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Aircraft model

BEECH 35-B33

Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.

The Debonair, Beechcraft's conventional-tail Bonanza, introduced in 1960 for customers who wanted the aeroplane without the V-tail. Mechanically it is a Bonanza with a normal fin and tailplane and, in early years, a plainer interior. The B33 of 1963 has 225 hp, cruises at 160 knots and carries 1,255 lb.

It is the sensible choice for anyone who likes the Bonanza but not the V-tail's structural history, and it escapes the ruddervator attachment airworthiness directive entirely — a genuine advantage that is reflected in the fact that straight-tail Bonanzas generally sell for slightly more than equivalent V-tails. Everything else about ownership is the same: a Continental IO-470 that costs real money at overhaul, Beech parts prices, retractable gear maintenance, and 13 to 14 gallons an hour. Insurance requires complex and high-performance endorsements and a Bonanza transition course. The Debonair name was dropped in 1968 when the model became simply the Bonanza 33.

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What it is

Seats4
Landing geartricycle
Engines1
EngineContinental IO-470-K
Horsepower225 hp
Fuel100LL
Certification basisCAR3
Production start1963
Production end1964
Endorsements requiredcomplex;high-performance

Performance

Cruise speed160 KTAS
Range700 nm
Service ceiling17,800 ft
Climb rate960 ft/min
Stall speed (Vso)51 KCAS
Takeoff over 50 ft1,300 ft
Landing over 50 ft1,200 ft

Load and fuel

Seats4
Useful load1,255 lb
Full-fuel payload955 lb
Max takeoff weight3,000 lb
Empty weight1,745 lb
Usable fuel50 gal
Fuel burn at cruise12.6 gal/h

Cost of ownership

Price, low$70,000
Price, high$150,000
Prices as of2026
Engine TBO1,500 h
Overhaul cost, low$42,000
Overhaul cost, high$58,000

The fleet and its record

Registered, all time383
Active fleet290
Median year built1963.0
NTSB events, last 10 years8
Fatal events, last 10 years2
Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years27.591
Personal-flying events per 1,000 active27.592
Ownership transfers, last 24 months56
Transfers per 100 active19.313
Airworthiness directives7
Directives, last 5 years0
Rate confidenceok
  1. Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 290 active.
  2. Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 290 active.
  3. Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 290 active.

Peer scores6

Peer classFixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats
Accident record4.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1
Severity2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2
Access2.6 of 103
Support6.3 of 104
Liquidity4.3 of 105
Overall (sum of the categories shown)20.1 out of 506
  1. Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
  2. Severity: class median 12.5.
  3. Access: class median 775.
  4. Support: class median 147.5.
  5. Liquidity: class median 19.9.
  6. Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.
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