Beechcraft Bonanza

A 1947 advertisement for the first Model 35 Bonanza

At the end of World War II, two all-metal light aircraft emerged, the Model 35 Bonanza and the Cessna 195, that represented very different approaches to the premium end of the postwar civil-aviation market. With its high-wing, seven-cylinder radial engine, fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and roll-down side windows, the Cessna 195 was little more than a continuation of prewar technology; the 35 Bonanza, however, was more like the fighters developed during the war, featuring an easier-to-manage, horizontally opposed, six-cylinder engine, a rakishly streamlined shape, retractable tricycle undercarriage (although the nosewheel initially was not steerable, but castering)[7] and low-wing configuration.

Designed by a team led by Ralph Harmon, the model 35 Bonanza was a relatively fast, low-wing monoplane at a time when most light aircraft were still made of wood and fabric. The Model 35 featured retractable landing gear, and its signature V-tail (equipped with combination elevator-rudders called "ruddervators"), which made it both efficient and distinctive. The prototype 35 Bonanza made its first flight on December 22, 1945, with the first production aircraft debuting as 1947 models.[8] The first 30–40 Bonanzas produced had fabric-covered flaps and ailerons, after which those surfaces were covered with magnesium alloy sheet.[9][10]

Three major variants eventually comprised the Bonanza family:

• Model 35 Bonanza (1947–1982; V-tail)[9]
• Model 33 Debonair (1959–1995; later renamed Bonanza, a Model 35 with a conventional tail)[11]
• Model 36 Bonanza (1968–present; a stretched Model 33)

The ICAO aircraft type designators for the three variants are BE35, BE33, and BE36 respectively.[12]

The basic Bonanza fuselage was used for the twin-engined Travel Air, which was later developed into the Baron. Despite its name, the Twin Bonanza uses a different fuselage and is mostly dissimilar to the single-engined Bonanza.

All Bonanzas share an unusual feature: The yoke and rudder pedals are interconnected by a system of bungee cords that assist in keeping the airplane in coordinated flight during turns. The bungee system allows the pilot to make coordinated turns using the yoke alone, or with minimal rudder input, during cruise flight. Increased right-rudder pressure is still required on takeoff to overcome engine torque and P-factor. In the landing phase, the bungee system must be overridden by the pilot when making crosswind landings, which require cross-controlled inputs to keep the nose of the airplane aligned with the runway centerline without drifting left or right. This feature started with the V-tail and persists on the current production model.

The V-tail design gained a reputation as the "forked-tail doctor killer",[13] due to crashes by overconfident wealthy amateur pilots,[14] fatal accidents, and inflight breakups.[15] "Doctor killer" has sometimes been used to describe the conventional-tailed version, as well.[16][17] However, a detailed analysis by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of accident records for common single-engine retractable-gear airplanes in the United States between 1982 and 1989 demonstrated that the Bonanza had a slightly lower accident rate than other types in the study. Pilot error was cited in 73% of V-tail crashes and 83% of conventional-tail crashes, with aircraft-related causes accounting for 15% and 11% of crashes respectively.[18] However, the study noted that the aircraft had an unusually high incidence of gear-up landings and inadvertent gear retractions on the ground, which were attributed to a non-standard gear-retraction switch on early models that is easily confused with the switch that operates the flaps. 1984 and later models use a more distinctive relocated landing-gear switch, augmented by "squat switches" in the landing gear that prevent its operation while compressed by the aircraft's weight, and a throttle position switch that prevents gear retraction at low engine power settings.[18]

In the late 1980s, repeated V-tail structural failures prompted the United States Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct extensive wind tunnel and flight tests, which proved that the V-tail did not meet type certification standards under certain conditions; the effort culminated with the issuance of an airworthiness directive to strengthen the tail, which significantly reduced the incidence of in-flight breakups. Despite this, Beech has long contended that most V-tail failures involve operations well beyond the aircraft's intended flight envelope.[18][19] Subsequent analysis of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident records between 1962 and 2007 revealed an average of three V-tail structural failures per year, while the conventional-tailed Bonanza 33 and 36 suffered only eleven such failures during the same time period. Most V-tail failures involved flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, flight into thunderstorms, or airframe icing.[20] In addition to the structural issues, the Bonanza 35 has a relatively narrow center of gravity envelope, and the tail design is intolerant of imbalances caused by damage, improper maintenance, or repainting; such imbalances may induce dangerous aeroelastic flutter.[18] Despite these issues, many Bonanza 35 owners insist that the aircraft is reasonably safe, and its reputation has lessened acquisition costs for budget-conscious buyers.[20]

