J35 Bonanza

[Evo]

I'm looking for some basic info on the J35 Bonanza (numbers, history, limitations, issues etc.) - ideally a Bonanza equivalent of jodel.com . Haven't had much luck with Google, anybody know of anything?

[dirkdj]

Try http://madaket.netwizards.net/vtail/

There is a mailing list, be prepared for 50 or more messages a day if you subscribe.

There is also a book 'those incomparable Bonanzas' by Larry Ball, or 'Flying the Beech Bonanza' by John Eckalbar.

The first is a catalog of all model years and modifications, the second is a technical analysis and highly recommended. You can also read up the stories on www.aviationconsumer.com

Dirk

[Aerohack]

The American Bonanza Society at www.bonanza.org should be your first port of call. The J35 was the 1958 model, and the first Bonanza to have a fuel-injected engine (250 hp Continental IO-470-C). 396 were built.

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Evo

I operate an M35 1960 model very similar, what do you need to know? drop me an email if you want a chat about them.

Cheers!!:ok:

[MLS-12D]

Another source is the Australian Bonanza Society (http://www.abs.org.au/).

MLS-12D

P.S. It might be worth taking at look at this Aviation Consumer article, Bonanza: The Trouble with Old Bo's (http://aviationconsumer.com/archives/30_1/usedaircraftguide/4697-1.html). I'm not suggesting that Aviation Consumer is 100% reliable, but read the article for whatever you think it may be worth.

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

MLS

I would be interested in reading your link however you need to subscribe to the site.:confused:

[Aerohack]

cblinton: Aviation Consumer has published a number of articles on the high inflight structural failure rate of early Bonanzas, especially pre-1949 'straight' 35s with the thin wing skins and some of the later models without nose ribs in the stabiliser, though much structural beefing up had been done before your M35 was built. I believe I have the articles 'somewhere', and if you are interested please PM me with your address and I'll dig them out and copy to you. I think I also have a picture of your Bonanza way back in 1960 when it brand-new and wore an Irish registration.

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Aerohack

Check your pms:ok:

[MLS-12D]

Opps, sorry about that.

Aerohack has correctly provided the gist.

This is the conclusion of the article: Which leads us to the inevitable question: Are these 50-year-old airplanes worth owning? Or have they simply outlived their economic usefulness?

Early straight 35s are selling in the $30,000 range with As and Bs a bit more, in the mid 30s. Those sound like good deals, but just because they’re cheap to buy, they’re not necessarily cheap to own or maintain. The ugly reality is that some owners paying only $30,000 for an airplane expect $200 annuals, and this simply isn’t realistic for a Bonanza. And if a poorly maintained model gets its tail twisted due to ruddervator imbalance, it might be uneconomic to repair.

Our advice is avoid these models unless you can find an obviously well-maintained example and you’re willing to keep it that way.
Many people would tell you that Bonanzas are simply the finest personal airplanes ever made, so don't be too discouraged. But one thing that seems to be indisputable is that all Beechcraft parts are very, very expensive :ugh: ... so that has to be factored into the estimated maintenance costs, even for the cheaper/simpler Beech singles like the Musketeer.