Bonanza Maintenance

brien23

brien23

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Brien
How many owners of Bonanza type have Colvin's clinic book on Bonanza maintenance. A lot of discussions on the board are covered in detail in his book. Of all the Bonanza books this is worth trying to get a copy of.
 
A&P/IA here...and Bonanza owner....no book, but I'm interested in why it's so great.
 
I have been told of it, but do not have it (and I am intimately involved in the maintenance of my Bo, which I have owned for almost nine years).
 
Heard of it. Would rather have someone like sixie go over the old bo once a year to see what is about to put meet in the trees.

Of course between times, I'm reading and comparing Lew's book to mine. I have the old oldie so maybe I'm doing the same thing with a different book.
 
I'm familiar with the book but don't own it. I also was a member of the ABS and while I appreciated the guides they published (such as the landing gear guide) I never found anything discussed in the guides which could not be gleaned from the service manuals and a good bit of common sense.

I believe many of the problems with these planes (and any somewhat complex airplane) arise from cheap owners who don't want to maintain their airplane or pay a mechanic for their time to really figure out what is wrong and fix it, coupled with mechanics who don't spend the time figuring out how the system they're working on or inspecting really works.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
A&P/IA here...and Bonanza owner....no book, but I'm interested in why it's so great.
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I worked on T-34 for 20 years before I found Colvin's clinic book, only wish I had found it sooner. A great book for the new or seasoned Bonanza owner. Great information and diagrams. The book is available DIRECTLY from the American Bonanza Society (bonanza.org)
 
mondtster said:
I'm familiar with the book but don't own it. I also was a member of the ABS and while I appreciated the guides they published (such as the landing gear guide) I never found anything discussed in the guides which could not be gleaned from the service manuals and a good bit of common sense.

I believe many of the problems with these planes (and any somewhat complex airplane) arise from cheap owners who don't want to maintain their airplane or pay a mechanic for their time to really figure out what is wrong and fix it, coupled with mechanics who don't spend the time figuring out how the system they're working on or inspecting really works.
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I agree, complex airplanes and cheap owners are just a mater of time till something bad happens. Ignorance is bliss.
 
The book is excellent and I highly recommend it. ABS produces several how to maintain it booklets for mechanics including the landing gear and control rigging. ABS also operates a maintenance course for mechanics on the type. They also go around the country and provide service clinics where a Bonanza expert goes over your airplane and develops a squawk list for you. Invite your mechanic to attend, it is intended to help mechanics understand the systems and how to maintain your Bonanza. Don't attend a service clinic right after an annual, do it just before one. Otherwise most mechanics will be made to look like an incompetent fool unless they really know the type.
 
John Collins said:
The book is excellent and I highly recommend it. ABS produces several how to maintain it booklets for mechanics including the landing gear and control rigging. ABS also operates a maintenance course for mechanics on the type. They also go around the country and provide service clinics where a Bonanza expert goes over your airplane and develops a squawk list for you. Invite your mechanic to attend, it is intended to help mechanics understand the systems and how to maintain your Bonanza. Don't attend a service clinic right after an annual, do it just before one. Otherwise most mechanics will be made to look like an incompetent fool unless they really know the type.
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Are Bo's really completely different compared to the rest of the fleet? Do they not have service manuals, SBs, etc?

If a mechanic would be made to look like a incompetent fool after doing a annual on a Bo then taking one of these seminars, I'd argue we probably was a incompetent fool to start with.
 
James331 said:
Are Bo's really completely different compared to the rest of the fleet? Do they not have service manuals, SBs, etc?

If a mechanic would be made to look like a incompetent fool after doing a annual on a Bo then taking one of these seminars, I'd argue we probably was a incompetent fool to start with.
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Ignorance is bliss
 
brien23 said:
Ignorance is bliss
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Hey, I don't have a Bo, got no issue stating that.

I've owned a few semi oddball planes, planes far less common then a Bo, and yes finding someone with experience in type is great.

I'm sure there are a few little tricks, sure, a couple speciality tools that help, no doubt, but to go as far as to say, unless you take this seminar you can not preform an annual on a Bo without looking like a complete idiot, that is ignorance.
 
