Educate me on vintage doctor-killers

That panel looks and sounds scary. Do you have your instrument ticket?

 

All this is beyond my knowledge. If properly maintained, without serious damage, and a good annual, how could an early Bonanza be dangerous? From what I know from the past, the pilots were dangerous and did not fly the airplane within parameters and did not put enough hours together in a sequence to be current. Am I showing some lack of knowledge? Maybe a lot of it. All I have ever heard was that it is a good airplane. I remember seeing and getting a demo flight in one in 1946 and it was a marvel then. i believe the price was 6500 dollars then.

 

V tail Bonanza's are great airplanes but I would not recommend getting one to learn how to fly in. For example with this plane it would cost you a bit of money before an instructor would even get in it with you. First you'd have to upgrade to dual controls then you might have to get brakes installed on the copilots side (it was common for people to not order dual brakes back in the day). Bonanza's got a bad rep for being Dr. Killers because people without enough experience or proper training would buy them then end up doing something stupid. They are known for having an aft CG problem so calculating the proper loading and fuel is very important to be able to maintain CG limits. For getting your ticket I think a 172 is about the best aircraft to learn in.

 

No CFI worth his ass will train in that plane, you need dual yokes/rudders. I love V-Tails though. They're very tough aircraft. If you can get it in the mid $20s, it may be worth it, but be ready to put at least that much into it (probably more).

How many hours on the engine/prop? Find out who does its maintenance and call them.



Mark

 

Good points made here. There are a few reasons I would buy a plane to do my private, instrument, and build a little time. One is that you're going to have hard landings during your training. The other is shock cooling. After you become proficient, you can sell it and get a bonanza or similar. There are people who will buy a new Cirrus to learn to fly. It's not what I would do, but people do it.

 

No, we're just talking past each other. I see a few wires hanging down from the panel, mediocre radio, and portable gps. Those things are fine and I fly planes so equipped, but they are not ideal.

 

You get what you pay for. This thing is a restoration project that will take years and cost loads of money. You want to learn to fly, not learn to restore and old airplane.

Rent to get your PPL. Buy for your IFR if you want to go further. You can't do a PPL in a retract anyways. You'll ruin it.

 

E225 may be difficult to find parts for, or $$. Prop may be very difficult to find parts for, or $$. Early Bo's had magnesium control surfaces. VERY prone to corrosion. I'd check the entire airplane VERY (VERY) carefully for corrosion. Cosmetic updates can hide a lot of issues. Make sure it has the tail mod (not sure it applied to all models but could/should be installed on all models).

3 place airplane at best due to typical Bo CG envelope. However if it all checks out it is a Bo.

 

Your comments prove that I am out of the loop on this stuff and I missed the statement that the airplane was being considered as an initial flight trainer. C-150, C-172 would be a first choice.

 

There was a fatal accident at our airpark last year, in part due to the fact that the airplane did not have dual controls.

 

My first airplane ride was in my uncle's B35. Painted solid red like that one, also.

It had a single yoke but dual rudder/brakes. I've never heard of one not having dual rudders and brakes.

They were flying cross country from Ohio to Cali, stopped in Albuquerque for a couple days to visit, then flew on.

I've seen several old Bonanzas converted to dual yokes.

Love Bonanzas.

 

My 83 yr. old father (retired Doc.) has TC Bonanza six passenger and loves it! It's his second Bonanza he's owned, but like many of the previous posts, he started out in a 172, moved to a Cardinal RG and then onto the Bonanza. He learned IFR in the RG and all but one of his planes have had dual controls, rudders and brakes over the years. Good luck with your purchase or search, but if this plane is going to cost 2x the purchase price to get it safe for your needs, I'd just purchase a Bonanza for $40-50K etc...

P.S.: Mr. Parks, my father really enjoyed your book that I gave him this past year!

 

I know.

That was one of the many topics that came up last time I met with one of our aviation insurer clients. Generally consensus was "WTF was he thinking??"



Mark

 

Get a Navion

 

There is no "conversion." There is a pin you remove from that center post where the throw-over yoke attaches, and you pull it off. You buy (or, in some cases, rent) a dual yoke, and you slide it on and put the pin in.

At least, that's what I remember from many, many years ago.

I think it's a cool airplane, especially for the money, but not even worth considering as a basic trainer. I doubt if old Bonanzas are going to massively rise in price any time soon, so get your license in a 152 or 172 and then look around.

 

Thank you for the P.S. It's nice to hear and thanks for giving your dad the book.

 

The FAA will issue a waiver to a properly experienced Bo instructor to instruct in a throw over yoke airplane. BPPP has many such waivered instructors.

 

I think the need for that waiver has largely gone away. 91.109(b) allows you to do a BFR or instrument instruction with a throw-over yoke, as long as the pilot in the left seat is current.

Since transition training isn't legally required, the only thing you can't legally do is primary training (or training for a complex/high performance endorsement).

 

OK, I used the word 'conversion' loosely.

The pic in Tillman's post is what I saw. http://www.newkentaviation.com/dualyoke.html

Even has the Beech logo.