Meet OO-AYZ, a beautiful 1973 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza with many upgrades that famously flew twice an around-the-world race (and twice Paris Singapore Paris), before planes were made of plastic and had parachutes...

If you would like to be able to fly comfortably for three hours plus reserve with 6 adults... Read on! This cross-country tiptanked IFR real 6-seater beauty was upgraded to a factory-new 300HP IO-550 and was just treated to a 100k USD avionics upgrade. I am the sole owner and selling as I am looking to upgrade to a pressurised single. Private sale - no VAT added.

Key data:

Airframe: only 3587 hours since new

Engine: 817 hours on FACTORY NEW (not rebuilt) CONTINENTAL IO-550-B

Propellor: 35 hours since overhaul this year on McMauley 3 blade electrically deiced prop

Interior: renewed by the previous owner with beautiful and supple beige leather

Exterior: classic paintscheme (not the original paint):silver with white/blue striping

Maintained under CAMO, based EBAW in Belgium, Europe, all AD s complied with

Avionics: this year, 2024, 100k USD upgrade completed to full glass:

GARMIN G3X primary display with synthetic vision (with AHARS), terrain, ...

Smart Glide switch

GARMIN GFC500 digital autopilot with pitch trim and envelope protection

GARMIN GTN750XI WAAS nav 1/com 1 (with Magnetometer, OAT probe)

GARMIN GNS430 nav 2/com 2 (rebuild in 2022)

GARMIN GMA340 Audio panel

GARMIN GTX330 Transponder (controlled remotely or directly)

GARMIN G5 backup, plus second GARMIN G5 for copilot, 2x with backup battery, flush mounted

JPI EDM930 engine parameters (6 EGT, 6 CHT, ...) and fuel quantity display, flush mounted

WX-8 stormscope

Pneumatic conventional altimeter as second backup

Propeller deice AMP meter

The avionics upgrade yielded 60+ kg gain in removed equipment, obsolete wiring, ... Gone are the complete vacuum system (and its maintenance), the gyro compass system, the flux valve, the heavy and expensive-to-repair KFC200 autopilot servo s, ... The complete aircraft was cleaned-up .

Upgades:

15 gallon (60 liter) D Shannon tiptanks: 104 USG / 395 liter fuel capacity, uprated MTOW

Electrically deiced propellor

Electric pitch trim on the yoke

GAMI injectors

D Shannon cooling air baffles

Main landing gear auxiliary ligths

Aileron and wing flap gap seals

Brackett air filter

LED taxi light

Vortex generators (I tested stall speed as low as 46 kts IAS with flaps and gear down)

Dual controls, copilot PTT switch

Copilot brakes

Repeater landing gear position lights

Glovebox in the dash and handy storage box on the floor between pilot and copilot for checklists, bottles etc, and headsets when parked.

Dashboard (glareshield) newly recovered

6 position headset input/output plugs for 2 crew and 4 pax

Air scoop on pilot s side window

Sunvisors

12V outlet on dash and between pilot seats

Sunscreens for all 9 windows

Control lock

All logs from new
Always hangared
All AD s and bulletins performed

3 new tires
Alternator new from 2022

Bought new by first owner in Germany. Second owner was a famous Belgian surgeon who entered the airplance twice in the Around-the-world race (It ended sixth in one of them), and twice in a race Paris-Singapore-Paris race. Third (previous) owner was 82 years when I bought the aircraft from him, but he still used it regularly. I am a retired Boeing and Airbus captain and the fourth owner. Nobody flies the plane but me.

Being an earlier airframe, this plane is lighter than some new versions of the A36. This means that I can fly the 3 hour trip from North of Belgium to South of France with my family of six: the wife, 2 adult childeren and their 2 partners. Yes, 3 hours plus reserve with 3 normal males and 3 normal females: a real 6-seater.

