Beechcraft Bonanza V35B V-tail (Late)

This page describes one airplane: the Model V35B, the final V-tail Bonanza, serials D-9069 through D-10403 — 1,335 eligible serials across thirteen model years. It is Section XI of FAA TCDS 3A15 Revision 100, which covers the V35, V35A and V35B together with a single set of limits: the same Continental IO-520 at 285 hp, the same 3,400 lb maximum weight, the same wing, the same airspeed limits. Those two earlier models are in the variants table below with their own serial ranges, and the page's numbers describe all three except where it says otherwise.

That is what makes this the "late V-tail" page. The 1947-1956 straight-tails are Beechcraft Bonanza 35 V-tail (Early) on a different certificate entirely, and the J35 through S35 middle era is Beechcraft Bonanza 35 J-S Middle V-Tail.

Beech built roughly 2,400 airplanes to Section XI between 1966 and 1982, and then stopped building V-tails. The straight-tail Bonanza F33A — the same wing, the same engine, the same gross weight, a conventional empennage — carried on for another thirteen years.

TCDS 3A15 Section XI, with serial ranges from the certificate and the top of the V35B range from AD 91-20-08.

The certificate treats the three base models as one airplane and gives them one set of figures. The differences that matter to a buyer are the serial breaks, not the letters: D-8872 for the flap and gear limits, D-10179 for the approach flap detent, and D-10303 for the fuel system.

The reference cruise is 172 KTAS at 75% maximum continuous power, 2500 rpm and 23.0 in. Hg, at 6,000 ft on a standard day, burning 15.2 gph. That is one row of POH Section V sheet 5-21, and 6,000 ft is where the table peaks: the airplane still makes the full 23.0 in. Hg there, and by 7,000 ft it is at full throttle.

The economy row is the handbook's own 65% page, 2300 rpm at 22.4 in. Hg, same altitude: 161 KTAS on 13.3 gph. Eleven knots slower for 1.9 gallons an hour less and about 45 nm further. Beech labels its cruise pages by percentage of maximum continuous power, which is what makes this page able to show both rows — the A36's later handbook does not, and that page has no economy row as a result.

Every cruise figure on this page is computed at 3,200 lb, not at the 3,400 lb maximum. Beech's convention. A V35B at gross will not quite make 172.

The range figures are read off the 74-GALLON sheet of the Range Profile. There is a 44-gallon sheet facing it, and taking the wrong one moves every number by about 250 nm — the same two-sheet trap the Cessna 172N has. Both readings are from a graph and are rounded to 5 nm to say so; the calibration used reproduces the chart's own printed 800 nm example to within a nautical mile.

Real-world reporting agrees with the book. Aviation Consumer's owner survey puts V-tail cruise "in the 150 to 175-knot range, depending on engine power", and its Model 33 review — the same wing and engine — says to "figure 165 to 172 knots on 13 to 15 GPH for a 285-HP model".

Which years these figures describe. The handbook this page is built on, P/N 35-590118-31B, covers V35B serials D-9069 through D-9947 — 879 of the 1,335 V35Bs, and every V35 and V35A. The 456 late V35Bs from D-9948 on are covered by the V35B-only book P/N 35-590118-29, which TCDS 3A15 Item 403(bb) names and which no free copy of could be found. The cruise, glide and climb speeds are unchanged across that break; what does change above D-10303 is that the 74-gallon fuel system becomes standard, which makes this page's fuel and range figures more representative of the late airplanes rather than less. The rate of climb and service ceiling come from AOPA's 1968 V35A column, and are used because TCDS 3A15 Section XI gives the V35, V35A and V35B one set of limits on one wing with one engine at one gross weight.

The straight tail is not slower. The old page claimed the V-tail gained 2-4 knots over the F33A. Beech's own cruise tables for the two airplanes are identical, cell for cell, across all four power settings, which was checked page by page against both handbooks. Whatever else separates the two tails, it is not cruise speed.

Basic empty weight is a property of the individual airplane, and Beech never published a model figure. What the handbook prints is a set of sample loadings, each headed with the model it describes:

That 295 lb spread is equipment, accumulated across sixteen model years. The frontmatter uses Beech's own V35B sample — 2,230 lb, giving 1,170 lb of useful load against the 3,400 lb maximum — and a buyer should read the specific airframe's weight-and-balance form rather than this page.

With 74 usable gallons at 6.0 lb/gal:

The real constraint is not weight, it is the centre of gravity. TCDS 3A15 gives the V35B a CG range of (+82.1) to (+84.4) at 3,400 lb — 2.3 inches, against 4.6 inches for the F33A and 6.7 for the A36 at their own gross weights. Beech's own sample loading makes the point: four 190-lb occupants put the airplane outside the aft limit, and 175 lb has to come out of a centre seat. And because the fuel is in the leading edges, burning it moves the CG aft — so an airplane that is legal at take-off can slide out of the envelope in the cruise.

