Dave Higdon/WICHITA
Flying from Clark County Airport in southern Indiana to a Kentucky state park a mere 110km (60nm) away hardly seemed a fair way to sample a Raytheon Beech Bonanza B36TC - let alone this loaded, 50th-anniversary edition. Certainly nothing to challenge the six-seat Bonanza's big speed, long legs and high ceiling, and hardly up to the potential of N1109T, let alone its price sticker: a whopping $592,863, including $215,863 in equipment options.
This late August afternoon, however, delivered plenty of flying challenges to test the Bonanza's legendary handling qualities. Not to worry, noted Blair Sullivan, head of Raytheon's piston-aircraft marketing. What better way to learn how well any aircraft handles unco-operative, if not completely adverse, conditions?
N1109T needed only 1h and two landings to display its mettle and, as Bonanzas have done for 50 years, to demonstrate the qualities which have kept pilots demanding new examples continually since 1947.
Back then, the old Beech Aircraft promoted the Bonanza's car-like comfort, smooth, harmonious, handing and fast, fuel-efficient, cross-country abilities. Although decidedly different in size and empennage from the first Model 35 delivered 50 years ago, today's evolved Bonanza still has much in common with its progenitor.
Regardless of a Bonanza's age or lineage, whether V-tail or straight-tail, from the first off the line to the 50th-anniversary edition all share the same production roots. Every Bonanza built by Beech, and its successor Raytheon Aircraft, came off the same line, using the same hand-fitted, hand-finished, approach which was used for the original.
There is certainly less need, with the latest Bonanzas, for fit-and-trim before the fit-and-drill of each part, but the aircraft are built almost exactly as they were in the beginning, when the first prototype was produced in just a few weeks before its first flight on 24 December, 1945.
A peek beneath the skin shows the strong genetic link between the Bonanza circa 1947 and the 1997 model. Manufacture of wing spars and other aerofoil parts remains pretty much as parts-intensive as ever, but, in the past year, Raytheon has re-organised production-line flow and now uses automated riveting equipment to complete major subassemblies.
Now, workers assemble parts into four subassemblies: the lower engine cowling, which includes integral engine mounts and the support structure for the nose-gear; separate upper and lower cabin structures; and the sturdy, near-conical aft fuselage. Each section is built up by hand, using simple jigs and fixtures which are direct descendants of the original tooling created in 1946 and 1947.
The integral monocoque engine-mount box and nose-gear well remain only minimally modified from the original 1945 design. Most other manufacturers long ago adopted a simpler approach, using steel-tube engine/gear-mount assemblies bolted to a flat fuselage firewall. The wing uses the same built-up spar design originated in 1945, composed of separate webs, caps and stiffeners. The leading-edge D cells are still attached to the main spar with a long wire mating opposite halves of a long piano-type hinge.
When each subassembly is almost complete, it goes into machine riveting, resulting in a smooth uniform finish. The four subassemblies are then placed into an assembly jig and joined into one long monocoque structure ready for attachment of the wing, tail and control surfaces. Interior items, such as avionics, plumbing and wiring, cabin panels, seat rails and sound insulation are then installed.
After the aircraft is completed, it goes to production flight-test for several hours of shakedown flying to check it and function, handling and performance. Only then is the Bonanza deemed ready to paint, using a multi-step process yielding a smooth, hard, glossy finish which should stand up to years of hard flying.
Built to be loved
Most Bonanza buyers do not opt for the type because of the way it is assembled, but many take up Raytheon's standing invitation to tour the factory and see. Still, it seems likely that more people have flown and loved the Bonanza than have seen it made, and those who love the aircraft seem most enamoured with its handling qualities, speed and large-aeroplane ride.
The Bonanza's overall control harmony and handling response are what pilots seem to like most, particularly in concert with its inherent stability and, even today, there is a healthy respect for the aircraft's relatively high speed and fuel efficiency.
This B36TC acquitted itself well; everything the serious aviator should ever expect was on tap from the left seat of N1109T. The Bonanza is a big aeroplane, with 1,750kg maximum take-off and landing weights, yet almost in spite of its mass N1109T exhibited the usual great control harmony and solid, positive stability. The 225kW(300hp) turbocharged Teledyne Continental TSIO-520 heavyweight piston and three-blade McCauley propeller up front, showed good acceleration to high speeds.
