Bonanza (part) Owner!

I did it. Forked over the check to become part owner of a 1966 Beechcraft Bonanza V35!

I guess the Bonanza has been the ultimate single engine private airplane in my mind for a long time. It all began in my childhood, I was all of 10 years old. My father was Flight Commander of 6 Squadron IAF in Poona (now Pune) India. 6 Squadron flew Lockheed Super Constellations modified as MR (Maritime Recon) aircraft and English Electric Canberra bombers tasked with an anti-shipping role. There a number of hangars at Pune, which were pretty large. The Super Connie's didn't fit in those hangars though the Canberras did.

In one corner of the hangar was a small dark blue single engine airplane, which my father told me was a "Beechcraft Bonanza". One Dr Bhave (pronounce "Bhaa-way") owned the aircraft and the IAF allowed him to store it in their hangars. Dr Bhave was a famous surgeon and used to fly the aircraft between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Poona. That journey would take 5 hours through the Western Ghats (a mountain chain) by road but was only an hour by the Bonanza. I heard from my father and his colleagues that Dr Bhave was an accomplished pilot and flew the Bonanza far and wide in all kinds of weather. I checked up on the Internet and found that it was an A-35 Bonanza. (For an explanation of the Bonanza models check out this Wikipedia article). It was registered "VT-CZE" in 1971. Dr Bhave had a number of Bonanzas, all of them A models. Private flying in India was very rare, and the handful of private citizens who flew their own aircraft were looked upon with awe. I remember my father telling me that I could own my own aircraft if I wanted. That seemed like a distant dream at the time!

The Bonanza I am a partner in is based in Renton. There are a total of six members - all of them long time part owners. Their partnership has had a number of airplanes. Most of the members have been associated with Boeing. In fact the member who was retiring was a well known aerodynamicist who had worked on the YC-14 (and even co-written a book on it). It has been hangared since it was bought - and this shows part of the gang in the hangar for the new member induction ceremony. Jay was fashionably late!

The members are all aviation enthusiasts, which is very important to me. They haven't been flying the aircraft as much as they would like but keep it in very good shape.

I saw the ad for the open membership at this years North West Aviation Conference and Trade Show. I wasn't going to pay it much attention but Amy pointed it out to me and I pocketed the number.

I am glad I called. I did my due diligence - joined the American Bonanza Society(ABS) and posted questions on the Beech Owners e-mail list. They gave me very sound advice. Avstar, a very well known Beech Bonanza specialist in the Puget Sound area, gave the aircraft a thumbs up. I also had the privilege of talking to Phyllis Baer, who used to be their CFI. Phyllis is a grand dame of aviation, still has her medical and flight instructors license at 83! I think I will fly with her as a thank you for her advice.

One of the selling points of the partnership was that Kent Curtis, the president, didn't try to sell the aircraft to me. In fact he was pointing out all the minor flaws rather than the more obvious assets of the Bonanza!

I met the entire partnership (except for Jerry who I met later) and they charmed both Amy and me. (Jay, the Mariners tickets helped but the humor did more!). They are obviously careful flyers and have a genuine affection for the airplane.

I am going to have to do an insurance checkout and I am looking forward to it. Heres to hours and hours of happy flying!

I hope to use the Bonanza to get more proficient in my flying. I will fly more (due to availability), fly it further (taking trips much further afield than I have) and use it for maintaining and enhancing my IFR skills. I will use the ABS's resources to get Bonanza specific in depth training including the highly regarded Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Program (BPPP).

>Thanks Dr Bhave and dad, for letting me dream. Living the dream is a great thing!