Look at the date :)
It’s a fabulous looking aircraft. While the desire to own a Bonanza is strong, I could never figure out which of the models were good short-field aircraft. I have never been able to watch one perform off grass in person.
I know all about Cessna RG’s and Piper RG’s on grass.
With the Piper PA23 about the best RG for dirt strips.
I know all about Cessna RG’s and Piper RG’s on grass.
So which ones are good and bad grass performers, in your experience?
My vote is for the slab wing Arrow II – reasonable short take off performance (thicker wing, gets off soft fields quicker). The 172/182 RG and 210 may opérate ok with skinny wheels, but prepare to invest heavily in maintenance.
The Bonanza is excellent on a grass field. The gear doors are reasonably far off the ground, the landing gear is robust, prop clearance is good, the flaps are VERY effective. I used to regularly fly in and out of the Soaring Club of Houston in a Bonanza, and their field was basically cow pasture.
@WilliamF wrote:
I could never figure out which of the models were good short-field aircraft. I have never been able to watch one perform off grass in person.
I do own a Bonanza F33A and she is good for shortfield landings and take offs. Minimum speed is as low as 56 knots, so a short landing is always possible, still when adding some saftey knots as I do most of the time. With the big wheels the take off on grass is better then it was with my former PA28 Arrow. But I have to mention that it has the IO 550 with 300 hp.
I’m flying her as well to 500 m long concrete strips, as I do to grass strips. The only negativ is, if the grass is wet and the field is muddy. Then the coming out off the dirt performance of the more light weighted Arrow was better. 
boscomantico wrote:
So which ones are good and bad grass performers, in your experience?
182RG is the best of the Cessna’s for that job, but you need to be really careful on the ground conditions. It’s got both the right wing and the right power. The C210 short field technique is very different as you can’t haul it off.
The PA24/PA30 I would say in the Piper range, the PA30 ICS updated flight manual states the aircraft has been demonstrated to safely operate in and out of rough grass surfaces. The 6.00-6 nose wheel tire helps these aircraft. I know a certain Piper Navajo that has been using places you would be slow to volunteer for like 570m grass/7% slope usually departing with a tailwind. I also have a friend who operates a Seneca II and has been into 450m grass when conditions were right.
The F33A should be similar to a 182RG… you would expect? Is it the best for short fields of the Bonanza range?
I would guess all the 33s and 35s are geometrically and aerodynamically much the same. So, it is probably mostly down to power/weight ratio. F33As are rather heavy, hence an S35 or V35 is probably a bit better. “A” model Debonairs probably, too. But even the lower-powered, but still even lighter E series and IO-470-powered ones are said to perform well on short grass runways.
In any case, an IO-550 conversion for the F33A is probably a good choice if going into short grass runways.
VG kits are also available for Bonanzas, and will likely help, too.
I own an F33A with the IO 520 engine, 285hp, from 1992, which is 2 years before production was stopped. Enough power, and I can second all of the above. Very robust gear (same as in the twin engine Baron), very good slow flight capability, and short field takeoff ability. The Bonnie is a very versatile airplane, with a wide envelope.
If I really want to be off the ground quickly, I admit to use 1st flaps, which was removed from the POH by Beech appx. mid serial numbers. The F33As center of gravity wanders aft while fuel is being burnt, so if there are i.e. 4 pax, and baggage, and the tanks aren’t full, if the engine quits during initial climb with flaps, there is very little time to react. Since I know what I’m doing, I do use flaps and it works very well. All in all, a wonderful airplane, 165kts TAS in FL80, a solid IFR platform, and all in all easy to fly.