One owner quoted by Aviation Consumer put it as plainly as anyone: "Because of the CG issue, I consider the Bonanza to be a three-person airplane."

• Flight Training (2): Insurance is prohibitive and the airplane is wrong for primary training. Legitimate for a complex and high-performance endorsement with an instructor who knows the type, and the Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Program exists precisely because transitioning pilots need it.
• Backcountry (2): Low-wing retractable, 64 KIAS clean stall, and a propeller that sits close to the ground. Not designed for unimproved strips.
• Business Travel (7): 172 KTAS on 15 gph with four seats and an IFR panel is still a serious point-to-point machine. The V-tail's insurance surcharge and its narrow CG envelope are what keep this below the straight-tail's score.
• Aerobatics (1): No. The V35B is a Utility category airplane, intentional spins are prohibited, and the type's structural history makes any over-G excursion a genuinely bad idea.
• Cross-Country (9): What the airplane is for. 715 nm at 172 knots, or 760 nm at 161, on 74 gallons — with the reserve, taxi and climb already deducted by the manufacturer's own chart.
• Cargo Hauling (3): 270 lb of baggage at a single station, and no cargo door. The 36-series exists because this airframe could not do it.
• Local Fun Flying (8): Owners are unanimous on the handling. "The controls are silky smooth and light with nearly perfect harmony between aileron and pitch pressure," writes Aviation Consumer, and the tail waggle in turbulence — the "Bonanza Boogie" — is affection as often as complaint.
• Surveying (4): Low wing, high wing loading, and a cruise speed that needs hauling back a long way for slow work.

• As found ($0): A 1970s V35B commonly still has a King or Century autopilot and a mixed stack. Many now carry a WAAS navigator and an ADS-B Out transponder and nothing else new.
• Basic IFR modernisation ($20K-$45K): GTN 650Xi or GNX 375, a GI-275 attitude indicator, GTX 345 for ADS-B In and Out.
• Full retrofit ($60K-$120K): dual GI-275s or a G500 TXi, GTN 750Xi, GFC 500 autopilot with electric trim, engine monitor. The V-tail's panel is narrow by modern standards and the throw-over yoke on early airplanes complicates a centre-stack redesign; budget shop time accordingly.

The American Bonanza Society is the practical source for panel planning on this airframe, and Aviation Consumer's "Panel Planner 101: Vintage Bonanza" exists because the job is not generic.

• IO-550 conversion. The most common performance modification, offered by several shops. Owner reports collected by Aviation Consumer describe a K35 going from 165 to 185 KTAS on 15-16 gph after conversion — a bigger change than any airframe modification.
• Tip tanks (Osborne and others) add fuel and gross weight. On a V-tail, read the weight-and-balance consequences before the range figures.
• Speed modifications — gap seals, cowl and wheel-well fairings — from Knots 2U, Beryl D'Shannon and others.
• Three-blade propellers. TCDS 3A15 Item 14 approves a McCauley 3A32C76 and Item 12 a Hartzell PHC-A3VF-4 on the V35, V35A and V35B; Item 17 approves a Hartzell PHC-C3YF-1RF under STC SA785CE. Different propellers change climb, and the F33A handbook publishes separate climb charts for two- and three-blade installations — so the propeller on the nose is part of the airplane's performance, not a cosmetic choice.
• Vortex generators (Micro Aerodynamics, Knots 2U, Beryl D'Shannon).
• Precise Flight speed brakes, which is a real answer to a clean airframe that does not want to come down.

• Annual inspection: $3,000-$6,000 before squawks, with the ruddervator and empennage AD work on top.
• Parts: available, and expensive. Aviation Consumer's example — a $2,000 propeller spinner back plate — is the flavour of it. "Paying high parts prices simply goes with the territory when flying a Bonanza."
• American Bonanza Society (bonanza.org). Technical advisors, service clinics, the BPPP. For a V-tail this is closer to required equipment than to a hobby membership.
• Mechanic familiarity: common, but Aviation Consumer's survey is explicit that poor Bonanza maintenance usually traces to unfamiliarity rather than carelessness. Find a shop that knows the airplane.
• Expensive items: engine overhaul ($48,000 per reference/engine-overhaul-pricing.md), propeller overhaul, fuel cell replacement, ruddervator overhaul and rebalance, landing gear overhaul.

All three price fields are ASKING prices, observed on 7 September 2026 and recorded with their sources in raw/market/usedvalues-bonanza-2026-09-07.md. Runbook rule 27 puts Vref and the Aircraft Bluebook first and both were tried first; both sell their values by subscription and neither would return a Bonanza figure. Trade-A-Plane returned HTTP 403 to every request. Asking is not selling — treat $395,000 as the top of the market rather than a normal price, and expect a real transaction to land under the $210,000 typical figure as often as over it.

Hangar67's twelve-month V35B report averages $213,352 across twelve listings with an average airframe time of 3,661 hours and 752 hours on the engine, which is a useful picture of what is actually for sale: mid-time airframes with half-run engines.