Here are the data to prove it (airplane weighed in 2024):

Empty weight: 1056 kg / 2328 lbs

Max ramp weight: 1720 kg / 3792 lbs

Payload: 664 kg / 1464 lbs

Payload with full wing tanks (280 liters / 74 USG): 463 kg / 1021 lbs

Payload for 3 hour flight + 1 hour reserve = six 88 kg / 194 lbs adults with their small luggage
(since with 190 liters / 50 USG the payload is 528 kg / 1164 lbs)

The tiptanks come in handy when flying to places with cheap fuel, like the Channel isles of Jersey. Filling up with 395 liters / 104 USG of fuel (allowing maybe 8h30 and 1300 NM of flying, if you want it!) still yields 342 kg / 754 lbs of payload or four 85kg / 187 lbs adults.

As I matter of fact I often fly without the 4 cabin seats (gaining another 29kg / 64 lbs of payload in the process), which turns this aircraft in a flying (luxury) pickup truck, carrying two large electric mountain bikes (or for that matter 250 bottles of french wine). Taking the 4 seats out is a one-minute affair. These are memorable trips: flying to a small mountain airport in the Alps or Pyrennees and getting out two big mountainbikes (yes the batteries are in a fire-proof box). Forget rental cars or public transport - more difficult to do that in a Cirrus...

Only thing she does not have is the aft baggage compartment. If you really want it I might have the STC modification done next january, we can talk about that.

I climb WOT / 2500 RPM / full rich and cruise 23 MAP or WOT / 2300 RPM / LOP. I am not interested in gaining 4 minutes on a 2 hour flight but more in the health of my engine. I NEVER allow a CHT to go above 200 degrees Centigrade / 392 degres Farenheit. Typical eco cruise fuel consuption is 41-42 liter/hour or 11 GPH

The comments on the last oil analysis report (Blackstone laboratories in Fort Wayne, IN, USA) read: ...it appears this engine is being flown and maintained with care. Looks like a nice IO-550.

The vernier-style throttle, prop and mixture controls permit very fine tuning

This A36 is of course fully IFR certified for ILS, WAAS RNAV (or other) approaches which the GFC500 autopilot will fly perfectly stabilised down to the LVP minima.

I find the GFC500 to be an absolute delight. It is like the Airbus A320 autopilot I flew. Its envelope protection is a nice safety feature, as is the LVL button which will immediately put the plane straight and level should one mess up somehow... The SMART GLIDE switch when activated will automatically engage the autopilot to fly to the nearest suitable airport at best glide speed in case of engine failure. Modes are controlled from the autopilot control panel or the G3X. The G3X takes care of the altitude encoding for the transponder. There is a Go Around switch on the panel next to the throttle and also on the yoke.

One can transfer and scroll through saved comm frequencies with switches on the yoke. So save your home base ATIS, GRD, TWR, DEP, APP, ... frequencies once in the GTN750 XI and then switch and transfer frequencies without taking your hand from the yoke. Handy!

I also like the GARMIN G5 s a lot, it too is really a scaled down version of the Airbus primary flight display. One can change QNH or HDG on the G5 or on the G3X and it will automatically change on all displays. Autopilot modes display on all 3 AI s. The copilot s G5 can be switched to HSI presentation if desired.

One of the nicest things of the G3X, apart of the synthetic vision, the terrain awareness, the endless configuration possibilities, and the control of frequencies directly from the screen I find to be the lightning quick bluetooth transfer of info from/to my Ipad (I run Foreflight) to the panel. Construct and file a long IFR flight plan at home, and transfer it in the blink of an eye to the G3X and thus the GTN750XI. Inflight, any changes made on the routing are immediately transferred to your Ipad and vice versa.

I do my IR check on a Diamond DA42 simulator with a GARMIN G1000 non-touch screen, what an absolute horror. Push, turn, push, the large knob, no, the small knob, turn, no push, no, it was enter, oh dear... the G3X / GTN750XI combination is totally in another universe regarding user-friendlyness.

So there she is, my well maintained and low-hours A36. She will carry 6 people or any cargo that goes through the cabin doors and fly economically all day in VMC or IMC, without surprises. Contact me on tom.fabienne@gmail.com or +32 479 235493 (I am on UTC + 1) if you are interested and serious about it. It will be my pleasure to tell you more about this unique aircraft.

Tom

PS We can always talk about / help bringing the aircraft to the USA and/or changing the transponder for an ADSB-compliant unit should an American buyer be interested.