AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 78

Number built

More than

17,000 all variants

9,300 all variants
Centurion

Bonanza

better balanced and harmonized. It's also
got a big cabin door so it's easy to load and
unload mountain bikes and other bulky
gear that I like to take on trips. It's got
exceptional speed and range, and the view
outside gives me the feeling of being connected to the sky-not the ground."
The San Diego club bought the two
airplanes, and keeps them, and upgrades
them, for the same reasons as other owners.
Among single-engine, six-seat, non-turbo
IFR travelers, these airplanes are the best
of their breed.
Club members are charged the same
hourly rate for each airplane-and the two
airplanes fly about the same amount each
month. Their engines also use the same
spark plugs and oil, and club officials say
total maintenance costs and dispatch reliability are about the same.

78 | AOPA PILOT December 2017

So, which of these IO-550-powered
gems is the better performer? Does the
Bonanza or Centurion take off shorter,
cruise faster, or land shorter? We put
them to a side-by-side fly-off, and here
are the surprising results.
ON THE GROUND

Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport
in Thermal, California, is 115 feet below
sea level-and that's where we've come
for this contest. The airplanes taxi to
the self-service fuel pump and we match
PRICE
Aircraft valuation service Vref estimates a price of $240,000 for the
Bonanza and $180,000 for the Centurion with the club's modifications.

their fuel loads with an even 60 gallons
of avgas in each airplane. Two pilots
of about the same combined weight
are flying each aircraft, and there's no
baggage.
The first side-by-side test is a shortfield takeoff, and the airplanes stop
wing-tip-to-wing-tip on Runway 35.
This looks like a standard formation
takeoff, but it's not. It's a drag race. And
the point of the exercise is to see which
airplane gets off the ground in a shorter
distance.
At the Bonanza pilot's signal, the two
pilots bring the engines up to full power
and hold the brakes. Then the pilots
release the brakes at the same moment
and the two airplanes surge forward.
The Centurion, with its engine turning
2,700 rpm, accelerates faster and leaps
off the ground sooner. The difference
in takeoff rolls is about 50 feet, or just
under two airplane lengths-but the
winner is clear. Advantage Centurion.
Next, the pilots prepare their airplanes for short-field landings. There's
a steady, quartering headwind of about
five knots. Both pilots use full flaps and
do an admirable job of hitting their
aiming points on the runway, but the



AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 8
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 36
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 41
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 43
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 48
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 79
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover4
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