When my wife and I were shopping for an airplane last summer we checked out a Beech A36 Bonanza whose owner reminded us that it would be a big jump from our rented Cessna 172. “The Bonanza is a lot of airplane,” he said. “You’ll need training.”
I remember bristling a bit and thinking, “Doesn’t this guy know that I have my complex and high-performance endorsements?” Something about his tone seemed to suggest I lacked the right stuff necessary to handle an aircraft with retractable landing gear, a constant speed propeller, and 200-plus hp. In fact, he was simply telling the truth.
