Page 26 - August 2015 Volume 9, Number 8

The next consideration was the airfoil section and the wing itself. The engineers had experience with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 23000-series airfoil that had been used on the bullish and brutally powerful XA-38 “Grizzly” in 1944 and the venerable Model 18. The team also tested a laminar flow airfoil that offered less drag but would be more expensive to build. Wind tunnel tests showed that the NACA 23000 airfoil was the best choice for the airplane’s overall performance capabilities (in 1946 Beech Aircraft did flight test work with a laminar flow airfoil, but no further action was taken).
In 1966, Beechcraft marketers introduced the Model V35 Bonanza, powered by a 285-hp Continental IO-520B. The latest Model 35 had a maximum speed of 210 mph (sea level) and cost $32,500. The V35A, introduced in 1968, featured a one-piece “Speed Sweep” windshield of increased area. (TEXTRON AVIATION)
(tailwheels) still dominated both military and commercial aircraft, particularly fighters. There were, of course, some exceptions such as the Martin B-26 “Marauder” and the North American B-25 “Mitchell” medium bombers, as well as the Consolidated “Liberator” and Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” heavy bombers and the Bell P-39 “Aircobra” fighter, all of which featured a tricycle gear arrangement. After much debate and discussion, the team agreed that only a fully retractable, tricycle landing gear was acceptable.
A three-view detail of the V35A Bonanza. (TEXTRON AVIATION)
TSO High Altitude FAA Approved Mask
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24 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2015