Anyone out there in central Europe selling his/her F33A ? Please contact me. Thanks.
Join the queue:)
Suggest joining European Bonanza Society where you might get a heads up for F33A coming up for sale.
there is one on planecheck right now.. https://www.planecheck.com?ent=da&id=50882
@RobertL : I’m in contact with them already, but thanks.
@iwark : Thank you, I’m monitoring the usual sites, I was indeed aware of that one.
It doesn’t have any AP, it’s rather far away from my place to organize a useful pre-buy inspection and then, IMHO the asking price is over the top for that particular aircraft.
What is so good about this particular aircraft? At 230K you can buy many good planes.
arj1 “What is so good about this particular aircraft? At 230K you can buy many good planes.”
That’s exactly what I’m saying, the price is over the top.
gildnn wrote:
That’s exactly what I’m saying, the price is over the top.
Why are you looking for F33A in particular? I’m just not familiar with that aircraft.
arj1 wrote :
Why are you looking for F33A in particular? I’m just not familiar with that aircraft.
There have been whole books written to answer question, or more generally, why pilots (many but obviously not all) like Bonanzas.
I would give my personal short answer : classic, sturdy, fast with a proven concept in 75 years of construction.
And the looks of course, but I guess the old saying that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder also applies to aviation.
The F33A is the last model of the short body conventional tail Bonanza. They were built from 1970 to 1992, but were discontinued in favour of the A36, now G36.
While technically a five seater, in practice it is a three to four seater. The vast majority of the F33A production run were zinc chromate finished (like the Aztec and Comanche, and Reims Cessnas), so with a better corrosion proofing.
The following of the type is in part as a consequence of the large production line of Bonanzas, over 10,000, and the recognised build quality. In addition the flying controls are nicely harmonised (around 80 Bonanzas were aerobatic in the E33C and F33C types), and the undercarriage was tested to US Navy standards with 10 feet drop tests.
With a Continental 550 engine, which is the preferred upgrade at overhaul, they will achieve 180 KTAS. With the standard 520 the cruise is 170KTAS. A turbo normalised engine will take them to 200KTAS at FL180.
They can operate from relatively short strips which gives them an advantage over the A36.
Some examples the empty weight comes in at 2300 lbs plus due to old slaved gyros, older autopilot servos and other items (eg the fifth seat). These suffer from the theoretical useful load of around 1100lbs being unusable as when fuel is consumed, the CG moves outside the aft limit. Also Beechcraft started using more Baron parts from around 1975. In effect a three person aircraft. Arguably a SF260 is better value than a lardy F33A.
Conversely the E33A (max gross 3300 lbs vs 3400 lbs in the F33A) can be found around 2000 lbs empty with the complete useful load usable within CG limits. Checking empty weight and CG empty becomes a reflex when looking at the type.
The current market has resulted in a big appreciation in values. An F33A sold last summer in the UK for around €80k, it needed a €20k catch up annual (not unusual for the type). Today the same aircraft is worth around €160-175k.
A well maintained example with mid time engine (550) and updated avionics would typically be asking €200k plus in today’s market. A lot of buyers are sitting on the sideline and some examples are not selling. Recently an N reg F33A sold sight unseen in Europe for €135k in less than a day, so when priced to sell they sell quickly.
10 feet drop tests
Is that literally true? A 10ft/3m drop will smash the gear on any plane, I would think.
Decelerating from that in say 20cm (the approximate suspension travel) comes to 30g.