Leaving Runway 18, the Bonanza showed off its ability to climb. As we approached Rough River, the B36TC also surprised me with its ability to slow to approach speeds as well as it accelerates to cruise. Then the airfield caught my attention: nothing could make the park's 975m (3,200ft) runway look long enough.
Holding wings level and in line with the centreline was a wrestling match all the way to touchdown because of the rowdy turbulence spawned by wind blowing 50 degrees off the runway heading. The final approach saw speed build to 90kt (165km/h), 10kt too fast, the approach angle a little steeper than looked prudent, and power back further than my instincts urged. Somehow, we touched, rolled and stopped - with nearly 300m of pavement unused.
On the return flight, I was more comfortable with the aeroplane, the location of the switches, how powerful the trim is and, most of all, how to manage the power available. High gear- and flap-extension speeds aid in managing speed and descent rate. We arrived at Clark County at pattern altitude and on our 100kt pattern airspeed as if this was my 100th flight.
That final 30min, 178kt dash back from Rough River to Clark County was enough time to convince me that the turbocharged Bonanza demands as much from a pilot as it rewards in cross-country hurdling capability.
For example, the cost of spending time with the avionics manuals rewards the pilot with an enormous ability to fly the instrument-flight-rules system at an altitude where the winds are favourable and land at any airport with a global-positioning-system (GPS) approach.
There was a lot to learn about in this all-AlliedSignal Bendix/King-equipped aeroplane: two KX-165 navigation/communication systems; KLN-90B approach-certificated GPS, with moving-map display; KFC-150 two-axis autopilot, working with a KAS-297B altitude and vertical-speed control system; KR-87 automatic direction-finder; KT-70 transponder; KN-63 distance-measuring equipment; plus audio panel, marker-beacon receiver, and encoding altimeter.
The only item not made by AlliedSignal, and among the most useful for a cross-country pilot, is a BFGoodrich WX-1000E Stormscope lightning sensor. The bright display is heading-stabilised, and the pilot can view weather overlaid on a moving map through a link to the KLN-90B GPS. As we waited for N1109T to warm up at Rough River, we watched a line of thunderstorms growing about 120km northeast. Within a minute we knew that the storm would not prevent us returning to Clark County.
Made to be used
The turbocharged Bonanza is not a recreation aeroplane. The B36TC requires careful, disciplined operation, from start-up to shut-down, by someone who flies regularly, frequently, and with attention to the turbocharged powerplant's idiosyncrasies. The operating handbook contains pages of directions for managing the Continental engine and McCauley propeller. That is a lot for a casual flyer to master for infrequent hops over any distance, and is still a complex routine for even a frequent flier.
Following the prescribed procedures greatly boosts a pilot's chances of getting the powerplant, turbocharger and all, to its recommended 1,600h overhaul time, Sullivan says.
Even without a long, high-altitude, flight in N1109T, there can be no denying that the B36TC delivers the most speed, payload and range of any Bonanza built. With power set for maximum range, the 390litres of useable fuel is enough to fly about 2,050km. At altitudes between 20,000ft and 25,000ft, the B36TC's absolute ceiling, cruise speeds range from the mid-150kt range up to nearly 170kt, making each leg about 6h.
Screw the manifold pressure and RPM up to best power and the B36TC roars along at 200kt true airspeed, covering over 1,750km before dipping into its 45min reserve fuel-supply just before the 5h mark. The B36TC also provides the most load-carrying potential of any in the Bonanza line. The aft baggage spaces can carry a combined load of 305kg. That leaves enough for a pilot and a full 280kg of fuel. Drop the fuel load to 225kg, or about 155litres per side, and the B36TC can carry four adults and their luggage. Even fuelled for heavy hauling, the B36TC can be flown over 1,300km at high-speed cruise or nearly 1,700km at economy cruise.
Unfortunately, this particular Bonanza is taken - Raytheon will deliver N1109T to a California surgeon in October - but you do not have to spend nearly $600,000 to own a B36TC. The base price is $377,000, with an impressive list of options, many to be found on N1109T. It depends only on the depth of your pockets - and the seriousness of your flying habits.
Source: Flight International
