Mountain-high aspirations

Patricia Nistico Weisbart knew the 1963 Beechcraft P35 Bonanza spoke to her—and so she scraped together the funds to buy it, tucking it into a hangar at the Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU) in Colorado. She’d eventually buy a jet charter company to build time in the King Air and Cheyennes. But she kept that pristine V-Tail Bonanza through thick and thin, always hangared in the dry Colorado climate.

Fast-forward to 1998. The Bonanza hadn’t flown in a couple years, so she brought it to Dakota Ridge Aviation at Boulder for an annual and return to service—and she flew with John Weisbart, the owner, to get herself back into the air. The fates aligned, and they married not long after. And about five years ago, after looking at new and used high-performance singles across the spectrum, the couple turned their attention to investing in N9794Y rather than, frankly, getting less capability but spending more money on the used market in a later-model—or new—Bonanza.

The upside? They knew 94Y intimately, and its no-damage history and low total time (less than 2,300 hours) made it a great candidate for a total restoration—to better than new. Plus, it had not suffered any of the issues plaguing the V-tail fleet—namely, the need to replace the magnesium skins on the iconic “ruddervator” tail. Yes, 94Y was clean and ready for princess-level treatment.

New power up front

Many owners choose to bump up the horsepower when pulling the trigger on a big-ticket item like a new engine (around $60,000 plus installation)—and that’s what Pat and John did, opting for the 300-horsepower IO-550-B82B and a new prop governor through AirPower.

Likewise, they chose the D’Shannon Aviation supplemental type certificate (STC) for the three-blade Hartzell Top Prop Scimitar (L3YF) conversion for an extra bit of style—and climb performance. Since they operate most of the time from mile-high destinations (and regularly over the Rocky Mountains), the extra oomph comes into play on every flight. D’Shannon has held a wide range of Continental STCs for decades, with a specialty in Bonanzas.

Other components in the STC package included a new high-performance exhaust assembly, baffle cooling kit, and a 14-volt alternator conversion. New CiES fuel senders, magnetos, and a push-to-start switch add utility to the powerplant interface.

Panel perfect

In the flight deck, it’s clear that the Weisbarts thought through how they have used the airplane in the past, and where they hope to fly in the future. John, a longtime instructor, has specialized in delivering bespoke instrument training courses, taking a pilot on a long cross-country trip to accumulate the IFR training needed to log for the ticket, but also the real-world experience in the system that pilots find incredibly useful. So, he had thoughts and feelings about what he wanted to install to get the most from their airplane.

Starting with a clean sheet—and going into a new one-piece STS instrument panel—they opted for a full Garmin setup, with dual G3X 10.6-inch and 7-inch displays, driven by a GTN 650Xi GPS nav/com and engine indicating system. A second radio—the GNC 215 nav/com—plus a GI 275 electronic standby instrument provide redundancy, and a GFC 500 digital autopilot smoothly translates the navigator’s commands into action. There’s even a go-around switch on the yoke, and another panel-mounted button to initiate Garmin’s Smart Glide functionality for emergencies.

The Weisbarts liked the idea of keeping the panel as uncluttered as possible, so they had Advanced Aero Systems install the GMA 245R remote audio panel and GTX 345R remote transponder with ADS-B In and Out. A new blade-style antenna mounted under the ruddervator optimizes for the best nav reception.

The couple stays connected and updated with Garmin Connext and Flight Stream 510—and powered up with dual GSB15 USB power ports. LEMO jacks up front complement the dual headset jacks in the two rear seats. The pilot’s yoke features push-to-talk, trim, and autopilot disconnect switches, while the co-pilot’s yoke has PTT alone.

More safety items borne from the couple’s long-term operating experience? A carbon monoxide detector wired to the G3X for alerting, and connectivity to their Apple Watches for blood oxygen saturation—critical for flights at the altitudes the couple normally flies. They also chose to install a B&C standby alternator as a backup for all the magic up front.

A few key items stayed original, though—namely the wind-up clock on the panel, and the whiskey compass, which has a new glareshield mount. And the iconic Beechcraft logo on the yokes—the Bo wouldn’t be the same without that detail. As for the power quadrant, they updated the throttle, prop, and mixture knobs with color-coded vernier-style controls—metallic bronze, blue, and red, respectively.

Elements of style

The couple loved the retro style of the original paint scheme as well as the colorways found in the interiors of the 1960s, so they allowed both to inform their choices when it came time to select the exterior and interior updates on 94Y.

That meant sticking with the outlines of the design with which the V-tail left the factory at Beech Field in 1963—and coming as closely as possible to matching the paint colors, since some of those actual vintage paints were no longer available. Fortunately, the base color, Matterhorn White, is still ubiquitous across the GA fleet, not just in Beech piston aircraft. They matched the teal in the split base color, and added the brown accent striping. All paint, placards, and markings—including new wing root seals—were applied by Randy Hayes of Hayes Aviation in Akron, Colorado. Hayes has been in the business for 49 years—and he mixed the paint on site to match the codes John and Pat had commissioned in Grand Junction, Colorado, by Hightower Supply.

The result shined like a mirror in the Colorado sun when we took it out for photo work in mid-August, popping against the dramatic mountain background of the Flatirons and the Indian Peaks Wilderness northwest of Boulder. You could almost see the morning light glint off of the new stainless-steel fasteners on the cowl and airframe.

Inside, the all-new leather interior, carpet, and headliner was produced and installed by Candido Cervantes, of C&C Custom Aircraft Interiors in Greeley, Colorado. For the seats, they chose a rich saddle-brown leather, with the Beechcraft logo embossed on the headrests. The side panels are now a luxurious cream and brown, with a cream headliner to add to the feeling of spaciousness in the cabin. BAS seatbelts and harnesses upgrade from the original spec for better protection, and Knots2U door and window seals—plus deluxe interior soundproofing from SoundEx—made for a very quiet ride.

The details matter

From the refurbished Beechcraft logo on the fuselage aft of the wing to the modern exterior lighting, the details make this restoration stand out. The Weisbarts plan to move the airplane up to Rifle, Colorado, and prepared for the no-lie winters in the high country with a new Reiff engine preheat system complete with oil cooler, oil sump, and cylinder bands.

The couple replaced the windows and windshield with LP Aero Plastics components in 3/8-inch-thick Solar Grey to combat against the fierce high-altitude sun, along with nifty Rosen sun visors. Dimmable white and red LED flood lights illuminate the flight deck at night, while AeroLED position, wingtip, and tail strobe lights, LED beacon on top of fuselage, and pulse light landing and taxi lights include a landing light on the main gear.

John estimates that all told, the couple put $350,000 into the overhaul of their aerial family member. And the beauty is more than skin deep: They see an added 20 knots in cruise, primarily the result of the engine upgrade and tuning under the cowl, but also in the cleanup of the airframe. Net empty weight change was 88 pounds. All told, the changes add up to an airplane that looks fresh off the factory floor, yet flies like an old friend.

It’s all those details that set the rebirth of 94Y apart—and made the investment worthwhile.

Julie Boatman is an editor, flight instructor, and author/content creator. She holds an airline transport pilot certificate with Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation Mustang type ratings.