What actually moves the price on this airplane:

• Engine time. An IO-520 approaching 1,700 hours is a $48,000 event per reference/engine-overhaul-pricing.md, and it is priced into every listing.
• The 74-gallon fuel system. On an airplane below D-10303 this is optional equipment worth having, and its absence is worth discounting for.
• Ruddervator AD status. Full modification compliance is worth more than inspection-only compliance, because the latter is a recurring cost forever.
• IO-550 conversion, which is the largest single performance modification available and is priced accordingly.
• Corrosion history, especially aft fuselage and magnesium surfaces. This is the item that turns a cheap V-tail into a money pit, and Aviation Consumer says so in as many words about the early airplanes.

See Aircraft Valuation Methodology.

Numbers here are the FAA's own, taken from the Dynamic Regulatory System's AD Final Rules index and recorded in raw/tcds/faa-ad-bonanza-33-35-36-2026-09-07.md. Aviation Consumer and most forum posts write them in a shortened form the FAA does not use, which is how "94-20-04" becomes "94-20-2".

The V-tail AD, and the one that separates this airplane from a straight-tail:

• AD 94-20-04 R2 (current; supersedes 94-20-04 and 94-20-04 R1, both now historical) — "Raytheon Aircraft Company Beech Models C35, D35, E35, F35, G35, H35, J35, K35, M35, N35, P35, S35, V35, V35A, and V35B Airplanes". It "requires ruddervator inspections and modifications" and "makes the repetitive visual inspection of the empennage, aft fuselage, and ruddervator control system" recurring. Full documented compliance is not negotiable on a purchase.
• AD 97-06-11 (current) — 35 series. Inspect the ruddervator differential tail control rod assembly for corrosion or cracks, repair or replace, and apply anti-corrosion sealant to the ruddervator control pushrods.
• AD 87-20-02 with Beech Service Bulletin 2188 is the tail-brace campaign. The kit is Beech P/N 35-4016-3, which appears on TCDS 3A15 as equipment Item 622, "Structural modification per Beech Drawing 35-4016. 1 lb. (+245)".

Airframe ADs shared with the straight-tails:

• AD 95-04-03 (current) — "Beech Aircraft Corporation 33, 35, and 36 Series Airplanes". Wing front spar carry-through frame: inspect, then reinspect at intervals not to exceed 500 hours, and repair or reinforce any crack. It supersedes 91-14-13.
• AD 97-14-15 (current) — a very long model list including every V35.
• AD 2019-23-10 (current; supersedes 2019-21-08) — right aileron flight control cable end fittings, applying to V35B S/Ns D-9069 through D-9961 among others.
• AD 2001-08-08 — turbocharger V-band exhaust clamp P/N 4404C375-M. It applies only to airplanes that "incorporate a certain Teledyne Continental engine configuration", i.e. an aftermarket turbocharger, not to a stock IO-520.
• AD 92-17-01 and AD 75-01-07 both name the S35, V35, V35A and V35B.

Note what does NOT apply. AD 93-24-03 covers the rudder forward spar, and its FAA title lists only 33- and 36-series models — a V-tail has no rudder forward spar. Aviation Consumer's 2001 article lists it among V-tail ADs; the regulator's own applicability statement says otherwise.

Common problems, from Aviation Consumer's service-difficulty survey:

• Magnesium corrosion, particularly on the ruddervators and on some airplanes the flaps and ailerons, and in the aft fuselage. Much of it was found during the tail-brace inspections. It is expensive.
• Ruddervator balance. The margin is narrow enough that repainting a ruddervator without rebalancing it afterwards has caused flutter. Ask what was done at the last paint.
• Landing gear. Electro-mechanical and robust, but the accident record is blunt: over one six-year period Aviation Consumer counted 188 gear-related events out of 668 Bonanza accidents — 28%. The gear and flap switches are reversed relative to every other manufacturer on early airplanes.
• Continental IO-520 crankcases and cylinders. Case cracking is an economic problem rather than a safety one; Continental service bulletin M91-6 called for 35-hour inspections of certain post-1980 cylinders.
• Fuel cells. Bladder deterioration, and the V35B's anti-slosh cells are what fixed an unporting problem the earlier airplanes had.

Per GA Insurance Underwriting and reference/insurance-costs.md. The V-tail is among the most scrutinised piston singles in underwriting, and the reason is historical rather than current: the type accumulated 240 in-flight break-ups between 1947 and the early 1990s, and the AD program that ended them is recent enough to still be in the actuarial memory.

• Hull: roughly $2,200-$4,500 a year at $150,000-$300,000 of hull value.
• Liability: $1,000,000 smooth typically $500-$900.
• Pilot minimums: expect an instrument rating, several hundred total hours, retractable time, and dual in type before an open policy.
• Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Program completion is frequently required or discounted for, and it is worth doing regardless.
• The V-tail surcharge is real relative to an F33A of the same year and equipment. It is the clearest single reason to buy the straight tail.