Hello all! Today I finally closed on my purchase of a 1977 A36 and I'm excited! I'll be even more excited when I get to fly it home after a few repairs.
When my wife and I started talking about having a third child, she mentioned whether we'd need to get a minivan. My response: "Nah, they can all scrunch up in the back seat. But I'm going to have to figure out what to do about a PLANE!" (I've just been renting Skyhawks).
Nearly a year and a half ago, I asked for advice here - see
https://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=121658. Since I have never owned a plane before, and have flown only Skyhawks and the occasional small Cherokee, I wound up hiring Bob Stephens to help me out. This was a great move. Bob gave me some financial advice back then, and I took it to heart and started saving up for various needs. Meanwhile, I had my third child - and once I had time to start thinking about planes, I found a local pilot with an A36 who volunteered to take me up for a ride in it.
You all may not have known it -- I haven't posted here since 2016 -- but your encouragement helped a lot. Also having the ABS folks around was a part of my decision to go with a Bonanza.
In mid-August, I called Bob back and said I'm ready to start the search. We did, and found a candidate plane a lot sooner than I expected. We worked through some issues found in pre-buy (that will be corrected now), various paperwork snarls, etc. Whew. The entire process consumed over 300 emails with Bob. Very helpful understanding various aspects of the process, how to understand the value of the plane, etc.
Now the fun starts! How will I heat the plane in the winter? How will I modify my lawn mower so it can be a tug? Do I leave the keys in the plane or take them with me while it's in the community hangar waiting for a T-hangar to come available? (Heck, do I just leave it in the community hangar, which is heated, or not; I've been warned about "hangar rash" in those.)
I've been eagerly looking at maps, imagining where we might go in the A36. My older boys (3rd and 5th grades) are eager to ride in the back and enjoy all that room.
Thanks to Ron Timmermans, the CFI that will be flying it back home with me, for gently twisting my arm to get me to the ABS convention in Wichita (not far from where I live). It was wonderful to meet so many other Bonanza owners and hear from others that used it as a family plane.
I'm looking forward to making many happy memories in the years to come.
Thanks everyone!