft
Length
24 ft
Tail height
6 ft
Wheelbase
14 ft
Gear width
7 ft
Wake category
Light

Weight & identification

Operating limits

MTOW
2,300 lb
MALW
2,300 lb
Manufacturer model
Maule M-5
FAA designator
M5
Registered
357

Safety profile

Flagged flights · last 7 days

Family

Related variants

1

Recent incidents

Flagged flights of M5

20
9/2/2026
1h 13m
△ Low approach-stability score
9/2/2026
22m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/30/2026
35m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/30/2026
39m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/30/2026
40m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/30/2026
1h 24m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/29/2026
22m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/28/2026
25m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/27/2026
3h 7m
△ Low approach-stability score
8/25/2026
6h 36m
△ Low approach-stability score

Recent flights

Real flights of M5 · airborne ≥ 20 min

30
9/4/2026
1h 43m
No alerts
9/4/2026
24m
No alerts
9/4/2026
1h 10m
No alerts
9/4/2026
29m
No alerts
9/2/2026
5h 45m
No alerts
9/2/2026
1h 13m
△ Low approach-stability score
9/2/2026
22m
△ Low approach-stability score
9/2/2026
1h 6m
No alerts
9/2/2026
19m
No alerts
9/1/2026
30m
No alerts
9/1/2026
23m
No alerts
9/1/2026
21m
No alerts
8/31/2026
2h 19m
No alerts
8/31/2026
1h 22m
No alerts
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© SkyMeter · All flight data subject to ODbL attribution · Tracking window: 7 days (free tier)