I know there are some BCP'ers that should have some time in one of these, I would like to here some pro's and cons, and what I should be looking for if I find one that is the right $ amount . Pretty rugged and roomy!
As I understand these have some of the best landing gear for rough fields?
I've quite a bit of time in an 18 but none at all in either of these. An 18 would work but just to much gas anymore!!
2-4 people and a bunch of gear! Heavy stuff like tool boxes, Hyd Cylinders?
Thanks GT

If you don't hear from any of these folks on here, let me know, I can email a buddy in Alaska that owns and flies a Tbone.

Probably some more second - hand useless info that you already know, but here goes:

A friend looked into a Queen Air a couple years ago to replace a Baron for a 135 operation. You are right, the gear is awesome, same as a King Air. The one that seemed to have better resale/reviews is the Excaliber conversion with the IO720 engines. In general, the Beechcraft parts are expensive, more than Cessna. I can give you a phone number if you'd like to talk to him. He did the homework.

I would think you would be able to steal one with the market on piston twins what it is. Seems like it would be a great hauler.

Oh yes, the friend wrecked the Baron, and gave up the idea of the Queen Air, so no first hand report.

gb

You hit a real soft spot here with me, I have a bout 600 hours in T-bones, and don't recall one that I didn't enjoy. Rugged, clasic lines, great performance and just plain sweet. there are some decent buys out there now, even one on e bay. problem is they burn a bit much gas for us that are financially challanged, but I'd have one in a minute if I could, and might some day................

GT
I imagine you'd have checked into operating costs, how does the O/H costs compare between those GOs and R985s? I've always heard that those GOs are in the stratosphere.

Jack

I've flown the tbone a bit, and it is very nice, but they do burn a lot of fuel, and overhauls are pricey on both the engines and props, and beech parts in general are more.

If it was me, I would buy an Aztec. It will beat most aircraft that are classed as "stol", and is cheap and safe.

GT:

If you are interested in TBones, there is a book you should get. Can't recall the name of the book, but it is written by Dick Ward and will answer all your questions and more. Dick was a long time TBone pilot that died last year. As pointed out earlier in the post, you can get one with the 400hp Lyc. and the geared engines (some supercharged). Dick does a good job of going through the various models and options that were available. I think his book is advertised on Barnstormers (just go through the TBone section). If you can't find it there, the Beach society would probably have a copy.

I would highly recommend getting in touch with someone who knows what they are doing around TBones, if you are intent on buying one. There are some really good deals and there are some money pits.

I have not owned a TBone, but have been around them some and they are awesome airplanes. They are tough and I believe that there has been almost no structural failures in them (the book details that). I know of one plane that was based out of a grass field (read pasture conditions), and it did fine. If you get one with the airstair door configuration, you can actually get up and move around the cabin during flight. They also have a great useful load capacity. If you get the supercharged engines or the 400hp Lycomings, they have pretty good single engine altitude capabilities. They are very straight forward and a very good platform for single engine IFR.

That said, your fuel burn will not be a whole lot less than a D18 (some but not a lot). The T Bone and the D18 will cruise about the same. Operational costs will also probably be slightly less, but I wouldn't count on them being a lot less. Parts are actually more available for the geared engines than you might think, but they aren't cheap.

Final comment, if you do go with the geared engines, you have to treat them right. They don't take as much abuse as a nongeared engine. The book goes through this in pretty good detail.

In the final analysis, my suggestion would be to fly less and do it behind the round engines!! You just can't beat the roar of those radials and I have seen some pretty good deals on D18s lately.

Happy hunting!!

Bemidji Air here in MN runs a fleet of 720 powered Queen Airs for UPS Overnight throughout the state. They have beat to a pulp military versions (straight tail) and swept tail civilian birds. They run them hard and put them away wet. (never sit inside except when undergoing maintenance) Day after day after day after day... good solid airplane and a very high dispatch rate. The mechanics for them are even happier now that they no longer have any narrow deck 720's in the fleet (last one ate itself a year ago upon power reduction coming into Brainerd.)

And though I agree with the round engine noise... twin IO-720's running full bore with a load really sounds pretty too.






Queen Air in the background

Twin Bonanza,

I picked up a donated one for a humanitarian charity, for which I do volunteer flying. What a sweet flying old bird. It is former U.S. Army, owned for 20 years by a surgeon from Long Island, NY. It is a solid airplane that needs tender loving care. The airplane is undergoing an annual right now and can be had for a very modest price.

Email me at [email protected] if you want further information.

Bob