Ray Maule, son of Maule Air's founder, has died

Maule was born Oct. 24, 1934, in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. He was a U.S. Army veteran, and “had an aviation career that spanned more than 7 decades. He flew more than 30,000 hours in this time and trained countless pilots,” said a message posted on Facebook by Maule Air.

He was the founder of Maule Flight, a factory-authorized dealership and pilot services company located near Maule Air at Spence Airport in Moultrie, providing training for pilots in Maule aircraft, the highly regarded and specialized high-wing, short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft manufactured in tailwheel and nosewheel configurations.

In this 2012 AOPA Live video, Ray and his son Brent Maule shared a bit of Maule Air history as the company celebrated 50 years in continuous production.

Maule is survived by his wife, Rautgunde Fischer Maule of Moultrie; two daughters, Susan Maule of Media, Pa., and Michelle Wilkes and her husband, Kit, of Moultrie; son Brent, who has served as president of Maule Air since 2013, and his wife Paola of Moultrie; three grandchildren; a brother, David Maule of Moultrie; and a sister, Shirley Maule of Moultrie, according to an obituary published in a local newspaper.

A funeral service was scheduled for Jan. 11 in Moultrie.