In 1982, the production of the V-tail Bonanza stopped[21] but the conventional-tail Model 33 continued in production until 1995.[6][22] Still built today is the Model 36 Bonanza, a longer-bodied, straight-tail variant of the original design,[23] introduced in 1968.[6][24]

In January 2012, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued an airworthiness directive grounding all Bonanzas, Twin Bonanzas, and Debonairs equipped with a single pole-style yoke and that have forward elevator control cables that are more than 15 years old until they could be inspected. The AD was issued based on two aircraft found to have frayed cables, one of which suffered a cable failure just prior to takeoff and resulting concerns about the age of the cables in fleet aircraft of this age. At the time of the grounding, some Bonanzas had reached 64 years in service. Aircraft with frayed cables were grounded until the cables were replaced and those that passed inspection were required to have their cables replaced within 60 days regardless. The AD affected only Australian aircraft and was not adopted by the airworthiness authority responsible for the type certificate, the US Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA instead opted to issue a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin requesting that the elevator control cables be inspected during the annual inspection.[25][26][27]

• In January 1949, the fourth Bonanza to come off the production line was piloted by Captain William Odom from Honolulu, Hawaii, to the continental United States (2,900 statute miles), the first light airplane to do so.[67] The airplane was called Waikiki Beech, and its 40-gallon (150 L) fuel capacity was increased (using fuselage and wing tanks) to 268 gallons (1010 L), which gave a still-air range of nearly 5,000 statute miles.
• In March 1949, Captain Odom piloted Waikiki Beech a distance of 5,273 miles (8,486 km) from Honolulu to Teterboro, New Jersey, setting a nonstop record. The flight time was 36:01 hours, at an average speed of 146.3 miles per hour (235.4 km/h), consuming 272.25 US gallons (1,030.6 l; 226.70 imp gal) of fuel. After that flight, the airplane was donated to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air Museum, as the National Air and Space Museum was then called.[68][69]
• On October 7, 1951, an American congressman from Illinois, Peter F. Mack, Jr., began an around-the-world trip in Waikiki Beech, on loan from the museum and reconditioned at the Beech factory, and renamed Friendship Flame. He spent 15 weeks traveling through 30 countries (223 hours flight time). The plane was again refurbished in 1975 and returned to the National Air and Space Museum. It is still on display there, with both names painted on its sides.[70]
• On May 31, 2014, 19-year-old MIT student Matt Guthmiller from Aberdeen, South Dakota, departed Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California, in a 1981 A36 Bonanza on a 44-day-12-hour solo circumnavigation, making him the Guinness World Record holder as the youngest person to fly solo around the world when he landed back in El Cajon on July 14, 2014, at 19 years, 7 months, and 15 days of age. During 170 hours of flight time, he made 23 stops in 15 countries on five continents, and covered about 30,500 miles (49,100 km), while raising awareness for computer science education and supporting Code.org.[71]

There have been numerous accidents and incidents involving the Beechcraft Bonanza. Listed below are a select few of the most notable ones.

