There may be more exotic 1984 Bonanzas out there, but none
are better cared for than that of Lorne Sheren, president of the
American Bonanza Society.
One Man’s Bonanza
A gradual refurbishment
BY MARK PHELPS
DR. LORNE SHEREN HAS owned four Beechcraft Bonanzas. He particularly favors the factory turbocharged models. His current ride is a
very attractive 1984 B36TC, which he uses to commute between
work responsibilities in West Virginia and an active aviation medical
practice in New Jersey. His Bonanza also serves as a flying SUV for
his children’s college tours, summer camp drop-off/pick-up, and
family vacation trips. Lorne says he can prove it’s possible to fit more
“stuff” into his Bonanza than you can into a Chevy Suburban. This is
a hard-working personal airplane.
Lorne is quick to say his isn’t what you’d peg as the ultimate
example of a Beechcraft. “I have friends with much more exotic
Bonanzas; glass cockpits and many more updates,” he protests. True,
Lorne still flies by steam gauges, and one of his transponders (okay, it
is the backup) is an old-fashioned Bendix/King KT76 with mechanical numbers showing in windows rather than ones that light up. But
all you have to do is look at this airplane to see it’s pretty sharp, and
worthy of note for a few more reasons.
First, Lorne is the current president of the American Bonanza
Society (ABS)—arguably the largest, most active, organized, and pro-
fessional of any type club. With more than 10,000 members relying
on him, Lorne takes his role as president seriously. In a recent article
for the ABS magazine, Lorne discussed the importance of ABS con-
stituents maintaining and updating their aircraft to the highest
standards. He wrote, “You, as the pilot of a Beechcraft, have a
personal responsibility to maintain the
Beech legacy that has been passed down
to you.”
He makes the further point that keeping
the Beech fleet flying is an economic respon-
sibility, too. The less attrition there is among
the Bonanza fleet, the more incentive there
is for commercial entities to provide parts
and service, and for repair shops to retain
maintenance expertise. With so few new
Bonanzas being built at the factory, it falls to
owners of older airplanes to keep theirs in
the sky to maintain critical mass.
