My name is Jason and I just signed up for the forum. I appreciate being able to post questions here. I’m possibly in the market for a Sierra and was wanting to get some input from folks who own/fly a Sierra. Basically what their take on them is as far as overall performance and maintenance issues, AD’s etc. I’ve heard from a local mechanic that they have had troubles with overheatind and a nose gear issue. Other than that, I really don’t know much about them. They seem like they’re built like a Sherman tank and I like the room in the cabin as well as the trailing link gear. I appreciate any input you all might have.
Jason, I’m sure you’ll get a lot of input from the MM Forum. I have owned a 1977 Sierra since 1988, and it is a terrific plane. We bought ours with 1700 hours on it and have put another 2000 hours on it since then. It has been in every State but two, and has been through Southern Canada from Vancouver to Nova Scotia, and down to Key West. With the back seats out and the large third door, it becomes a flying pickup truck. The back seats go in or out within a few minutes with thumbscrews (no tools, no hassles).
If you are serious about the research and ownership, let me suggest that you spend the $25 to become a Charter Member of the Beech Aero Club (www.beechaeroclub.org). There are at least half a dozen links and downloads on the BAC website that talk about Sierras; some of them are VERY extensive. The magazine articles on any plane always have some inaccuracies, but you’ll get a very good idea about the plane. Being a member will also help you keep your operating costs down, far in excess of the price of membership.
You’ll read and hear a lot of bum scoop about all these planes, because there are relatively few people who know them well. Those of us who do consider them to be undiscovered jewels. For a number of reasons, if you have a choice, try to get a C-model rather than an A or B model. The C’s have a number of worthwhile improvements. Anything 1977 or later should be a C24R.
I’ll try to sum up:
LOTS of room. Two inches wider than a Bonanza and most light twins. My wife climbs back into the rear area in flight, to play with the dog or to surf the baggage. I have had a number of people swap seats in flight, to take turns flying (side to side and back to front).
The Sierra has the handling of a Bonanza, but is 30 knots slower and has one-third the initial and ongoing cost. It has none of the stability issues of a Bonanza, and is much safer in turbulence or weather. The gear extension speed in Knots Indicated Air Speed is actually higher than the structural cruising KIAS. If you ever get into trouble, you can drop the gear out and get terrific speed brakes.
Due in part to its flexible operating characteristics, you can fly the Sierra like a much larger plane. You can fly a fast final with the jets at 140 knots into someplace like Tampa International, then pull the power, pitch up the nose, drop the gear, get the flaps out, and slip or fly it to an effortless landing (without excessive speed or float).
Large fuel tanks (almost 60 gallons total) let you make choices of fuel or cabin load. With two or three people and baggage, plus 60 gallons of fuel, if you fly lean you can travel for 5.5 hours and still land with an hour’s fuel. Being able to skip fuel stops on long trips gives a higher effective block speed than many somewhat faster planes. It is nice having the options.
Every plane will be different, depending on starter type, furnishings, modern avionics, etc., but ours has a legal ramp payload of 998 pounds. With 40 gallons of fuel we can taxi out with 758 pounds in the cabin. 60 gallons lets us put 638 pounds in the cabin. The plane lets you use the payload in a variety of ways, since the Stabilator provides an unusually wide CG loading range. It is much more flexible in loading than most Bonanzas.
Claimed to be slightly slower than an Arrow, but that’s usually not true in real life. We’ve done a bit of drag clean-up on ours, and usually true out at 135 knots on 9 to 9.5 gallons per hour. 140 knots or faster if you burn more fuel. Much less expensive than most other retract options, but built better and roomier.
They usually have better avionics than competing brands of the same years, and most made after about 1975 came with shoulder harnesses on all seats.
Some of them have the child’s seat option (mounts in the baggage area).
Modest maintenance requirements compared to many planes. They are very robust, as the core design as done to Utility Category standards. In fact, there are aerobatic versions of the fixed gear planes (but not the retract, due to the wheel-wells). They do need some knowledge to properly maintain them, just like any other plane; you’ll find much of that on the BAC website, and we are adding more to it every day.
Airworthiness Directives on the airframe itself are few and far between, unlike most other brands. When it comes to engines and accessories, the 19/23/24/76/77 models naturally have the same AD’s as any other brand that uses the same equipment. Most AD’s should have long since been complied with.
They absolutely do not have any engine overheating issues. In fact, not only do they have plenty of engine cooling, they tend to have some of the best cabin ventilation in their class. The later models even have a “Ground power blower”, that pumps air from the overhead vents front and back, while you are taxiing. They have heat for both front and rear seats (and it works well).
The nose gear has to be kept properly rigged and the play shimmed out, but that is no different than any other retract. There have been far more issues with things like oleo struts (Piper etc.) than with the rubber shocks used in the 19/23/24 line. You replace the rubber “donuts” about every 20-25 years; compare that to the frequent oleo strut needs (seals, oil, nitrogen charge). The nose gear has a “peelable shim” that goes in it. As long as the clearance gets checked and the shim replaced when needed (maybe every 15 years or so), it remains pretty problem free. There can be fluke events in any mechanism, but I consider the 19/23/24 landing gear to be very robust. If anything goes wrong in the system, such as an electrical failure, or pump failure, or fluid loss, the gear falls out and locks under spring pressure. Only a structural failure of some type might keep the gear from extending, and they are rare.