Beech Bonanza 36

Overview

The Beechcraft Bonanza G36 is the final, glass-cockpit evolution of the Model 36 Bonanza, a six-seat single-engine high-performance retractable whose lineage traces to the original V-tail Bonanza of 1947. Introduced in 2006 as the Garmin G1000 successor to the A36, it pairs the long-bodied, club-seating Model 36 cabin with a 300-horsepower Continental IO-550-B and the refined control harmony that has defined the Bonanza name for three generations of pilots.

Built to the more demanding Utility category structural standard, the G36 has long been regarded as a benchmark for build quality among piston singles. Current aircraft carry the Garmin G1000 NXi suite with electronic stability protection (ESP), a GI 275 electronic standby, and integrated carbon-monoxide detection. A 2022 update raised maximum takeoff weight by 155 pounds to 3,805 lb, lifting useful load to 1,213 lb in the standard six-seat configuration and easing the payload-versus-fuel compromise that has always shadowed the type.

The Bonanza holds the record as the longest continuously produced aircraft in history, with more than 18,000 built across 79 years. That era is now closing: in November 2025 Textron Aviation announced it would end production of both the Bonanza and the Beechcraft Baron once the existing order backlog is filled, making late-production G36s the last of a line that began in 1947.

Key Features for GA Buyers

• Garmin G1000 NXi glass cockpit. High-resolution displays, electronic stability protection, SurfaceWatch runway awareness, and a GI 275 electronic standby on current aircraft.
• Utility-category structure. Certified to higher structural standards than most Normal-category competitors, a longstanding marker of the Bonanza’s build quality.
• Six-seat club cabin. A genuine cabin-class layout for a piston single, with an aft double door that eases loading of passengers and bags.
• Benchmark handling. Crisp, well-harmonized controls and reassuring stability in turbulence, long considered among the best-flying singles ever built.
• Strong useful load. The 2022 gross-weight increase lifted useful load to 1,213 lb, broadening its practicality as a four-to-six-seat traveler.

Trade-offs

• Aft CG sensitivity. Like all Model 36 variants, it demands careful weight and balance; the center of gravity migrates rearward as fuel burns off.
• High-performance running costs. Retractable gear and the 300 hp IO-550-B put maintenance and insurance in line with other complex high-performance singles, above fixed-gear alternatives.
• Endorsements required. Complex and high-performance endorsements are needed, so it is not an entry-level airplane.
• Premium acquisition cost. New G36s carried a seven-figure price, and clean used examples hold their value accordingly.
• No turbo or pressurization. Normally aspirated and unpressurized, it yields high-altitude cruise efficiency to the turbocharged B36TC and to pressurized cabin-class competitors.

See Also

• Beechcraft Bonanza A36 – the normally-aspirated predecessor the G36 replaced. Compare
• Beechcraft Bonanza B36TC – the turbocharged sibling for high-altitude and hot-and-high operations. Compare
• Cirrus SR22 – the dominant modern competitor, fixed-gear with a whole-airframe parachute. Compare
• Piper M350 – a pressurized cabin-class step-up for higher, longer flying. Compare
• Diamond DA50 RG – a modern composite retractable single with jet-A piston power. Compare