Page 24 - Volume 11 Number 10

The Best Bonanza Ever?
Starting with the Model E33A, in 1968 Beech Aircraft engineers dug deep into their airframe “cook book” to create the company’s most popular and versatile Bonanza – the Model 36 series.
by Edward H. Phillips
“ The biggest, most versatile Bonanza ever built.” That was how Beech Aircraft Corporation described the new Model
36 Bonanza when it was certified in May 1968. Introduced to company dealers and distributors on June 18, by the end of the year, sales of the six- place Beechcraft had soared to more than $3.5 million. Standard equipped price was $40,650.1
During those months, the production line was kept busy as orders for Model 36 poured in from Beechcraft’s global sales organization. When workers went home to celebrate the 1968 Christmas season, they had built 105 airplanes. In addition, increasing demand for the new multi- mission Bonanza would keep Beechcrafters busy throughout 1969.
From the beginning of the Model 36 design and development program, the airplane was aimed directly at three markets: air taxi, light cargo and private aviation, with an emphasis on the first two. Unlike some of its siblings such as the twin-engine Model 55 Baron, the latest Beechcraft was not answering competition from Cessna Aircraft Company or Piper Aircraft Corporation – neither had a single-engine, retractable-gear airplane that could accommodate six people. The Cessna Model 210 was a four-place design, and Piper’s twin-engine Aztec was in a different class entirely than the Model 36.
The Beech Aircraft engineering department, led by Vice President James Lew, used the Model E33A Bonanza as a starting point and relocated the rear cabin bulkhead 19 inches farther aft (also similar to that of the Model V35A Bonanza) and stretched the E33A’s fuselage 10 inches. As a result, distance from the cabin’s forward bulkhead to the aft bulkhead increased by 29 inches. Cabin volume increased by six cubic feet, and the modification only increased empty weight by 31 pounds.
Compared to the Model S35, V35 and the V35A, the Model 36 fuselage being 10 inches farther forward over the wing, resulted in a much more flexible center of gravity (CG) envelope. The new Bonanza could easily accommodate six 170-pound occupants and remain within the specified CG envelope based on a standard- equipped airplane. Another benefit of stretching the fuselage was a 10-inch increase in landing gear wheel base, making the airplane easier to maneuver on the ground.
22 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
Another significant feature centered on making access to the main cabin easy, particularly for air taxi operators who wanted the ability to remove the aft four seats and carry lightweight cargo if required. To provide that access, engineers designed a four-foot wide double door located on the right side of the fuselage. The doors, constructed of bonded honeycomb for strength and light weight, could be removed for flight although airspeed and other restrictions applied. The ability to remove the doors made the Model 36 an attractive platform for aerial photography. Air taxi operators also liked the Bonanza’s FAA certification in the Utility Category at the maximum gross weight of 3,600 pounds, as well as its cruise speed of 195 mph that placed it among the fastest six-place, single-engine lightweight transports in that market segment.2
The choice of a powerplant for the Model 36 would be the ubiquitous six-cylinder Continental IO-520-B. Rated at 285 horsepower, the reliable engine also powered the Model V35 and V35A Bonanza. Early production versions of the Model 36 featured a utilitarian interior that was not well received by some Beechcraft customers accustomed to the well-appointed cabin of the V35. The company did, however, offer a deluxe interior in addition to the standard and utility versions that were designed for the rugged environment of air taxi operations.
Introduced in mid-1968, the utilitarian Model 36 had evolved into the improved A36 for the 1970 model year and featured cabin and interior appointments that were equal in quality and appearance to that of the Bonanza V35B. (WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES)
OCTOBER 2017