Howdy, I am a low time PP-ASEL VFR only pilot that got my license back in 1999 (but have been out of aviation for the last 5 years for work). I'm getting back into aviation now and finally have the time/money I need to fly. I'm starting on my IFR rating in April and planning to buy my first plane in 2-3 years (want more time).
The wife and family are pretty much sold on a 6 seater, so I'm looking strongly at the club seating arrangement for the A36 vs Saratoga (and slightly at the C210). All my time is in cessnas thou Joined the Piper Owners society and Cessna Society too, searching their archives (and starting searches on yours tonight) to try to see what others have already said about this.

Just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. Looking forward to learning more about the A36 and BeechTalk.

Thanks in Adavnce

I'd get a Duke. Welcome aboard.

Robert

Welcome Sydney! If you add your location, you just might find someone nearby that would offer a free "demo" ride (free meaning their favorite drink).

Thanks, I added the info. Just married 2 years ago. We are talking about starting a family in another 2-3 years. My wife is a former foster child and really believes in adoption so the 'plan' is either have one adopt one; or have two adopt two. I like the hauling options of the A36 vs Saratoga vs C210 (mostly for skiing!!!)

If I have unlimited resources I would get either a 'newish' 6x or G35 (if we weren't planning kids a SR22). But real world, a new plan doesn't do anything that an older plane does not also do Speed is less important to me than range, useful load and comfort. We'll get there when we get there, but it would be nice to do so in a comfortable cabin with as few fuel stops as possible

Looking forward to learning more about the 36

Welcome Sydney. You will get more than a few plugs for the A36 for that mission from the folks here. Count this as one. I was looking at the exact same planes as you and settled on the A36. Could not be happier so far!

If your wife sits in the 6x....you can forget the BO.

Sydney - I have a turbo normalized 36. It is my second plane (first was a cherokee 180 and I loved it) and I've had my Bonanza for about a month. I spent about 3 years trying to decide what my long term plane would be and settled on a Bonanza for many reasons. I suggest you get some time in a Bonanza to see if you like the low wing design. (guess that applies whether you go with the 6X or Bo)

I rode in some 182s and 210s prior to buying my Bonanza. I also did some traning in the 172s, for me I just don't like a high wing like I do a low wing. (but you might like the high wings and not like the low wings - if that is the case a presurized 210 might be a viable option) I guess I am partial, but I think a turbonormalized Bonanza is very hard to beat if you want a good combination of speed, utility, range, and useful load. There are planes that will do better in each category, but it is really hard to find one that does the total job better than a Bonanza.

My family and I just came back from a vacation in Colorado. We were able to go out there twice as fast as we had in the past (in the Cherokee). We didn't have to stop for fuel and we weren't worried about weight. It was really nice and we made the trip about twice as fast as we would have had we gone commerical. (we live in a rural area with a 2 hour drive to any major airport)