<< Back to page 1

Hollywood International is a very busy airport and the immensely capable GNS 530 and 430 were extremely useful in dealing with the various controllers as they have all the relevant frequencies pre-loaded, as well as a lot of other handy airfield information. It can also display weather information from the BF-Goodrich WX-500 Stormscope and is linked to the Shadin F/ADC-200 fuel/air data computer. Take it from me readers this is one loaded panel.

A hint of power nudged us out of our parking space and we were soon trundling towards the active runway. The nosewheel is linked to the rudder pedals and differential braking can be used to reduce the turning radius. Incidentally, the toe-actuated hydraulic Cleveland disc brakes are superb, making the A36 very easy to taxi smoothly and precisely. The pre-take off checks contained nothing out of the ordinary, and as soon as ATC cleared us, I lined up with runway 27 right's centreline and applied full power.

With full tanks and three adults on board we were close to gross weight and the acceleration was excellent, with only small inputs of right rudder required to track the centreline. The first stage of the Fowler flaps (12 degrees) can be used for take-off, but with more than 7,000 feet of smooth concrete in front of us, I deemed it unnecessary. As the needle of the ASI swept rapidly through 60 knots, a hint of back pressure lifted the nosewheel off the runway, followed swiftly by the mainwheels ten knots later. I would estimate our take-off run to have been around 1,000 feet. A quick dab on the toe brakes stopped the still-spinning wheels and I clicked the undercarriage selector to 'up'. Operation of the electro-mechanical undercarriage retraction system was indicated by the three green lights extinguishing and the red 'in transit' illuminating. This was confirmed by a whine from the power pack and then three small 'thumps' as the wheels retracted into their wells. Best rate of climb is 100 knots, but even climbing at 120 knots for improved visibility still saw the VSI indicating around 1,200 feet per minute. Departure control initially vectored us out over the Atlantic and then north up the coast, before finally turning us west and giving us a big block of airspace above the Everglades in which to play.

I always like to start my exploration of a new type's handling with a couple of steep 360 degree turns, and I have to report that a combination of excellent visibility and simply superb handling made these manoeuvres a joy to perform. In fact, the handling is so precise that I managed to hit my own wake on only the second attempt it's good that the side windows curve inwards sufficiently to provide visibility even in quite a steep turn.

As Bob had predicted, I did not notice the absence of rudder trim; while I found the electric pitch trim to be geared just right. Aileron trim is provided by an adjustable trim tab on the left wing, controlled by a knob next to the cowl flap controls, although I never had the necessity to use it. Harmony of control is outstanding, with light, authoritative ailerons, a well damped slightly heavier elevator and a rudder that is powerful without being too heavy.

I suppose the people at Beechcraft have had plenty of time to get the stability and control right, and it shows. In many ways the ride is more reminiscent of flying a light twin. I was slightly surprised at how little rudder was needed even when turning quite tightly, and wondered if perhaps there was some kind of spring-interconnect system between the rudder and ailerons. By now I had reached the conclusion that the Bonanza possessed exemplary flying characteristics, and I suspected that an exploration of its stick-free stability would probably be superfluous. In this assumption I was correct, as the aircraft regained its trimmed speed after only two long-wavelength low-amplitude phugoids.

Slowing down to explore the stall revealed plenty of buffet, either flaps up or down, with a full flap stall occurring at around 57 knots. It was interesting to note that the ailerons remained effective even when the aircraft was deep in the stall. Accelerating out of the stall I selected flaps and undercarriage 'up', climbed swiftly to 8,000 feet and set the aircraft up for maximum cruise power. This required the prop and throttle levers to be advanced until the gauges were showing a power setting of 22 inches of manifold pressure and 2,500rpm. By now the air was becoming quite bumpy, so I engaged the autopilot's altitude hold and heading modes. A quick adjustment of the air speed indicator in order to set the pressure altitude over the higher than normal outside air temperature, soon saw the Bonanza indicating 174 knots, which was exactly what the book said it should do. This was achieved for a fuel flow of around14 gallons an hour and with low ambient cockpit noise. Bob had suggested that we should fly without headsets, as he was keen to demonstrate how quiet the cockpit has become since Beechcraft engineers redesigned the A36's door seal.

One of the biggest problems of operating fast, slippery aircraft powered by air-cooled engines into busy international airports is that ATC will often ask you to maintain high airspeeds until relatively close in, in order to prevent you from reversing into the 737 that is immediately behind you. The big problem is, how are you going to quickly slow to your final approach speed and maintain your descent without shock-cooling your engine? Well, the Bonanza does have a trump card up its sleeve for this situation; very high extension speeds for both the flaps and undercarriage. Bob was keen for me to see how useful this can be, so the second the ASI dipped below 154, he dropped the wheels and approach flaps. Wow! The deceleration was both immediate and impressive, and as the speed rapidly fell below 135 he extended the flaps to full, causing the needle of the VSI to practically drop out of the bottom of the instrument, while the CHT remained comfortably in the green. A very impressive demonstration.

Racing back into Fort Lauderdale's very busy Class C airspace saw the GNS 530 come into its own once again as we dealt with a multitude of controllers. I would have liked to have flown a proper circuit but the sheer volume of traffic precluded this, with the controller vectoring us onto a long straight-in approach with a request to "keep your speed up". Once again the high undercarriage limiting speed proved invaluable, and we were soon sliding down the glideslope as if we were on rails. A smooth steady flare and the mainwheels squeaked gently onto the tarmac with an absolute minimum of fuss. Job done.

Taxiing back to our parking spot I noted a lot of other Bonanzas on the ramp, from weary-looking V35s and immaculate F33s to an A36 that was even newer than ours! As an exponent of hi-tech aerodynamics, modern propulsion systems and composite construction techniques, I was half expecting to be slightly under-awed by a 50-year-old all-metal design, However, my flight with Bob just showed me how wrong I can be! Perhaps I'll leave the last word to Bob. He told me that the Bonanza has been in production longer than any other aircraft in the history of world aviation, that over 17,600 Bonanzas have been built since 1947, and that 85 A36s were produced last year. If those facts aren't testimony to an excellent design, then I don't know what is.

Contact Webmaster | Back to home page | Back to Flight Test page
© Key Publishing Ltd.