There's a new bush plane in town, and it's looking like a great option for those who like their RC planes to look a little more scale! After producing the E-Flite Timber for a few years now, Horizon Hobby has just announced the E-Flite Maule M-7. It's a licenced replica of a real STOL plane.
This RC Bush plane is based on an American design called the M-7 from Maule Air. It's been produced since the mid-1980s and remained very popular for scooting all over the place in many different climates. Here's a shot of the E-Flite M-7's real-life counterpart.
So what can you expect from the E-Flite Maule M-7?
Here's what comes in the box:
- (1) The airplane itself
- (1) Spektrum AR636 Receiver
- (1) 15 BL Motor
- (1) 40A Brushless ESC
- (7) 9g Servo
- (1) Landing Gear Assembly
- (1) Float Set
- (1) User Manual
All you'll need to get flying with this BNF plane is a 6+ channel transmitter and a 2200-3200mAh 3-4s Lipo battery. The aircraft goes together very quickly and easily out of the box meaning that you'll be at the airstrip in no time.
Like any good Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) plane, this RC bush plane includes flaps. Using 9g servos embedded under in the wings, pushrods operate large surfaces to give you that extra lift needed to take off and land on small grass strips, or indeed anywhere else you want to set this bird down - the large tires won't complain.
Under the cowling, there's a powerful outrunner, 40 amp ESC and lots of space for a 3S or 4S LiPo. With this setup, the 1.5 meter wingspan model will have ample power to achieve some impressive performance. The hatch for the battery is nicely concealed adding to the scale appearance of the model.
Of course, I have to mention the floats. The E-Flite Maule includes a float set in the box which, in my opinion, is such great idea to have them already provided. It means you are all ready to take the aircraft anywhere you want. Just chuck it in your car, drive on down to the lake and you'll have a float plane all ready to go. Good show Horizon Hobby.
These floats are equipped with a steerable water rudder meaning that you have precise taxing control. It's quite important to have this on a seaplane as it means that you can track well when accelerating on takeoff.
Details
As you'd expect from a licenced model of a real aircraft, the E-Flite Maule includes a whole host of scale details. Notably, it has LED's built into the airframe. If you like flying during the evening just as it's going dusk, this feature is going to be good fun for you to use. 
Looking at the lines of the aircraft, the M-7 has really captured those bush plane looks to a tee. If you look along the wings, you'll notice ridges and rivets moulded into the foam. This is to simulate the metal construction of the full-scale plane.
In the cockpit, there's also a pilot figure just itching to get going on an epic bush plane adventure (a little like the one Alex and Stefan went on recently here at Flite Test).
Be sure to check in at our Flite Test store if you'd like to pick one of these scale bush planes up. We're stocking them now!
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Article by James Whomsley
FliteTest.com Editor
There has been a full scale Maule that lands on the lake at the Midwest Regional Float Fly. It's always awesome to have the full scale planes drop in when we are flying our R/C planes.
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