Can we please stop hotlinking pics?

It's not cheating, it's creative interpretation.

914Driver said:

Got that from the Death Stairs site, or have you been to visit Frenchy?

None of the above.   Swiped it from a blog.

I don't know why, the the Beechcraft Bonanza is called the "V Tailed Doctor Killer".

914Driver said:

I don't know why, the the Beechcraft Bonanza is called the "V Tailed Doctor Killer".

They were the goto purchase for lots of doctors with pilots licenses and the combined elevator/rudder (ruddervators) behavior caught some low hours pilots out with not-quite-normal reaction behaviors. That resulted in a number of crashes. They were fairly high performance for the time and like some car brands became a prestige signal.

A friend had one for several years and loved it. He has lots of hours in stuff that is much higher performance. The combination of maintenance and low use were the final reason for the sale.

I think this pic should be a meme.

Gary said:

I think this pic should be a meme.

The original promotion from Tampax where you'd get a free box pistol with the purchase of Tampons did not go well.

In reply to Appleseed :

😁 Good one.

I was thinking along the line of "there's a guy on the other end of the firing range who they all are having a relationship with and just learned they weren't his 'one and only'."

Unrelated:

Appleseed said:

Gary said:

I think this pic should be a meme.

The original promotion from Tampax where you'd get a free box pistol with the purchase of Tampons did not go well.

These ladies got thumbs?

the "4 to 12 inches of snow" we were expecting overnight came up more than a little short. Poor meteorologists wife.

RevRico said:

the "4 to 12 inches of snow" we were expecting overnight came up more than a little short. Poor meteorologists wife.

Don't worry. She's probably used to the "4 to 12 inches" coming up short! :)

Five engine Puch!!

In reply to 914Driver :

Gotta feel for the guy who had to drill all those holes 

You get paid the same for marching as you do for fighting.

In reply to stafford1500 :

Eh, sort of.  Yes, doctors were killed in crashes mostly because it has always been a bit of a higher end plane.  More luxurious than most other civil aviation planes and thus more expensive and thus doctors where a common customer (e.g. a Mooney, which has similar performance, you essentially crawl into it and sit half under the instrument panel, in a Bonanza, it's like stepping into a chair in your living room!)

When introduced in 1947(!), they were WAY higher performance planes than what was a typical civil aviation plane (e.g. Piper Cub).  This alone will cause issues and the early planes (mostly the pilots really) is where the reputation came from.

There are a couple of aspects of the plane that have lead to higher than normal accident rate.  One is the performance of the plane results in a VNE (never exceed speed) that is very close to the maximum level speed (I think it can be close as 20 or 30 knots in some cases!).  This of course is not an issue in level flight, but a slight dive can easily put you in danger. 

The handling characteristics of the plane add to this.  They are very light on the controls, and are sometimes described as "fighter like".  This makes getting the plane into a un-wanted rolls (usually by inattention or disorientation) rather easy.

I am not sure there is much of an issue with tail failure, but the ruddervator does require careful balance (and thus maintenance) to avoid flutter issues and is skinned with magnesium which is vulnerable to corrosion.  The accident rate of the V tail and straight tail Bonanzas are very similar.

The ruddervator BTW does not make the plane unstable really, it just makes it want to do what is called a dutch roll, with is basically the tail wandering in a small circle.  Maybe irritating might be the worst way to describe it (it can be stopped by cross controlling the plane a bit)

I spent much of my youth in a plane very similar to this (a 49 Bonanza):

My brother came by to check out my motor glider.  He said his wife loved flying with her father.  I asked:  "What does he fly?"

A Bonanza.

"Oooo, the V-tailed Doctor killer".

He was a Doctor.

"Rats."

Likely AI generated, but interesting idea