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The Beech 36 Bonanza is a single-engined, low wing, six-seat light cabin aircraft with a retractable tricycle landing gear.
In 1968, Beech Aircraft Corporation introduced a stretched version of the Model 35 Bonanza, with six seats, a conventional
tail like that on the eight-year-old Debonair (redubbed 33 Bonanza that same year) and an aft set of doors. The Beechcraft
Model 35 Bonanza was an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas.
The original Model 36 was an enlarged development of the Model 35 equipped with a six-cylinder Continental IO-520-B engine
producing 285 HP and swinging a two-blade prop. The stretch of the fuselage was accomplished by adding 10 inches to the fuselage
of a Model 33 Bonanza: the Model 33 design itself used the Model 35 Bonanza fuselage, a similar wing with blunted tips and a single
fin/rudder in place of the V-tail. So, the Model 36 was not an all-new airplane but a further development of the 1947 Model 35 Bonanza.
The length was added in such a way that the cabin moved forward, relative to the wing. Empty weight rose only 31 pounds. More than
4,000 Model 36 Bonanza aircraft are built to date.
The ICAO Aircraft Type Designator for the Beech 36 Bonanza is BE36.
On 8 February 1980,
the Beech Aircraft Corporation became a subsidiary of the Raytheon Company, the aircraft were therefore also known as Raytheon Beech. In 2006,
Raytheon sold Raytheon Aircraft to Goldman Sachs creating Hawker Beechcraft. The entry into bankruptcy of Hawker Beechcraft on 3 May 2012 ended
with its emergence on 16 February 2013 as a new entity: Beechcraft Corporation.Model 36 Bonanza variants are:
- 36 — First production model: revised utility aircraft with similar tail to Model 33 with 25 cm fuselage stretch, four cabin windows each side, starboard rear double doors and seats for six, one 285 hp Continental IO-520-B engine, 184 built..
- A36 — Model 36 with improved deluxe interior, a new fuel system, higher takeoff weight, from 1984 fitted with a Continental IO-550-BB engine and redesigned instrument panel and controls, 2128 built.
- A36TCM — Model 36 with a three-bladed propeller and a 300 hp turbocharged Continental TSIO-520-UB engine, 280 built.
- T36TC — A36 fitted with T-tail and a 325 hp Continental TSIO-520 engine, one built.
- B36TC — A36TC with longer span wing, increased range, redesigned instrument panel and controls, higher takeoff weight, 116 built.
- G36 — Last production version, G36 (2006–present) – glass cockpit update of the A36 with the Garmin G1000 system.
- QU-22 — For the USAF the QU-22 was developed: modified from the civilian Beech Model 36 Bonanza under the Pave Eagle II program,
the QU-22B was to be an unmanned airborne relay for the Igloo White operation during the Southeast Asia War. Igloo White placed and monitored sensors
to detect traffic along the main enemy supply line, the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The 27 QU-22Bs delivered to the U.S. Air Force contained several changes for
military service. The QU-22B carried a large generator above the engine to power its electronic equipment and additional fuel in extended wing tip tanks
for increased range. Its remote control equipment allowed the QU-22B to be flown directly by an onboard pilot or as an unmanned drone.
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