Beechcraft Debonair 33 (Pre-F33A, 1960-1969)

This page's specifications describe the Model 35-C33, approved 2 December 1964, serials CD-814 through CD-1118 (except CD-982) — 304 of 305 airframes sharing FAA TCDS 3A15 Section X with the Model E33 (CD-1119 through CD-1234, 116 built) and Model F33 (CD-1235 through CD-1254, 20 built). All three share one set of certificate limits: same 225-hp Continental IO-470-K, same 3,050 lb maximum weight, same fuel system.

Beech introduced the Model 35-33 "Debonair" in 1960 as a stripped-down, conventional-tail Bonanza — a response to the Cessna 210 and Piper Comanche, both of which undercut the V-tail Bonanza 35 on price. Aviation Consumer's own account: "Beech met them head on with something called the Model 33 Debonair ... The Bonanza's 250-HP Continental IO-470-C was replaced by a 225-HP IO-470-J. Gross weight was somewhat less." The "Debonair" name was retired after the C33 (1966-67) in favour of "Bonanza 33."

*E33/F33 serials CD-1200 and on carry a raised flap limit (122 kt) and gear limit (152 kt) versus 104/143 kt for earlier serials in the same section — Aviation Consumer's own account: "Maximum flap speed is a low 104 knots on early Debonairs, but it was raised to 113 knots on the C33" (113 kt CAS is 122 kt IAS-equivalent per the certificate's own bracketed figures).

Why 35-C33 and not an earlier or later model is stored. 35-C33 has the best independent attestation: Aviation Consumer's 2003 article is specifically about this pre-F33A line, and AOPA's own three-column Bonanza fact sheet uses "1968 E33" — the very next serial block in the same certificate section — as its worked spec example. Full reasoning: raw/tcds/cert-debonair-pre-f33a-3a15-rev100-2026-09-08.md.

35-C33A/E33A/E33C are the first 285-hp straight-tail Bonanzas, a full 3.5 years before the F33A (approved October 1969) — a genuinely earlier introduction of the 285-hp engine on a conventional tail than the F33A name usually gets credit for. E33C is the acrobatic variant: 25 built, matching AD 93-24-03's applicability range (CJ-1 through CJ-25) exactly.

Why this remains one page. Step 1 of the splitting rule fires on none of it (same engine count and class, same seats, same retractable gear, same certificate). Step 2: cruise speed 150 kt (225 hp) against Aviation Consumer's own "165 to 172 knots" for the 285-hp models is roughly a 13-15% spread (near but under the 15% threshold); gross weight 2,900-3,300 lb is a 13.8% spread. Both sit under their thresholds, and Aviation Consumer's own framing treats the whole run as one continuous line differing mainly by engine and gross weight step — the Variants table carries each model's own numbers.

The stored cruise triple — 150 KTAS, 12 GPH — is Aviation Consumer's flight-planning figure for the 225-hp line, not a POH table row: "Pilots of the 225-HP airplanes typically flight plan for 150 knots and 12 GPH." No power setting or altitude is stated, so cruise_percent_bhp and cruise_altitude_ft are deliberately left blank — writing "75%" because it is probably 75% would be inventing a qualifier no source states.

range_nm is left blank. Computing one from 44 usable gallons and 12 gph would require assuming a reserve nobody has published; a blank is honest, a number would not be.

AOPA's fact sheet gives a different fuel-burn figure for the same configuration — "About 13.4 gallons" at 75% power, for the 1968 E33. Recorded as a disagreement rather than averaged away: Aviation Consumer's 12 gph is a pilot-reported flight-planning number across the whole 225-hp line; AOPA's 13.4 is a stated 75%-power book figure for one specific serial block. Both are plausible; the page stores Aviation Consumer's paired speed-and-burn figure because it is an actual matched pair (rule 3), while AOPA's 75% figure has no paired TAS in the same source.

Stall speed, climb rate, service ceiling, empty weight and useful load all come from AOPA's 1968 E33 column — the same certificate section (3A15 Section X), same engine, same 3,050 lb limit as this page's own 35-C33, 351 serials later in the same continuous production run. This is not cross-variant borrowing in the sense runbook rule 2 forbids (that rule is about a DIFFERENT variant or engine); it is the same certificated configuration at a slightly later serial number.

