Beechcraft Bonanza, 1947

As you might have noticed, certain design philosophies coalesced into an end game, a combining of features to create the product buyers wanted. In the case of the Bonanza, the ultimate post-war traveling machine, that meant all-metal design, tricycle landing gear, top-of-the-line avionics, and a smaller, opposed-configuration engine and electrically adjustable prop for great economy, good forward speed and less-expensive maintenance. Oh, and there was that V-tail, too, which, despite a few flaws, gave the Bonanza a certain modernistic look that set it apart. If all of that sounds special, it was, and is. The Bonanza---that first model, the V-35 of 1947---was the start of a production run of Bonanzas that has continued unabated for more than 70 years.