He bought a V-Tail Bonanza!
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- My buddy bought a top of the line V-tail Bonanza after flying Cirrus aircraft for most of his flying life. The V-Tail Bonanza known as the "Forked Tail Doctor Killer" is one of the most respected and feared aircraft on the planet. I think the fear part is greatly misplaced.
I fell in love with the airplane when I was not a pilot as an avid radio control model airplane pilot. When I got my pilots license I flew many airplanes and continued to train obtaining my instrument rating and my multi-engine certifications. When I finally decided I could afford to own my own airplane after buying a home in an airpark whit a grass strip I zeroed in on the V-Tail Bonanza as my perfect airplane.
It's performance, comfort, speed and shear sex appeal won me over and I have never looked back
Come along with me on the adventure of owning a classic airplane with tremendous capabilties and a unique style.
The V-tail design gained a reputation as the "forked-tail doctor killer", due to crashes by overconfident wealthy amateur pilots, fatal accidents, and inflight breakups. "Doctor killer" has sometimes been used to describe the conventional-tailed version, as well. However, a detailed analysis by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of accident records for common single-engine retractable-gear airplanes in the United States between 1982 and 1989 demonstrated that the Bonanza had a slightly lower accident rate than other types in the study. Pilot error was cited in 73% of V-tail crashes and 83% of crashes, with aircraft-related causes accounting for 15% and 11% of crashes respectively. However, the study noted that the aircraft had an unusually high incidence of gear-up landings and inadvertent landing gear retractions on the ground, which were attributed to a non-standard gear-retraction switch on early models that is easily confused with the switch that operates the flaps. 1984 and later models use a more distinctive relocated landing-gear switch, augmented by "squat switches" in the landing gear that prevent its operation while compressed by the aircraft's weight, and a throttle position switch that prevents gear retraction at low engine power settings.
In the late 1980s, repeated V-tail structural failures prompted the United States Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct extensive wind tunnel and flight tests, which proved that the V-tail did not meet type certification standards under certain conditions; the effort culminated with the issuance of an airworthiness directive to strengthen the tail, which significantly reduced the incidence of in-flight breakups. Despite this, Beech has long contended that most V-tail failures involve operations well beyond the aircraft's intended flight envelope.] Subsequent analysis of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident records between 1962 and 2007 revealed an average of three V-tail structural failures per year, while the conventional-tailed Bonanza 33 and 36 suffered only eleven such failures during the same time period. Most V-tail failures involved flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, flight into thunderstorms, or airframe icing. In addition to the structural issues, the Bonanza 35 has a relatively narrow center of gravity envelope, and the tail design is intolerant of imbalances caused by damage, improper maintenance, or repainting; such imbalances may induce dangerous aeroelastic flutter. Despite these issues, many Bonanza 35 owners insist that the aircraft is reasonably safe, and its reputation has lessened acquisition costs for budget-conscious buyers.
In 1982, the production of the V-tail Bonanza stopped but the conventional-tail Model 33 continued in production until 1995. Still built today is the Model 36 Bonanza, a longer-bodied, straight-tail variant of the original design introduced in 1968.
Many of us V-Tail pilots like to note that Bonanzas don't kill Doctors or any other pilots that pilot's who don't take good care and keep proficient kill perfectly good Bonanzas.
Good luck, enjoy aviation and V-Tail winds to you always!
Who would not be proud of that beautiful vtail !
Thank you Robert! I most certainly am.
I thought this plane looked familiar, then I realized where y’all were landing. I fly to Fredericksburg for breakfast/lunch quite frequently.
Joshua, thanks for watching, maybe we will run into each other there.....oh that was a poor choice of words...hahaha. maybe we can say hi face to face.
Glad to see you back in the air Dale even if you were handling the coms.
Mel, it's always nice to hear from you! I hope you are doing well.
