Dear Fellow Members:

I'm a retired commercial pilot in the market for a good Bonanza. I have looked mostly at V35's and F33A's. I have searched many airplanes and something usually crops up to spoil the deal. Things such as corrosion of cylinders due to lack of flying, airplanes with unclear titles or encumbered liens, hidden AD’s, etc. I am the new kid on the block to Bonanza’s, but I have come to the conclusion that older Bonanza owners value their plane way beyond market value and late model owners are more realistic in their asking price. I’m looking for a good solid airframe with very nice interior and a midlife engine. An excellent autopilot with altitude hold and prefer altitude preselect, 530 WAAS (430 WAAS OK), GPSS roll steering, good engine monitoring and fuel flow equipment, HSI or an Aspen equivalent set up, TIS traffic or full time traffic would be desirable. Also would like weather capabilities and do not want gadgets or wires hanging on the yoke, prefer these instruments be mounted in the panel. I understand there is a device called a “Gismo” that satisfies this need.

Separately, I believe I want a yaw damper. We took a demo today in a F33A and it was very turbulent and either the guy didn’t have his feet on the rudders or these Bonanzas’s seriously need yaw dampers. I heard stories about loading up the rudder to offset this problem, but this seems like a Mickey Mouse way to solve a problem that should be solved with good accelerometers and servos.

I truly appreciate any information you talented members can offer. I’m also interested in learning of any good airplanes for sale. It would be nice if there was something near the Midwest.

Larry

Check out the planes in the Peddler's talk; most of them have been actively used and members of this forum, by and large, take good care of their airplanes.

I agree that most of the "dogs" are overpriced, as are some of the princesses.

I'm due for my annual Special Issue in December, and my annual EKG was different from last year. If Oklahoma City shoots me down in flames mine will be for sale and meets many of your needs so stay tuned. (mid time, Aspen, monitor, etc.)

Don't be in a hurry to install the yaw damper unless your passenger are really uncomfortable. They work well, but some of us just get used to it. If you've been flying heavier iron, it may just take a little time to accept a little tail wag, which is present on most low wing light aircraft (my Arrow had it, though not as much as my V35B).

Good luck, and be patient.

Welcome to BT and Bonanzas Larry! This is the premier Beechcraft enthusiast forum/community in my view and we have some great contributors who are a wealth of knowledge. What is your approximate budget range and where in the Midwest are you?

-Neal

I live in Dayton, OH. I don't mind traveling quite a ways for the right plane. Budget max is 160K. Regarding the tail wag, I don't believe this is something I want to get use to if it can be prevented with a yaw damper.

I have a yaw damper....and it is rock solid when engaged. It works so long as the autopilot (STec 60-2) is engaged.

If I am not so lucky to land an airplane with a S-tec 60-2 autopilot, what type of yaw damper would you recommend?

I'm no autopilot expert....but I wouldn't look at aircraft without the 60-2. That kinda weeded out the playing field for me.

I'm sure others here are completely satisfied with the other options available....that's just what I wanted....and was patient till I found one.

paul,
best of luck in december with the feds. i'm on a special as of this october.
gary

Larry,

Welcome to BeechTalk!

You will find that V-Tails wag more than F-33's, and A-36's wag the least of all of them.
I have a KFC-200 in my plane with an add-on S-Tec Yaw Damper.
It works great, you can have it engage automatically when the auto-pilot is engaged, or turn it on by itself.
The cost is reasonable, and it adds a small computer in the tail, and 1 servo in the rear baggage area.
It really holds the tail rock solid.
I usually only use it in turbulence.

The king KFC-150, and KFC-200 both have the option of a 3rd axis or Yaw Damper as well.

Hi Larry, welcome to BT!

You may be able to find everything on your list, but if you wish to stick to your budget you will need to make a few compromises.

One I suggest is the yaw damper. My guess is that your pilot didn't have his feet on the pedals. The F33A may have a little wag but I've never noticed it. The V tails are another story.

You may also want to do a little more research on autopilots. Many, if not most, will tell you that among the advantages of a rate based autopilot (i.e. STEC) handling turbulence well is not one of them. If the wag of the F33 bothered you the STEC's may not work as well for you as a KFC 150/200. Also, there have been some issues with STEC service, or lack of it, and a search here will turn some of that up.


Tony

You didnt tell us your budget.

Welcome aboard Larry. My plane has most, if not all your equipment items, other than the autopilot. I have the King KFC 200 wouldn't really want any other. As to the tail wag, read Eckalbar's book. He states it's more an issue of CG/centroid/center of pressure and the slab sides of all the Bonanza/Baron aircraft. As a result all of our aircraft are susceptible to to the same phenomenon. It's neat to say it's the other guys' plane not mine, but physics are physics.

Mine is an '82 V35B, 400 hour Matituck reman 520, G500/GMX200/TAS800/GDL69/GNC530W/JPI930 B&C Standby Altimeter, and way too much more to list here. The price is a little above what you listed but it's low time and pristine. It's listed on Peddlers Talk and the only reason I'd consider selling is I need a Baron. At least that's what I'm telling my wife.

Good luck


I'm looking for a Baron and other than that, I wouldn't sell mine.

John, his budget is 160K max,

I know where there is such an airplane, PM me

Thanks Tony,

You guys are a wealth of information.

Larry