Used Airplane Report: Bonanza vs. Baron

FLYING Staff

Friday, June 16, 2006 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

V-tail Bonanza or Baron?

Key Takeaways:

Used 1975 V35B Bonanzas and B55 Barons have converged in retail price, though newer Barons (e.g., 1982 models) still command a higher price than their Bonanza counterparts, with Bonanzas retaining a higher percentage of their original new value.
Barons offer superior performance, payload, and are more likely to have advanced equipment like radar and ice protection, making them attractive for pilots needing increased capability and predictability, especially in IFR conditions.
Despite performance advantages, Barons face lower demand and longer sales times due to significantly higher operational costs, stricter multi-engine training, and more expensive insurance requirements compared to Bonanzas.

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In the February 1975 issue of Flying, I wrote a story comparing a new Bonanza with a used Baron of about the same value. Either a new Bonanza or a four- or five-year-old Baron rang in at just under $100,000 at that time. (A B55 Baron sold for about 65 percent more than a V35B Bonanza, new, in 1975.) Now the airplanes are 31 years older, the times are different, and Aircraft Bluebook shows a 1975 V35B Bonanza to have an average retail of $132,000 as compared with $135,000 for a B55 Baron of the same vintage. In other words, the price differential for airplanes of the same age has evaporated with time. A 1975 E55 Baron, with 285-hp engines instead of 260s, as in the B55, has an average retail of $155,00.

There are no two better airplanes to compare as a single or a twin. The Baron is truly a “twin” Bonanza, though a larger airplane, the Model 50, flew with that name. The first twin with a smaller body was the Travel Air, which was a Bonanza with the power provided by two four-cylinder engines of 180 hp each. Then came the Baron, the body of a Bonanza with two of the engines from the single, which, at that time, were 260s. Doubling the power is still done today with the new G36 Bonanzas and G58 Barons, both with longer fuselages than the Bonanzas and Barons of old that we are talking about here.