Yes, the right answer is always "Bonanza"

Congratulations and welcome to the Bonanza world. If you haven’t yet you should join the American Bonanza Society. The best type club with more information than you can believe.
 
SCCutler said:
That is simply beautiful - I hope you love yours as much as I do mine!

Where in this grand nation will you be based?
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I alternate between my office in Houston (KLVJ) and our farm in Wisconsin (KETB). This plane is resident at KETB already, so it will remain there for a while, then go back and forth between the two. Tip tanks were a requirement for this purchase!
 
:cheers:


I assume you’re now looking for an A&P and a DER so you can do the major mods for a pressurized cabin and a second engine.....
:biggrin:
 
Half Fast said:
:cheers:


I assume you’re now looking for an A&P and a DER so you can do the major mods for a pressurized cabin and a second engine.....
:biggrin:
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LOL...yeah, reality and insurance quotes adjusted my expectations!

In all seriousness, a Bo should be capable enough to keep me going at least until I build enough experience for something bigger.....maybe longer.
 
StraightnLevel said:
LOL...yeah, reality and insurance quotes adjusted my expectations!

In all seriousness, a Bo should be capable enough to keep me going at least until I build enough experience for something bigger.....maybe longer.
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In all truth, it's not just piloting experience, it's also aircraft ownership experience. There is a TON to learn about owning and maintaining a plane, and there's a network to be built and resources to be found. For me, I'm glad I started doing that with a simpler plane (and mine is very simple: fixed gear, fixed prop, manual flaps, basic 6-pack, etc.). It takes time and effort to learn how to get things done.
 
EvilEagle said:
Congrats! Welcome to the cul... I mean club! ;)
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It’s a cult. You can leave a club.

Congrats to the OP. You’re going to love the plane and you’ll have a very hard time ever talking yourself into upgrading out of it. The Bonanza really is hard to beat. Most people just upgrade into other Bonanzas.
 
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Total congratulations! I hope you will share some travel and maintaining stories for us all


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Congrats. I remember when that plane was for sale before going to auction. Hope you got a good pre-buy.
 
Congratulations you bought into a aircraft that has been in continuous production longer than any other aircraft in history. A bit of advice look for someone that knows the aircraft it will save you money in the long run. A good clue if the shop you are going to use only has jacks instead of the Beechcraft aircraft stand look for another shop.
 
Rcmutz said:
Congrats. I remember when that plane was for sale before going to auction. Hope you got a good pre-buy.
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I have known this plane and the owner for a long time, and have flown it as recently as last week. I went over the plane with an ABS guy before bidding, and there are a couple of things that will get done as quickly as I can get them scheduled.
 
Well, I picked up the Bo from the first annual yesterday. All good, nothing major. A handful of seals and gaskets was all that really needed to be done. We had the shop do some of the upcoming ADs, as well, including the wing spar. Flew her around a bit afterwards and all seems to be in order.

The price of a new air filter was eye-watering, though. Ouch!
 
StraightnLevel said:
Well, I picked up the Bo from the first annual yesterday. All good, nothing major. A handful of seals and gaskets was all that really needed to be done. We had the shop do some of the upcoming ADs, as well, including the wing spar. Flew her around a bit afterwards and all seems to be in order.

The price of a new air filter was eye-watering, though. Ouch!
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Donaldson I presume? :D I still like them better than the K&N or Brackett ones. But yeah, it's a LOT for a paper accordion in frame.
 
An honest question: how do you fly these with the engine controls located down around your shins? Every time I’ve considered one, it’s looked to me that it would be near impossible to e.g. do a go around while fumbling around with the engine controls located down”way down there”. Is there some technique that helps, because it wasn’t obvious to me.
 
Tusayan said:
An honest question: how do you fly these with the engine controls located down around your shins? Every time I’ve considered one, it’s looked to me that it would be near impossible to e.g. do a go around while fumbling around with the engine controls located down”way down there”. Is there some technique that helps, because it wasn’t obvious to me.
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Hmm… I hadn’t really thought about it. Yes, they’re lower than in a Piper, but I don’t really have an issue with it. I find myself paying more attention to the RPM and MP gauges than thinking about the controls themselves….

My biggest complaint is not being able to see the elevator trim gauge behind the yoke.
 
Shins? They're just a few inches under the control column. It's not even a "reach", it's just hand down, knob, shove. It's the same height as the pitch trim wheel. My knees are only a hair under the throttle/prop knobs.

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Tusayan said:
An honest question: how do you fly these with the engine controls located down around your shins?
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The vernier controls in the older Bonanzas are close to my right knee, but not my shins. I have never had an issue with their location.

- Martin
 
Martin Pauly said:
The vernier controls in the older Bonanzas are close to my right knee, but not my shins.
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So I stand corrected... or maybe sit corrected? Because when I was sitting in my Bonanza this morning, sure enough - those controls were below knee-height.
Laterally, though, my legs are left of the controls when sitting in my seat. I don't think it's a bad location.

- Martin
 

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I'm 6'3" and had to squeeze in with the carb heat being the most offensive one, but after a few hours of flying, I'm used to it. Mine (an early C35) is in annual right now and I'm having later sliding seats installed while we were waiting for outside work (prop AD), so I expect it to be significantly better when its put back together in a few days. It was not inexpensive, but everyone says it's worth it if you're tall.
 
Thanks for the feedback, my impression remains that the 40’s ergonomics in the Bonanza are not suitable for a tall 2025 pilot. The engine controls are the most prominent example, they are in a somewhat ridiculous place, although it probably worked better for a 40s style short pilot. However it is not the right answer for me.

I think this is the biggest weakness in the legacy designs many of us still fly, especially those designed before the fifties, when ergonomics started to improve. The Cessna 195 is another example, with its main spar where my head would like to be.
 
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Tusayan said:
Thanks for the feedback, my impression remains that the 40’s ergonomics in the Bonanza are not suitable for a tall 2025 pilot. The engine controls are the most prominent example, they are in a somewhat ridiculous place, although it probably worked better for a 40s style short pilot. However it is not the right answer for me.

I think this is the biggest weakness in the legacy designs many of us still fly, especially those designed before the fifties, when ergonomics started to improve. The Cessna 195 is another example, with its main spar where my head would like to be.
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The post-1984 Bonanza A36s have a throttle quadrant to address your concerns. :) Of course all Barons too.

Amusingly I find the 36s worse on headroom for tall pilots than the short-body 33/35s. I end up with a cricked neck in a lot of 36s at 6'2, or a significant gangster lean.

I agree a tall pilot with short arms in T-rex config will not enjoy a pre-84 Bonanza. The lake buccaneer has throttle/mix/prop on the headliner, so that'd be a better choice in that scenario :D
 
Head room is also an issue for me, and in combination with the engine controls position would make a pre-A36 Bonanza a poor choice for me at 6’2”, long arms but also long torso. One solution might be very thin seat base padding but while I would and have done that kind of thing in small sport planes it seems inappropriate for something that is supposed to be comfortable as delivered.

Early Bonanzas for me are not much better than an ergonomic disaster.
 
StraightnLevel said:
I alternate between my office in Houston (KLVJ) and our farm in Wisconsin (KETB). This plane is resident at KETB already, so it will remain there for a while, then go back and forth between the two. Tip tanks were a requirement for this purchase!
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Do you also have tip tanks? I can never understand how people fly 4+ hours without a pit stop
 
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