Beech F33A Bonanza

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King Air C90A, which appeared as the Model 90 in 1964. However, the 33 and 90 have a few years to go to equal the V- tail Model 35 Bonanza's 35-year produc- tion run, which ended in 1982.) What gives the F33A such value today is its combination of payload, perfor- mance, and price. Stultz and I flew N1550D, a 1989 F33A that Beech has assigned to its transportation department for use by employees on company business. De- spite its 500 hours, it is a cream puff- shiny clean and well-equipped with an optional Bendix/King KFC 150 flight control system and air conditioning. It also has dual controls, a mixed blessing. Two can fly, but the massive yoke bar obscures the entire subpanel containing electrical switches and circuit breakers; gear, flap, cowl flap, and trim switches and indicators; and the power controls. My only real beef with the F33A is the outdated panel configuration. Avionics are shunted off to the right side of the panel, while the engine instrument clus- ter is assigned center stage. Just about everything else is hidden away down on the subpanel. The flap switch is to the left of the gear switch, and the throttle and prop controls are separated by an auxiliary fuel pump switch, while the mixture control is below the throttle. Beech fixed the panel layout on the 36 series in 1984, but the F33A remains unchanged. It's the little things that, even after all these years, set the F33A apart. The bag- gage door is cargo size and fitted with large, robust latches. The baggage area is cavernous and can swallow 270 pounds of cargo. A fifth seat can be in- stalled in the baggage hold, but its use is limited by weight and balance restric- tions. All placards are silkscreened onto the panels rather than applied as adhe- sive labels. Strobe and recognition lights are faired into the metal wing tips. The three-light strobe system is standard equipment, as are the heated pitot tube and a profusion of static wicks. The cabin is tall, with plenty of leg- and headroom. The generously sized windows contribute to the feeling of spaciousness and make for excellent in- flight visibility. The standard F33A inte- rior is by no means Spartan. Cloth seats and carpeting throughout are included in the base price. Leather is not listed as an option, but in fact, if a customer de- mands to lounge on King Air leathers, it will be done. The leather upholstery shown in the photographs \o\jth this 70. JANUARY 1991 - • story is in a 1990 F33A offered by United Beechcraft in Wichita. The F33A is a solid "full fuel and three adults" airplane. N1550D was topped off with 74 gallons usable fuel when three of us boarded for a lunch flight to Ponca City, south of Wichita. The cal- culations showed that we could top off the tanks at Ponca City, then go in and eat 30 pounds of excellent Mexican food at the airport cafe and still stay on the legal side of the 3,412-pound maximum ramp weight. This despite Beech's in- house F33A being a bit heavy on empty weight due to the 70-pound air con- ditioning system. Minus the AC and 10 gallons of fuel, another Beechcrafter could have joined us for lunch. The 285-horsepower Teledyne Conti- nental 10-520 engine and three-blade, 80-inch McCauley propeller give the F33A good performance. After takeoff, power was reduced from full throttle and 2,700 rpm to 25 inches manifold pressure and 2,500 rpm. The initial 96- knot best rate climb speed yielded 1,200 feet per minute and no view over the nose. At a more comfortable 115 knots, the rate was 800 fpm, which decreased to 600 fpm as we passed through 8,000 feet. The F33A does not have rudder trim, but the engine is canted to offset torque, and it took minimal rudder pres- sure in the climb to center the ball. Bonanzas have a deserved reputation for smooth, effortless handling, espe- cially in roll. Control surfaces are at- tached with roller bearings, and the aile- rons and rudder are interconnected. In steep turns, the airplane can be trimmed for hands-off flying. Once at altitude, we sampled a variety of cruise power configurations and found performance to be slightly better than promised in the pilot's operating handbook. At 8,500 feet and 75-percent power (2,500 rpm and full throttle), in- dicated airspeed was 150 knots for 173 knots true on 14.4 gallons per hour. But engine and airframe seemed to prefer 65-percent power (2,300 rpm). Vibration was noticeably less than at 75 percent or even 55 percent (2,100 rpm). At 65 percent, cruise true airspeed worked out to be about 165 knots on just under 14 gph. Four hours flown at 65- percent power would be a comfortable leg. That would leave a full hour's fuel in the tanks for insurance. Don't want to stop enroute? Then back the power off to 45 percent and drone along at about 135 knots for 6.5 hours. Bonanzas build up speed quickly in a AOPA PILOT. 71 descent, but the F33A has some built-in safeguards: The landing gear and ap- proach flaps can be extended at 154 knots, 12 knots below Vno. The drag from gear and flaps is such that the nose can be pushed over and the VSI pegged at better than 4,000 fpm down without exceeding 154 knots. The high gear and flap speed allows for great flexibility in the terminal area. We practiced a couple of high-speed in- strument approaches, flying the local- izer course at 165 knots. Coming up on the outer marker or final approach· fix, reduce power to slow to 154, then dump gear and flaps and slide down the final approach course at about 120 knots, which is within the white arc. H the landing is the measure of a llight, then an F33A pilot will finish with a flourish every time. Dual pitch-trim tabs are helpful for nailing the final ap- proach speed and angle, and the over- size main tires help to make each touch- down a squeaker. It really is one of the nicest-landing airplanes. The F33A is certified in the Utility cat- egory to higher load limits than is a Nor- mal category airplane. Beech built an