Large Fierce Mammal

Canada is the land of the bush plane. While that term sends the mind to the realm of such venerable de Havilland Canada products as the Beaver and Otter, the truth is that a lot of bush flying gets done by smaller aircraft that are purpose built to get in and out of short, unimproved air strips, tiny lakes, and winding rivers. In amphibious configuration, a compact and manoeuvrable short takeoff and landing (STOL) bush plane can perform most of the missions normally associated with helicopters, with greater safety, efficiency, and often speed, all the while incurring lower operating and maintenance costs.  A perfect fit for this niche is the Maule M-7-260 manufactured in Moultrie, Georgia by Maule Air Inc.

In keeping with the stated mission of my fictional Golden Mountain Dog Solutions Air Services fleet, and for the further delectation of flight simming dog lovers everywhere, this post deals with the exceptional Maule M-7-260 simulation developed for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 by the team of Kari Virtanen, Ian Grant, Riku Horelli, Aaron Swindle, Steven Grant, Gerd R. Nehr, Mikko Maliniemi, and Tomas Foosnes. More specifically, it presents the amphibious variant included in the package and the GMDS textures I put on it.

A few pictures follow. The textures are based on the factory paint scheme and are available now from my Downloads page. Using them will require that you first download and install the freeware FS2004 Maule M-7-260 “six pack” and the FS2004 Maule M-7-260 Update, both available from FlightSim.com.

In flight over rural Nova Scotia … which describes most of the province.

Landing on the LaHave River.

Parked at Greenwood Airport.

Runway takeoff from Greenwood.

The benefits of an amphibian include the ability to land on the water, extend the landing gear, and taxi up the beach.

The Maule M-7-260 as simulated in this package and its update is fast, peppy, fun, good looking … not unlike me actually! Highly recommended by the Large Fierce Mammal as being worthy to wear the Leaping Milo logo!

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