The difference is "working and airworthy" versus "runs like a swing machine". When you get to the oldies, it starts making a difference as the parts are hard to find. Having everything put together well just works better.

To be honest, the books and the ABS service clinic are worth the time/money. They find the little things that won't kill you (although I hear that does happen), but they help extend the life of the aircraft.

Unless we are talking about the old 215 Electric prop. Don't let just any A&P/IA touch that sucker! Only gray haired gurus allowed!
 
brian] said:
The difference is "working and airworthy" versus "runs like a swing machine". When you get to the oldies, it starts making a difference as the parts are hard to find. Having everything put together well just works better.

To be honest, the books and the ABS service clinic are worth the time/money. They find the little things that won't kill you (although I hear that does happen), but they help extend the life of the aircraft.

Unless we are talking about the old 215 Electric prop. Don't let just any A&P/IA touch that sucker! Only gray haired gurus allowed!
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Exactly.
 
Most mechanics are not trained on Bonanza systems, particularly the landing gear and rigging. Much of the information can be found in the shop manual, but unfortunately there is a lot missing. Their bread and butter is Cessna and Piper. It is what they don't know that they don't know that causes issues. I can do a walk around on a Bonanza and within less than ten minutes determine if the mechanic who is maintaining the Bonanza knows what he is doing. Just because the shop is a Beechcraft shop does not mean the mechanics know the piston line. I have owned my Bonanza for 37 years, and I got involved in the maintenance early on to protect myself and the airplane from ignorance on the part of mechanics on the type. Many a time I had to explain to the mechanic how to properly maintain my Bonanza, humor me, do this check or that check, even though the mechanic says it does not need to be done, after all I am paying for it. For those that just swing the gear up and down at an annual, they don't have a clue as to what is important.
 
I can confirm that point on the gear. I have an IA I still use, but I can tell there are parts of the oldies he doesn't have a lot of experience on. Luckily, I have a couple of other A&P/IAs that basically grew up with Bonanzas I can call on to help me out.

The funny experience was when I got mine back once, the mains were pumped up with enough fluid that I thought I was flying a fighter jet. Those oleo struts sure make that aircraft look even more impressive when over-filled. We let the struts back down to about 3 inches or so of the oleo strut showing - although I thought it was kinda cool!
 
Gee....one of the experts said I didn't have enough in my struts. lol :D
 
John Collins is spot on. As a Bo owner I can quickly see how well it is maintained by looking carefully.

I have not read the book either.
 
brian] said:
When you get to the oldies, it starts making a difference as the parts are hard to find.
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That was my experience owning a '59 K35. Every year my annuals were straightforward, then there started to be suspicious fuel stains on the ground. The aux fuel pump was leaking. It of course was a long-out-of-production component, and to modify the airplane to accommodate a modern pump would have been a $4,000 surgery. Fortunately, though, a shop in Florida was able to repair the old pump for a small fraction of that.
 
John Collins said:
Most mechanics are not trained on Bonanza systems, particularly the landing gear and rigging. Much of the information can be found in the shop manual, but unfortunately there is a lot missing. Their bread and butter is Cessna and Piper. It is what they don't know that they don't know that causes issues. I can do a walk around on a Bonanza and within less than ten minutes determine if the mechanic who is maintaining the Bonanza knows what he is doing. Just because the shop is a Beechcraft shop does not mean the mechanics know the piston line. I have owned my Bonanza for 37 years, and I got involved in the maintenance early on to protect myself and the airplane from ignorance on the part of mechanics on the type. Many a time I had to explain to the mechanic how to properly maintain my Bonanza, humor me, do this check or that check, even though the mechanic says it does not need to be done, after all I am paying for it. For those that just swing the gear up and down at an annual, they don't have a clue as to what is important.
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If your going to have your Bonanza painted might ask the paint shop how they will paint your flight controls. Bonanza use magnesium and the paint shop needs to know how to do magnesium conversion. Magnadyne Dow 7 or whatever conversion process if they do not do it right you will pay for it later.
 
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