Great looking plane. The only thing I would suggest is for Gary to possibly look into a Mini Ipad. Thats what I fly with in my Archer and it really is the perfect size. I had his size, but sold it and got a mini because it was bigger than I needed in the cockpit. It seems like for him it takes up a ton of room and he is awkwardly having to reach under it for the throttle and can't see the gear indicator lights. Might make a big difference with the Ipad Mini.They just came out with a new generation about a year ago. It's perfect and I use it only for flying and it runs every program very smoothly and just is a great size for a cockpit. Just my .02 cents. Love the plane and thanks for the flying content!
Cameron, I loaned Gary one of my my mini IPad to try. I'll let him chime in on his preferences.
@@MrDucatizombie oh very nice. He will be able to make an informed decision then. Interested to hear his thoughts once he has a chance to try out the mini on a flight.
@@camerongoodwin2020 thanks Cameron!! Dale did loan me a mini. I’ve never been a fan of the mini for a lot of reasons. But back to the plane…. I had a dual yoke installed for my transition training and have not had it removed yet. Once I do I will extend that mount about 4 more inches to the right and my gear lights are being moved to the center top of the panel above the new JPI 930 going in. But for now it’s a little in the way but it’s what I am comfortable with and can live with the reach around in the meantime.
@@garyjstephens Oh very nice. That makes sense, I wondered why you had a nice new style yoke and then the old original style on the dual yoke setup. That will work much better when you switch back to one and can slide the mount over a few inches. Congrats on the beautiful plane!
@@camerongoodwin2020 thank you!!
Excellent ... Good Job !
Thanks for watching!
Great Video, guys. Please provide some info on the air conditioning system. It sounds sweet
Steve, Gary and I are planning a whole video on the accoutrements in our airplanes. The AC system for sure is an interesting device
I second the vote for some more information on the air conditioning. I bought an S35 Bonanza that I might be interested in putting air if it isn’t too difficult.
Nice plane! Any information on the AC System? I didnt see a video in your list but, maybe I missed it.
Got divorced! Don't need room for bags!
A lot less baggage for sure
Beautiful V35......Cirrus...ehhh....A V35B Bonanza, especially equipped with the IO-550 is a serious and beautiful machine, not to mention a classic. I'd rather fly the Bo over a Cirrus any day.
No argument here....hahaha!
Couldn’t agree more. And it’s why I made the change to my perfect airplane…. N60ML. #beechlife
Good bbq at Taylor!
Good BBQ everywhere around here! hahaha
Would love to know about the buying process.
I can't speak for Gary but his experience was similar to mine other than I ended up buying a plane at my local airport.....that rarely happens. He spent less time looking than I did. I just lucked out and found my perfect plane in my home town.
I think dale and I will be doing a vid on this subject soon!!
Wow,good on ya guys,but…..always worried about the back end,v tail don’t make me feel safe,ha ha,enjoy.
Thanks for watching!
Why did you sat that about the FAA?
Nice plane, Looks like your door handle is clocked wrong.
I looked at that and I don't think so....it would hit framework in any other position since it rotates 90 degrees.
How many hours should a newer pilot get before transitioning into one of these? I know everybody is different but I have always wanted a v tail Bonanza? Thanks!!
Well, that’s a difficult question to answer with a blanket response. The minimum is a private pilots license with an endorsement for both high performance and complex aircraft. A lot of people have ended up in a bad place by taking the quickest route to that goal.
@smacdiesel , Like Dale said that’s a hard one to answer. I had well over 200hrs when I bought N60ML and still could only find one insurance company that would insure me. So it’s really more then just what you can do. And more about what you can prove over a good amount of time you can do safely. Don’t rush. Get your endorsements. Then make friends with bonanza owners (all Bo’s not just Vtail). And fly in the right seat with them as often as you can. That will help you learn just how different flying a bonanza is then most planes. And what makes them so damn wonderful to fly!!! Good luck!
I started in a 172 then to a 177 and then to a Comanche 250 before I bought my bonanza V tail. So a gradual step up to the bonanza that I’ve flown for 22 years.
What is the details on the AC unit? thanks.
I've been trying to get some time with my buddy to get the details on that and do a video....let me try again.
Check my Sun-nFun video for details on the AC system