The plane that time forgot – but not its many fans
Two gents in business suits, sporting brief cases and fedora hats, stroll nonchalantly away from a V-Tail Beechcraft Bonanza. We are looking at an advert for the first Model 35 Bonanza dated May 1947. The advertising copy reads:
“You save … Man power, man hours, money with a company-owned Beechcraft Bonanza.”
Three quarters of a century later, a new Bonanza – the G36 75th anniversary edition, loaded with Garmin avionics – is rolling off the production lines in Wichita. So, what gives the design its extraordinary longevity? And what current business aircraft designs will be still flying in 2096? For Lou Seno, chairman of JSSI, the first answer, at least, is simple.