• On January 26, 1952, Zubeida Begum and Hanwant Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur, died when their Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in Godwar (Rajasthan), India. Hanwant Singh was overworked while campaigning for elections and is reported to have been sleeping only four hours a night. The wreckage from this crash was discovered in storage in the cellar of the Central Jail in Jodhpur in 2011.[72]
• On July 31, 1955, the rising Hollywood star Robert Francis died with two others when the Bonanza he was piloting crashed immediately after take-off from Burbank.[73]
• On February 3, 1959, rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, as well as pilot Roger Peterson, died when their Beechcraft Bonanza 35, registration N3794N, crashed shortly after takeoff at night in poor weather.[74] The accident in northern Iowa later became known as "The Day the Music Died."
• On July 31, 1964, country music star Jim Reeves and his pianist Dean Manuel died when the Beechcraft Debonair N8972M Reeves was piloting crashed in the Brentwood area of Nashville during a violent thunderstorm.[75]
• On February 14, 1975, Congressman Jerry Pettis was killed when the Beechcraft Model V35B Bonanza he was piloting crashed near Cherry Valley, California, after he encountered adverse weather conditions. The Jerry Pettis Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital in Loma Linda, California, is named in his honor.[76]
• On February 7, 1981, Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak crashed his Beechcraft Bonanza while taking off from Santa Cruz Sky Park. The NTSB investigation revealed Wozniak did not have a "high performance" endorsement (making him legally unqualified to operate the airplane) and had a "lack of familiarity with the aircraft." The cause of the crash was determined to be a premature liftoff, followed by a stall and "mush" into a 12-foot embankment.[77] Wozniak later made a full recovery, albeit with a case of temporary anterograde amnesia.
• On March 19, 1982, Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed when the wing of the Bonanza F35 in which he was riding hit the band's tour bus then crashed into a tree and a nearby residence. The pilot and another passenger were also killed. The NTSB cited the causes of the crash as poor judgement, buzzing, and misjudged clearance, as well as indicating that the use of the aircraft was not authorized by the aircraft's owner.[78]
• On March 13, 2006, game show host Peter Tomarken crashed his Bonanza A36 into Santa Monica Bay while climbing from Santa Monica Airport in California. He was en route to San Diego to pick up a cancer patient who needed transportation to UCLA Medical Center for treatment. Tomarken and his wife were killed in the crash.[79]
• On July 23, 2014, Haris Suleman (October 3, 1996 – July 23, 2014), a Pakistani-American pilot attempting to fly around the world in 30 days to promote education, crashed his Beechcraft Bonanza in the Pacific Ocean, killing him and leaving his father Babar Suleman (December 27, 1958 – July 23, 2014), also on board, missing. [80]

Data from Hawker Beechcraft[81][82]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Capacity: five passengers
• Length: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
• Wingspan: 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
• Height: 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
• Empty weight: 2,517 lb (1,142 kg)
• Gross weight: 3,650 lb (1,656 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Continental IO-550-B , 300 hp (220 kW)
• Propellers: three-bladed Hartzell Propeller, 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) diameter

Performance

• Cruise speed: 176 kn (203 mph, 326 km/h)
• Range: 716 nmi (824 mi, 1,326 km) with full passenger load
• Ferry range: 930 nmi (1,070 mi, 1,720 km)
• Service ceiling: 18,500 ft (5,600 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,230 ft/min (6.2 m/s)

Avionics

• Garmin G1000

Related development

• Bay Super V
• Beechcraft Baron
• Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
• Beechcraft Travel Air

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Bellanca Viking
• Cessna 210
• Mooney M20
• Piper PA-24 Comanche

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States

Notes

Bibliography

• Andrade, John (1982). Militair 1982. London: Aviation Press Limited. ISBN 0-907898-01-7.
• Ball, Larry A. (1971). Those Incomparable Bonanzas. Wichita, Kansas: McCormick-Armstrong. ISBN 9780964151413.
• Ball, Larry A. (1990). They Called Me Mr. Bonanza. Wichita, Kansas: McCormick-Armstrong. ISBN 978-0911978056.
• "Beechcraft Serialization List, 1945 thru 2014" (PDF). beechcraft.com. Beechcraft. August 26, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-16. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
• Niccoli, Riccardo (May–June 1998). "Portuguese Numerology: Serial systems used by the Aeronautica Militar and the Força Aerea Portuguesa". Air Enthusiast. No. 75. pp. 33–45. ISSN 0143-5450.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beechcraft Bonanza.

• Official website
• The history of the development of the Bonanza
• History of the V-tail safety issue
• AVweb review of the Beechcraft 36 Bonanza