Dean said:
You all know that I have been searching every avenue that sells airplanes looking for a Cherokee 180. During my search I have noticed several early Beechcraft Bonanzas in the 35K-45K range. Most of these sound good, but the price makes me wonder why they are so cheap. Are these money pits or what?
Despite what some say, you can operate an older Bonanza at a reasonable (for a high powered retract) cost. It won't be as cheap as a Cherokee for sure, but one that's already been well maintained won't necessarily be a money pit. OTOH as Charlie points out there are a few potential wallet draining issues. The carb (actually it would be called a "throttle body injection" system on a car engine) has a bunch of rubber diaphrams that lose flexability and strength over time. Fortunately the materials used in these units today are capable of lasting for 25 years or more so if the carb was
properly overhauled in the last 10 years or so it shouldn't need much attention. The wing tanks have bladders which require replacing eventually for something like $2-3k per side. The ruddervators and some other control surfaces are magnesium (real early ones used fabric) which easily corrodes and require special attention when painting. The landing gearbox is quite robust, but can require overhaul if neglected. I think Beech recommends this every 5000 hrs but few owners comply.
As to the prop issue, the original Beech electric prop is a good one but parts are scarce and the pitch change gears must be lubed every 250 hours
or else. Hartzel made a hydraulic prop that was retrofitted to about half the fleet and it worked fine until an AD came out a few years back that generally made it uneconomical to continue using. As a result many E powered Bo's have had a new prop installed and AFaIK these are trouble and A/D free.
Fuel capacity in most of the early models is insufficient for IFR use, especially if the engine is a 225 HP model. Tip tanks and baggage compartment tanks solve that problem but the tip tank method allows a gross weight increase as well as eliminating the aft loading problem that comes with baggage tanks.
IIRC the straight 35 and A35-B35 (1947-1951) models are currently under an AD speed restriction. These earliest models had smaller control surfaces, a different (truss type) spar carry-through, and smaller engines than the next generation C35-F35 (1952-1955) models and are probably less desireable than them unless you are an antique buff.
I owned an E35 (1954) for many years and found it to be a very reliable and not terribly expensive airplane. Mine had an E-225 engine and a Hartzel prop. I normally flight planned for 145 KTAS and 11 GPH. Between 5000 and 7000 MSL I could get a TAS of 160 Kt at 14-14.5 GPH if I was in a big hurry. With BDS tip tanks I could carry full fuel (66 gallons) and almost 800 lbs in the cabin. Once I removed the rear baggage tank and a useless ITT autopilot from the tailcone I never had any aft CG issues either. Except for one year when I had a cracked cylinder I think my annual maintenance budget was around $1500 (this was in the 1985-1995 timeframe). The E series engines can be certified to run on autogas if you want as well.
Basically I think that an early model Bonanza can be a very nice plane if you can find one in good condition. I would expect to pay between $45k and $60k for a 1954 one like I had depending on equipment and cosmetics. Add or subtract $2-3k per year for older or newer models.