Belford Maule began the design of an enclosed-cabin four-seat light aircraft in 1956, designating it the Maule M-4, and establishing the Maule Aircraft Corporation at Jackson, Michigan, to develop and manufacture the type. First flown on 8 September 1961, the M-4 is a braced-wing monoplane with fixed tail-wheel landing gear and, in its original M-4 version, was powered by a 145hp Continental O-300-A flat-six engine. Production began in 1963, and since that time more than 1,100 examples of the M-4 and its subsequent versions have been sold. The M-4 became known subsequently as the M-4 Jetasen, being followed in late 1964 by the M-4 Rocket introducing a 210hp Continental IO-360-A engine. Later versions included a de luxe version of the Jetasen, the M-4 Astro-Rocket with a 180hp 6A-335-B1A engine, and the M-4 Strata-Rocket which was basically an M-4 Rocket with a 220hp Franklin 6A-350-C1 engine.