Beechcraft Bonanza

what is it?

The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The four-to-six seat, single-engined aircraft has been in continuous production longer than any other aircraft in history. More than 18,000 Bonanzas of all variants, and over 6,000 twin-engined derivatives, have been built.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 10.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 326 km/hcruise speed
• range 1,326 kmwithout refuelling
• size 1,656 kgmax take-off weight
• built 18,525made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 81 years ago, in 1945.
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.2 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,326 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1945-12-22

introduced

1947

status

still flying

number built

18,525

role

civil utility aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Beechcraft

engines

1× Continental IO-550-B / reciprocating engine

length

8.4 m

wingspan

10.2 m

height

2.6 m

max take-off weight

1,656 kg

top speed

—

cruise speed

326 km/h

range

1,326 km

ceiling

5,639 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.