"The Weiss Family" wrote in message
...
All,

I was recently perusing through some of the newer Trade-A-Plane listings,
and I saw tons of old Bonanzas.
Within the last 3 days of listings, there were probably 10 or more.

From previous threads in this newsgroup, I have read that the older Bo's
are
expensive to maintain, typically due to the high cost on parts.
So, I was wondering why the parts are so expensive and/or hard to come by
if
there are so many planes out there?

Does someone have an older Bonanza who could comment on this?

Adam

As mentioned in another post, supplies of engine components for some models
are becoming problematic. An additional problem is the magnesium control
surfaces on the older aircraft, which sometimes (often?) corrode to the
point where they are paper thin. Unscrupulous people will fill and paint
these surfaces, even when they should be replaced, and replacements *ain't*
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
harnesses can crumble into dust when you even look at 'em funny. I saw all
these problems and more when an acquaintance bought a '47 Bonanza.

My guess is that the oldest Bonanzas became ramp queens after 20-30 years,
because newer, better equipped, more capable aircraft were plentiful on the
used market, so why spend the bucks to keep up a more or less obsolete
aircraft. Instead, sell the old bird to someone else and upgrade to a 15
year newer version... After about two annuals, the new owner can't afford
annual #3 on the old Bo, and tries to sell the airplane. Unfortunately, he
can't get his money out of it, so it sits for 1/2 a decade until someone
buys it, restores it to sellable condition, and advertises it in trade a
plane.

Not that this is the tale of *all* old Bonanzas, but I'd be very wary of an
old, cheap Bonanza.

KB