I've owned a D35 for 11 years and it's been great.
As any older aircraft, if I had to pay somebody to work on it, I
couldn't afford it.

If you find one that's up to snuff, it can be a fairly light maintenance
aircraft. But as with any aircraft there are going to be some gotchas
along the way.
Again as others have said, get a good pre-buy.

The E225 is a pretty good reliable powerplant. It's much the same as the
early O-470's.

The propeller is a rarity. I'd get an electric prop before the hydraulic
conversion.

Can't beat the performance per dollar. It's comfortable and if you can
get the right fuel tank options, it can go a long way between fuel stops.

I flew a 2500 mile trip last summer and averaged 9.4 gph on autofuel. I
have 80 gallons.

It's easy to fly, but having an autopilot during instrument conditions
makes life easier.

Hope this helps

Dave

Frank Stutzman wrote:
wrote:

Few can competently work on them.

So one requirement would be that YOU take all ownership
of mainenance... that is YOU need to be the expert. There
are plenty of resources to allow YOU to become that expert.

Stutzman is an example of one of those resources. Lew Gage's
articles in the ABS magazine are must reading. If you don't just
devour them, you aren't a candidate for this.


Huh? You talking about me, Bill?

I'm just a guy who happens to own one of these old planes. Keep
pouring the money into it because I'm too dumb to unload it
and get something newer. I like to think that I know something
about my particular plane, but I'm hardly an expert on the early
Bonanza models in general. Am certainly not in the same class
as Lew Gage.

You are certainly correct with your point about the owner taking
charge of the maintenance on these early Bonanzas.