Aircraft model
BEECH F35
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1955 Bonanza, identifiable by the third cabin side window that Beech added this year and kept thereafter. Mechanically it is close to the E35 with a marginally higher gross weight. It remains a 157-knot four-seat retractable that costs less than a tired fixed-gear trainer of half the speed.
As with every early V-tail, the ruddervator attachment airworthiness directive is the first thing to verify and the magnesium control surfaces are the first thing to inspect. The Continental E-series is out of production. The aeroplane itself is beautifully made and handles more lightly than anything from its competitors, which is the attraction and also why insurers want a Bonanza-specific transition course before covering a new owner.
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Put BEECH F35 side by side with up to two other models.
- BEECH F35
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental E-185-11 |
| Horsepower | 185 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1955 |
| Production end | 1955 |
| Endorsements required | complex |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 157 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 600 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,100 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 51 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,300 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,200 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,140 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 900 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,750 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,610 lb |
| Usable fuel | 40 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $82,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,500 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $34,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $48,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 375 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 192 |
| Median year built | 1955.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 36.461 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 36.462 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 37 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 19.273 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 192 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 192 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 192 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 4.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 2.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 0.4 of 103 |
| Support | 5.4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.2 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 17.2 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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.