ZK-ESP

ZK-ESP is a Maule M-5, a single-engine piston aircraft. SkyMeter has tracked 108 flights totalling 59 hours of airtime via ADS-B. The most frequent segment is NZME to NZAR. Service window in our records spans 302 days. Of those flights, 4 (3.7%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Maule M-5 has a 31 ft wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of 2,300 lb.

About the Maule M-5

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 flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.