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= Circular engine instruments similar in appearance to those installed in the King Air product line were mounted vertically
= Fuel capacity was increased 108 gallons total (102 useable)
= Wingspan increased to 37 feet,10 inches from 33 feet 6 inches
= Wedge-like vortex generators were installed in specific locations on the wing leading edge to improve roll control at high angles of attack
= The engine/turbocharger installation was improved
= Air conditioning was available as an option
= Maximum takeoff weight increased to 3,850 pounds
At a power setting of 31 inches Hg manifold pressure at 2,400 RPM (maximum power setting), the B36TC could cruise at 200 knots true airspeed (TAS, ISA conditions) at 25,000 feet. The first and only airplane built in 1981 was serial number EA-242. Another 50 were built in 1982 followed by 65 in 1983. The factory manufactured only 139 airplanes during the 1984 through 1992 model years. According to
Textron Aviation, production of the B36TC ended in 2002 after a total of 424 airplanes had rolled off the assembly line since 1981.4
The current production version of the venerable Model 36 series is the Bonanza G36, first introduced for the 2005 model year. The G36 ushered in the era of flat panel, fully- integrated avionics by featuring the Garmin G1000 system. As of 2017, production airplanes have the improved G1000 NXi version. Other features include synthetic vision, XM weather and WAAS precision instrument approach capability.
In 2012, the G36 and its G58 Baron sibling were given a new interior with more comfortable seating, and an improved cabin environmental system was installed that provides air inlets for all occupants, not just in the cockpit as on previous aircraft.
The author was among flight in- structors at the Beechcraft Train- ing Center that conducted ground- based courses and familiarization flights aimed at teaching pilots new to the B36TC how to manage the turbocharger system. In my opinion, the B36TC was a major improvement over the A36TC and possessed excellent flight charac- teristics, but cylinder head tem- peratures still had to be monitored
closely during extended climbs, par- ticularly on a hot day.
The versatile Model 36 series continues to be one of the most popular Beechcraft airplanes. Despite its extraordinary price tag for a single-engine machine, the G36 offers pilots an attractive combination of speed, value, quality and utility that should keep it in production for years to come. KA
Notes:
1. By comparison, in 1977 when the author went to work at the Beech Aircraft factory as a Bonanza marketing representative, base price for a Model A36 had increased to $105,000. As of early 2017, sticker price for a base Model G36 stood at more than $ before options.
2. Cruise speed based on a power setting of 75% at an altitude of 6,500 feet and full throttle (2,500 RPM). It is interesting to note that the 2017 G36 offers essentially the same performance as the original Model 36, but features a plethora of upgrades made during nearly 50 years that set it far apart from its 1968 ancestor.
3. Ball, Larry A. “Those Incomparable Bonanzas;” McCormick-Armstrong Company, Inc. Wichita, Kansas, 1971.
4. According to Textron Aviation, as of early 2017 its subsidiary Beech Aircraft Corporation had manufactured more than 4,700 of the Model 36 series, including the A36, G36, A36TC and B36TC.
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kansas. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
The Bonanza G36 made its debut as part of the Beechcraft product line in 2005. (Textron Aviation)
28 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2023