Beechcraft Bonanza A36TC (1979-1981)

This page describes one airplane: the Model A36TC, Section XVI of FAA TCDS 3A15 Revision 100, serials EA-1 through EA-241 and EA-243 through EA-272 -- 271 eligible serials, spanning three model years. (The certificate states eligible serials, not deliveries, so that is a ceiling on the fleet rather than a production total.) It was split out of a page that covered the A36TC and the B36TC together; the longer-winged, heavier, 102-gallon B36TC is now at Beechcraft Bonanza B36TC (1982-2002).

The A36TC took the A36 -- six seats, club seating, double cargo door -- and put a turbocharged 300 hp Continental TSIO-520 on the front of it, certificated to a maximum operating altitude of 25,000 ft. The certificate gives it 3,650 lb gross and 74 usable gallons, and the airframe is the short-wing 36 of the period. What the turbocharger buys is power that does not fade with altitude, which is a different thing from more airplane -- the tanks and the wing did not grow to go with it.

It was replaced after three years by the B36TC, and that replacement is the whole story of the type: Beech extended the wing by 4'4" and put 102 usable gallons in it, because 74 gallons behind a 17 gph engine is not enough fuel to use the altitude the turbocharger gives you.

Every figure above is off FAA TCDS 3A15 Rev 100 except the two wingspans, which the certificate does not state -- it carries no dimensions at all. For the normally aspirated A36 see Beechcraft Bonanza 36 / A36 / G36; no A36 figures are quoted here, because Section XIV was not read for this page and a neighbouring variant's numbers are not evidence.

The one serial break on this airplane

3A15 splits the A36TC's fuel system at S/N EA-33:

239 of 271 eligible airframes, 88%, so the page stores 74. If you are looking at one of the first 32 airplanes, check whether Item 113 was fitted: 44 usable gallons at 17 gph is about two and a half hours before reserves, which is not a cross-country airplane.

Nothing else about the A36TC is serial-split. There is one gross weight, one set of airspeed limits, one baggage schedule.

None of the performance figures on this page is sourced, and one of them is known to be wrong. A type certificate states limits and configuration and contains no cruise, climb, range or runway data at all, and no A36TC POH is in hand. What is below is what the conflated page carried, retained rather than invented.

• Cruise 205 KTAS, quoted at FL200 -- legacy, no power setting recorded
• Sea-level climb 1,175 fpm -- legacy
• Fuel burn 17.0 gph -- legacy
• Range 850 nm -- legacy, and it does not survive contact with 74 usable gallons. At 17 gph that is five hours of fuel with nothing held back; 850 nm at 205 kt is four hours and ten minutes of cruise before you add taxi, climb and a 45-minute reserve. Treat 600-650 nm with reserves as the realistic number until the POH says otherwise. range_nm is a required field, so the legacy figure is flagged rather than deleted -- but it is flagged.

The four runway distances have been removed rather than carried forward. The validator reports the old page's 640 ft landing roll on two other Bonanzas, a Cardinal and a Dakota across a 1.5x weight spread, its 1,200 ft takeoff roll on a 10,500 lb agricultural airplane, and its 1,450 ft landing distance on a 5,150 lb Cessna 303. Generated numbers repeat; measured numbers scatter. A blank with a reason is more use to a buyer sizing a runway than four numbers that describe no airplane.

The airspeed limits shrink with altitude, and this is the airplane where that bites. 3A15 requires Vno reduced 3 knots and Vne 4 knots per 1,000 ft above 16,000 ft. At FL200 that is Vno 153 / Vne 187; at the 25,000 ft ceiling, Vno 138 / Vne 167. The stored 165 and 203 are the sea-level figures, which is what the schema holds, and a pilot planning to use the turbocharger needs the reduced ones.

The TSIO-520-UB is a 520 cubic inch, six-cylinder, fuel-injected, turbocharged Continental producing 300 hp at 2,700 rpm and 36 in. Hg. manifold pressure -- both figures stated on the certificate. TBO 1,400 hours. The certificate also approves the TSIO-520-U on this model; either is eligible and the page stores the -UB.

• Cylinder management: CHTs above 400F shorten cylinder life rapidly.
• Cool-down: 3-5 minutes after high-power flight.
• Lean-of-peak operation is strongly preferred for cylinder longevity, and most surviving airplanes carry an aftermarket engine monitor for it.
• Top overhauls are common well inside TBO.

Overhaul reserve uses $58,000 per engine from reference/engine-overhaul-pricing.md, which is the TSIO-520 specialty band and includes the turbocharger.

Legacy market observations from the conflated page's own A36TC rows, not sourced quotes, and perishable.

The A36TC sits below the B36TC in the market and it should: three model years, 271 eligible serials, a shorter wing and 28 fewer usable gallons. Against a normally aspirated A36 of the same age the premium buys altitude capability at the cost of a shorter TBO and a hotter, more demanding engine.

A36 airframe concerns apply. Turbocharger-specific:

1. Turbocharger condition: inspect for shaft play, oil seepage, blade damage.
2. Cylinder CHT history: review engine monitor data for excursions above 400F. The TSIO-520-UB runs hot and recurring high CHTs are a cylinder bill coming.
3. Exhaust system condition: turbo exhausts run hotter and crack more often. Inspect for cracks, weeping and weld failures.
4. Wastegate operation: verify smooth operation through the full power range.
5. Cool-down practice: look for consistent 3-5 minute cool-downs in the pilot's habits. Inconsistent cool-down shortens turbo life.
6. Which serial, for fuel: below S/N EA-33 the standard system is 44 usable gallons. Confirm what is actually in the wings.
7. TBO is 1,400 hours, not the naturally aspirated A36's 1,700, and an overhaul carries the turbocharger with it.