Beech Baron 55 vs Beech Bonanza A36

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs for up to 5 aircraft.

Aircraft

Search for an aircraft above to begin your comparison.

Mission Performance

Tap to isolate

Values normalised across compared aircraft. Fuel Economy is inverted (lower burn = higher score). See table below for raw figures.

Mission Performance Details

Metric Beech Baron 55 Beechcraft Beech Bonanza A36 Beechcraft
Stall Speed 79 kts 62 kts
Approach Speed 90 kts 80 kts
Cruise Speed 188 kts 169 kts
Range 933 nm 760 nm
Service Ceiling 19,300 ft 18,500 ft
Rate of Climb 1,693 fpm 1,015 fpm
Fuel Burn 24.0 gph 15.0 gph

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Beech Baron 55 Avgas
24.0 gph
baseline
933 nm range 136 gal usable 5h 40m endurance 7.8 nm/gal $156 fuel/hr
Beech Baron 55: 24.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 933 nautical mile published range, 5 hour 40 minute endurance, 7.8 nautical miles per gallon.
Beech Bonanza A36 Avgas
15.0 gph
−9.0 gph
760 nm range 74 gal usable 4h 56m endurance 11.3 nm/gal $98 fuel/hr
Beech Bonanza A36: 15.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 760 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 56 minute endurance, 11.3 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
Beech Baron 55Avgas
$250 /hr
Beech Baron 55: $250 per flight hour — fuel $156, maintenance and reserve $94.
Beech Bonanza A36Avgas
$185 /hr
Beech Bonanza A36: $185 per flight hour — fuel $98, maintenance and reserve $87.
Beech Baron 55 Piston
$14,500 /yr
Beech Baron 55: $14,500 per year — insurance $4,500, hangar $6,000, annual inspection $4,000.
Beech Bonanza A36 Piston
$10,900 /yr
Beech Bonanza A36: $10,900 per year — insurance $3,000, hangar $5,400, annual inspection $2,500.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each
1
Beech Baron 55
6 / 6 seats 136 / 136 gal fuel 1,048 lb wet payload 1,864 lb useful 5,100 lb MTOW
Beech Bonanza A36
6 / 6 seats 74 / 74 gal fuel 961 lb wet payload 1,405 lb useful 3,650 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Beech Baron 55
37.8 × 28.0 ft 9.6 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Unpressurized
Beech Bonanza A36
33.5 × 27.5 ft 8.6 ft tall
1× Piston Retractable Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · two fingers to move map

Cookies and analytics. We use Mixpanel and Google Analytics to understand how this site is used. Mixpanel records session replays (interaction patterns, scroll, and click timing). Page content is masked: we do not see what you read or type. Cookies are set only if you accept. Read our privacy policy.