Then our son, daughter-in-law and grandbaby moved from the Los Angeles area (7 - 8 hours from here in the Cheetah, usually with two fuel stops) to Phoenix, Arizona (9 - 10 hours, and three fuel stops). Realizing this would be a frequent trip, we started to understand why more speed, range and comfort would be a good thing.
The mechanic who worked on our Cheetah owns a 1970 V35B Bonanza. He suggested that a Bonanza might fit our revised mission requirement. I protested that initial outlay, maintenance and operating costs of a Bonanza were all way out of our budget. He replied that IO-470 - powered models (J35 through P35, built 1958 - 1963) were reasonably priced for the performance they offered. Beech parts are expensive, he said, but they don't break as often; and he spends less time and money maintaining the stout Bonanza landing gear than he does Grumman landing gear, with its complicated and fragile plastic fairings. And as for operating expenses, he said that on a long trip his 285-hp V35B uses about the same amount of fuel as a 180-hp Grumman Tiger.
Then we heard about a 1959 K35 Bonanza for sale at Grants Pass, Oregon. It had been lovingly owned by a local veterinarian since 1970, and used mostly for long fishing trips to the British Columbia interior. He didn't really want to sell, but his wife felt that at age 80, it was time for him to quit flying.
In early April 2003 we drove to Grants Pass to look at it (right). We knew some local pilots and mechanics who were familiar with the airplane and its history, and they all said it was a sweetheart.
When we gave Walt the purchase deposit, he said, "If something happens to my wife between now and the time we close this deal ... I'm keeping the airplane." He wasn't smiling.
Fortunately for her, the Cheetah sold quickly, the Bonanza passed its pre-buy inspection, and we took delivery on May 3.
The checkout was an opportunity to get accustomed to the panel layout and arrangement of switches and controls. This original, 1959-style panel (below) was quite a change from the Cheetah's modern, industry-standard arrangement.
I also learned about the odd four-tank fuel system, in which excess fuel drawn from the auxiliary tanks is returned to the left main tank.
The checkout went well until the very end, when the flaps quit working, and were stuck in the full-down position. Fortunately a mechanic familiar with the airplane was available (left) to pull the front seats out and inspect the flap motor. He found corroded flap motor contacts, secured the connections, and soon I was flying the airplane home to Pearson.
Noticeably absent from the interior is the chintzy plastic so prevalent in more modern airplanes. The side panels are upholstered and the window frames and instrument panel fascia are metal and solidly-constructed.
Though sturdy, the "piano key" electrical switches are awkward and sometimes hard to reach behind the control yoke. More than once I've pinched a finger between the flap and fuel pump switches. The bizarre cowl flap and parking brake levers look like stops from an old pipe organ.
The avionics aboard N616V were of good quality, but suited only for VFR operations. The former owner had an aversion to instrument flight, thus he never invested in a glide slope receiver, a second VOR or DME. It was up to me to upgrade.
In our trips so far we've noted cruise performance of 155 knots true airspeed at 12,000' density altitude; full throttle and 2,450 rpm. With mixture leaned to peak EGT, fuel consumption is about 11.5 gph. For flight planning purposes we figure an average 150 KTAS and 13 gph.
Older Bonanzas are frequently modified to resemble newer models. This one, however, has no exterior modifications other than the squared-off wingtips introduced on the 1960 M35 Bonanza.
So now we own a piece of aviation history. It's a substantial piece, for it has been flying over fully 45% of the history of manned, powered flight. It's an incentive to learn a bit more about this machine.
N616V is serial number 6106 of the 10,403 V-tail (Model 35) Bonanzas built between 1947 and 1982 (only the A36 and B36TC Bonanzas, with conventional tail surfaces and 10-inch-longer fuselage, are still in production).
The airplane received its Certificate of Airworthiness at the Beech factory in Wichita, Kansas, on September 4, 1959. Six weeks later, after only 84 hours of operation, the logbook states without explanation that a new engine was installed.
This airplane demonstrates that the advances in general aviation technology over the past half-century have been more in the field of avionics than in aerodynamics or engines. In terms of its airframe, engine and performance, this 45-year-old airplane is not far removed from the newest A36 Bonanza. But over its lifetime N616V has carried a museum-full of avionics.
The new airplane was delivered from the factory with a primitive "coffee-grinder" Narco VTR-2 Omnigator (right), which was swapped out for a Motorola M-135 in 1966. In 1971 a full complement of navcom equipment by the now-defunct Genave company was installed, along with the airplane's first transponder, an Inflight Devices Century 31. The current Narco AT-50A transponder was installed in 1975; a King KR-86 ADF in 1976, the Apollo 618C loran in 1988, the Bendix-King KX-155 and KI-208 in 1992; and the KY-97A in 1999.
When we bought it, the airplane definitely needed additional avionics to be suitable for serious IFR flying. We discovered that for a fraction of the cost of buying and installing an IFR GPS, we could get a used Bendix-King KNS-80, giving us a second NAV, glide slope, DME and RNAV capability. So at the beginning of 2004, in went a KNS-80 and a KI-206 indicator, in place of the ADF and loran, respectively. This had the added benefit of thinning out the antenna farm atop the fuselage. Gone were the long ADF antenna wire and its multiple supporting pylons, plus the loran antenna.
In January 2006 an Electronics International UBG-16 engine analyzer went into the right-hand sub-panel, in place of the old Alcor EGT gauge with 6-position rotary switch. The UBG-16 provides much improved simultaneous monitoring of exhaust gas and cylinder head temeratures on all six cylinders.
Omnigator Mark 2
The structure underneath the old panels was in remarkably good shape, but the old upholstery was badly scuffed, cracked, torn and deteriorated.
