Any Bonanza with tips would be the ticket for 800nm trips. I wish you well in your search. BT is the right place to be looking!

phil,
when you decide and buy be sure to get one with 15 or 20 gal. tip tanks already installed that will give you 800 nm with fuel to spare.
welcome and best of luck.

I have alot of time in C182's over the years and owned my F33C for about 5 years. I have a feeling of affection for both. You could add tanks to the 182 correct? The Bonanza is going to be more expensive to maintain, IMO, approximately a third more. However, you are likely to burn less fuel in the F33 or V35 on those longer trips if you operate LOP and will gain 30kts.

There is no question you would be happy with an F33 or a V tail. However, you will always love your 182 no matter what. I bet you are at the point where you know what it does, it knows what you do and it is simple comfortable travel. It's just the way it goes. You wife would love the Bo's, very solid and comfortable as well.

Welcome.

Welcome Phil......where in Ohio?

I fly my V35A from Dallas to Erie PA once or twice a year, crossing OH from SW to NE. With 80 gallons in the 2 x 40 gall wing tanks (74 usable), I can't quite make it non-stop from central TX (900 nm), but I could make it to the Cincinnati area. Trouble is while my daytime VFR range is around 780 to 800, my personal comfort level and bladder range both require one refueling stop somewhere. I plan on about 450 nm each leg (3 hours) and stop in KY or MO.

Running LOP, I usually cruise around 160 kts on 12 gall/hr (21", 2300 rpm, WOT at 10,000' in the summer). I can go faster or more economically, but this seems to be a good compromise. For local flights, I often bring it all the way down to 18/19" and 2100 RPM, burning about 8 gall/hr at 120/130 kts - less than my old Sundowner.

Tom,

I could argue that the Bonanza is minimal more to maintain than the 182... per mile. The only additional item is the gear, and with minimal maintenance, it is pretty trouble free.

I've enjoyed my 182 time, good plane, but limited in performance for long cross countries. I moved from a 172 to a Bonanza years ago, and my total operating cost per mile went down.

Also, a Bonanza will rival a 182 in short field, maybe not beat it, but at the same weight will do just as good.

Larry, I am different than every other BT'er. My Beechcraft go slower, use more fuel and cost more to own than anyone else. So, I am probably not a good resource on these issues.

Conrad,
We usually fly into 3G4, Ashland. We lived in Wadsworth for 20 years prior to moving to Florida.

Phil

Tom,
There's no question our 182 is a known, comfortable ride. We've owned it for 20 years and over those years we've made it our own with multiple tweaks from avionics to interiors (Air Mod) and paint. I've done A&P supervised maintenance on it for all of those years and know every inch of it. Yes, we could add tanks to it and even add a bigger engine but none of that gains us any altitude capability that a turbo does. I'm looking to add more tools to our aviation toolbox. Regardless of what we purchase next, I expect a slight increase in maintenance costs related to additional systems ( retractable gear, turbo) but a very small decrease in direct cost per mile. In the end, we'd like to have the option to go far and high if that's what the trip dictates. I'm sue we'll miss our 182 when it gets replaced, it's a great ride.

Thanks for the welcome!

Phil