With 44 usable gallons at 6.0 lb/gal (264 lb) and a 1,270 lb useful load (1,780 lb empty against 3,050 lb gross):

The 225-hp Debonair/33 carries four adults and full fuel with genuine margin to spare — a meaningfully easier loading proposition than the same-era V-tail at a lower useful load, consistent with Aviation Consumer's framing of the straight tail as the more forgiving airplane to load.

• Flight Training (4): Complex and insured accordingly, but the lowest approach and stall speeds in the whole Bonanza family (52 kt Vs0) make it the most forgiving Bonanza for a pilot working toward a complex/HP endorsement.
• Backcountry (2): Low-wing retractable; not built for unimproved strips.
• Business Travel (6): 150 KTAS is respectable for 225 hp but well behind the 285-hp 33s and 36-series.
• Aerobatics (1): Utility category on most serials; not certificated for intentional spins on this block (E33C, a different variant, is the acrobatic exception).
• Cross-Country (8): The straight tail's wider CG envelope (see the A36 page's own comparison: 4.6 in. for the F33A against 2.3 in. for the V35B — this earlier straight-tail line shares the F33A's wing and tail geometry) makes it an easier loading proposition than a V-tail of the same era.
• Cargo Hauling (3): Four to five seats, structural baggage limited.
• Local Fun Flying (8): Light on the controls, honest handling, none of the V-tail's Dutch-roll character.
• Surveying (4): Low wing, retractable gear, moderate speed.

Same pattern as the V-tail siblings: original round-gauge panels are common on unmodified examples; a GTN/G5-class IFR retrofit is a five-figure project relative to the airframe's own value. American Bonanza Society is the primary type-specific resource.

Per runbook rule 32:

• IO-520 conversion, per Aviation Consumer: "One popular one is converting to an IO-550 engine, for which a number of STCs exist" — bringing a 225-hp 35-33/A33/B33/C33 up to 285-hp-or-better performance.
• Tip tanks, common across the Bonanza line generally.

No specific STC number or verified performance delta was confirmed against an FAA record for this pass, so none is recorded in stc_variants.

• Parts: good, per Aviation Consumer — "there doesn't seem to be any problem getting parts, as long as you brace yourself" (on price).
• Mechanic familiarity: common.
• Engine overhaul: $48,000 (IO-470) per reference/engine-overhaul-pricing.md.

Asking price, 8 September 2026 — Controller.com's "33 DEBONAIR" facet (raw/market/market-debonair-pre-f33a-2026-09-08.md) returns exactly one priced listing: a 1960 Model 35-33 (the earliest, lowest-weight variant on this page) at $175,000. Vref/Bluebook subscription-gated, Trade-A-Plane HTTP 403.

This is a thin, single-listing sample, flagged explicitly here and in the confidence note rather than presented as a deep market. Aviation Consumer's 2003 valuation commentary was not used for dollar figures (2003 prices, excluded per runbook rule 27's perishability principle).

From the FAA Dynamic Regulatory System (raw/tcds/faa-ad-bonanza-33-35-36-2026-09-07.md):

• AD 95-04-03 (current) — wing front spar carry-through frame, 500-hour repetitive inspection. Aviation Consumer's account of the part number matches the certificate exactly: "Beech kit part is P/N 35-4016-3" is TCDS 3A15's own equipment Item 622, "Structural modification per Beech Drawing 35-4016."
• AD 93-24-03 (current) — rudder forward spar assembly and centre hinge, 500-hour repetitive. Applies to the 33-series (this page's whole run) — unlike the V-tail siblings, which have no rudder forward spar at all.

No V-tail ruddervator AD applies to this page. The straight tail is the single largest structural difference from the V-tail Bonanzas of the same era, and Aviation Consumer frames it plainly: the conventional tail was the Debonair's whole reason for existing.

Common problems, per Aviation Consumer: costly parts ("a prop spinner back plate from Beech costs an astonishing $2000"), an aft-shifting CG as fuel burns, and the "backwards" gear-on-right/flaps-on-left control arrangement that is opposite most of the rest of the industry.

Per GA Insurance Underwriting. No V-tail surcharge applies to this straight-tail line. No hull-value-specific quote was sourced this pass; typical_hull_insurance_annual_usd left unset rather than carried forward unsourced.