{sorry I've lost track of the attributions}
cheap. Another problem is that the very early Bonanzas have never had a
major AD on the empennage, which means that the fittings back there have
never been given a good inspection. A final problem is that older wiring

Dunno what you mean by no major AD on the empennage. There is the AD for
inspecting ruddervator push rods. There is the the "speed restriction" AD
that calls for skin thickness testing and ruddervator rebalance. Are
these major? Depends upon your definition, I suppose.

On ,mine the tail cone is taken off for every annual. Everything back
there gets a good look.

[ I think this is Rich Hare talking about his Debonair ]
The tail cone should always be removed for annual. However, the fittings
back there are significantly different between the bonanza and the
Debonair.

Nope, some of the originals are still flying.
Olive Beech's personal plane is still flying and that is an *old*
V-tail.

Yup, saw serial number 12 last summer in Seattle. Looked pretty good.
There are still older ones still flying. I had a belly laugh a few years
ago when I saw that A35 hanging in the Spruce Goose Museum in McMinville
Or had a later serial number than mine.

--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl" ('49 A35, serial number D-1514)
Hood River, OR