Just joined this forum as well as ABS. Been a Cessna driver for decades and always wanted a V Tail. I have always heard great things about ABS and the Beech community, hoping to start by getting advice on models with the E series engines as their prices are attractive.
Bill W

Welcome to BT. Don’t forget to post your progress.

Here is one that I posted for a friend that is worth looking at. It is an excellent value being cheaper than an older 172.

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=243258

Welcome to BT William, Do you like to work on things? Huge Bonus Points if your an AP

There all 70k or more aircraft

Gear
Paint
Windows
Fuel cells
Interior
Panel

when you say "prices are attractive" have you really added up the cost of owning one (in dollars, time, and sweat) or are you just looking at advertised for-sale prices ?

The cost of entry is low. The performance and utility, in comparison, is high.
If you are a hands-on owner, they are a tremendous value. If you are not a hands-on owner, find the hangar and mechanic first.

We often refer to the older airplanes as "E-series" because of the engines. Some have been upgraded, but not many. If looking at these, get Lew's book from ABS.

As you search, the H is the first "modern" V tail using not the E-series engine.

Improvement through the years was constant and well-cared-for versions have usually seen many upgrades.

They are all wonderful airplanes.

I have two friends who have E-series planes and they love them. There is a shop in Delaware that does a good job servicing them.

To Bad in I'm in Washington

Welcome, Bill! Great to have you here, sounds like the V-tail bug finally caught you. You’ll find plenty of insight on the E-series models and a strong Beech community to help you along the way. Looking forward to your journey! ✈️

Hey Bill,
Welcome to Beechtalk....that took you long enough;). As I shared with you on the phone, E-series bonanzas are great flyers, and I believe remain some of the best value in general aviation when considering all things...flight characteristics, speed, useful load, comfort, AND aesthetics;). Our first was a C35 with an E-225. It was a lovely airplane to fly. You will find the early models are light in pitch when compared to later models. Our most recent was an S35. I loved the speed of the S35, and aside from becoming acquainted with the rudder pedal on takeoff and trim wheel on landing, they are very similar. I never found our C model to involve anymore maintenance then our later model. To be honest, we did far more work to our S model but mostly because we took it through the paint process. After doing so we always went the extra mile to keep things in tip-top shape. But finding parts and people to work on the E-series engine was never a problem.

Just for fun, below is a family picture on my Grandpa's side of the fam. They are/were Beechcraft nuts. It's probably nearing on 15 years old already and a few of the family members are no longer with us. If you study the photo, the spread consists of early E-series, to P models, to V35's, to an E33A, and even one 36 model that was lucky enough to let us include him. Everyone would argue theirs was the best. Long story short, you really can't go wrong. N35EW was our C35 at the time the photo was taken.

We sold our S35 to buy a Gullwing several years ago. Then sold the Gullwing to buy a twin. I sold the Gullwing too soon and prior to really thinking through my aspirations for a twin. They still haunt me from time to time, but I wouldn't think twice about owning another bonanza, and an early E-series wouldn't bother me the least bit. Perhaps as soon as Doug Rozendaal buys my L2 I may go looking again...(I am sure Doug will read this so I am just putting that here for a good laugh)... I suffer from a AADD...Airplane Attention Deficient Disorder... It doesn't take long for my attention to shift and desire the next ship so I know better then to think anything I am currently flying will stick around very long. An E-series bonanza would be fun to have again and I would have no concerns about maintenance above and beyond that of a later model. Enjoy the shopping process!!!

Welcome, Bill! You’ll find the Beech and ABS communities are great resources. Coming from Cessnas, you’ll probably really enjoy the Bonanza especially the handling. The E series can be a good value if you find a well maintained one. Looking forward to seeing what you end up with and hearing about your search.

Welcome aboard and good luck with your search.

Let us help you analyze the maintenance logs of what ever you choose. You may have nearly 100 ADs on the airframe and engine of an older V-tail. We using RAG AI to OCR and interpret the hundreds of pages of log entries in these older Beech products.

Please take a look and feel free to DM me with any questions. The site is here: https://logair.ai

--paul