Flying a Bonanza

I think he was referring to the enormously inflated price of aircraft

BTW: A friend of mine just replaced the tire and wheel on his
Gulfstream. $40K!!

-Robert

On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 00:39:11 GMT, Larry Dighera
wrote:

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:41:41 -0600, Newps wrote
in ::

I have a 64 S35, first year with the IO520 and the first year as a six
seater so as a four seater you have a lot of cargo space. One of the
first things you notice is these things are really put together.
Cessnas and Pipers are flimsy beer cans compared to a Bonanza, of course
thats also why the empty weight is 230 pounds more.

You probably haven't had your Bonanza long enough to answer this
question, but how do you find the cost of maintenance? I have heard
that Raytheon charges exorbitant prices for parts.

Back in the late 90s I made a short trip from John Wayne Airport to
Van Nuys to pick up a passenger. The owner of the FBO from whom I
rented the aircraft for the flight asked if I might pick up a set of
generator brushes for him. I intended to pick up my passenger at the
Raytheon ramp on KVNY, so I agreed to bring the parts back with me.
The cost for two generator brushes (for clarity, these are about the
size of a half stick of blackboard chalk and made of carbon). The
bill was about $200.00! I was shocked. When I worked at the
electrical wholesale house in the 70s, we sold similar brushes for
$0.50 each.

So what has been the experience of other Bonanza owners with regard to
maintenance costs?

As of 5 years ago:
Sisors pin for nose gear: Was over $300 (It's 1/4 inch drill rod)
Shimp pack for nose gear: Varies, but bout $170 give or take.
Nose gear strut: $7000
Gear Door hinges: About $470 each and there are two per door.
Outer gear door: About $500

Throttle cable: A tad less than $300, but you'll probably have to
find a supplier for the older Bos as Ratheon doesn't carry them.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

[crossposted to rec.aviation.owning]

On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 14:51:56 -0400, Roger
wrote in
::


So what has been the experience of other Bonanza owners with regard to
maintenance costs?

As of 5 years ago:
Sisors pin for nose gear: Was over $300 (It's 1/4 inch drill rod)
Shimp pack for nose gear: Varies, but bout $170 give or take.
Nose gear strut: $7000
Gear Door hinges: About $470 each and there are two per door.
Outer gear door: About $500

Throttle cable: A tad less than $300, but you'll probably have to
find a supplier for the older Bos as Ratheon doesn't carry them.

Those prices are similarly outrageous to the generator brushes I
mentioned. I presume they are retail prices. The brushes were
wholesale presumably, as I was picking them up for an A&P. Or does
Raytheon offer wholesale pricing at all?

Have you had any luck in mitigating parts costs by shopping at
Wentworth Aircraft, Inc: http://www.wentworthaircraft.com/home.htm

I hope their parts prices are better than their websight. It is pretty
much worthless. I bookmarked it anyway, just in case :-)

Jon Kraus
'79 Mooney 201
4443H @ TYQ

Larry Dighera wrote:

On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 14:51:56 -0400, Roger
wrote in
::


So what has been the experience of other Bonanza owners with regard to
maintenance costs?

As of 5 years ago:
Sisors pin for nose gear: Was over $300 (It's 1/4 inch drill rod)
Shimp pack for nose gear: Varies, but bout $170 give or take.
Nose gear strut: $7000
Gear Door hinges: About $470 each and there are two per door.
Outer gear door: About $500

Throttle cable: A tad less than $300, but you'll probably have to
find a supplier for the older Bos as Ratheon doesn't carry them.


Those prices are similarly outrageous to the generator brushes I
mentioned. I presume they are retail prices. The brushes were
wholesale presumably, as I was picking them up for an A&P. Or does
Raytheon offer wholesale pricing at all?

Have you had any luck in mitigating parts costs by shopping at
Wentworth Aircraft, Inc: http://www.wentworthaircraft.com/home.htm

On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 22:19:53 GMT, Jon Kraus wrote
in ::

I hope their parts prices are better than their websight.

Well, used aircraft parts are quite functional in some applications,
and given they are genuine, you shouldn't run afoul of the FAA as
might occur if automotive parts are substituted. I have found
Wentworth prices to be reasonable, about half of the cost of new.