december 2011 volume 11 • number 12 - American Bonanza Society

www.bonanza.orgAlthough “California” sounds urban, Bishopis a four-hour drive from Reno, Nevada, whichis the closest large city. Fresno is only 90miles away, but it is a five-hour drive in thesummer when the Sierra Nevada passes areopen, and a six-hour drive in the winterwhen those passes are closed. Bishop isarguably the most isolated town in the lower48 states. It is a very good place to have yourown airplane.Over the years, I have owned four air planes: a 1963Ray-Jay turbocharged Mooney Super 21, a 1964 PiperCherokee 235, a 1963 Piper Twin Comanche, and a 1969Penn-Yan 180HP Cessna 172. All were good airplanes,but they also lacked something. So by 1999, it was timeto look for the dream airplane. Although I had flown over50 kinds of airplanes, flown charter, given lots of instruction,and generally lived general aviation, I had neverflown a Beechcraft Bonanza. So my initial thoughts wenttoward a Cessna 210. But after inquiry and research, itbecame clear that although a Cessna 210 does a few thingsbetter than a Bonanza, it just isn’t “a Bonanza.” So mysearch focused on a late 1970s to early 1980s Bonanza. Ithought about a Model 33 or 35, but Sue has some mobilityissues that limit her ability to enter and exit a small plane,so a Model 36 – with its big double doors in the back –fit the bill.I violated a basic rule. I bought the very first airplanethat I looked at: 1979 Beech Bonanza A36 N54DGwith 1379 hours total airframe time, and a newly overhauled,new-limits Western Skyways IO-520BB heavycase,seventh-stud engine. The idea was to buy the bestairplane that I could find, and to spend the next few years“making it perfect.” While this doesn’t make much economicsense , it sure is a lot of fun.I purchased N54DG in Starkville, Mississippi – homeof Mississippi State University. I call her “Miss Mississippi,”although I have not emblazoned her with nose art.She has always lived in dry country: California, Arizona,Colorado, and northern Mississippi. And although shethen sported the same unique green color that she doestoday, the secondary trim color was maroon. And theinterior was maroon and pink!Volume 11 • Number 12 AMERICAN BONANZA SOCIETY 9