Beginning in the late 1950s the United States aircraft company Bay Aviation (formerly Oakland Airmotive) produced nine twin-engine conversions of the Beechcraft Bonanza called the Super "V" Bonanza. After production was shifted to Canada in 1962, five more aircraft were built for a total production run of fourteen. The basis of the conversion was the early Model 35 Bonanza with the original small V-tail surfaces. The Super-V competed with Beechcraft's own Travel Air twin-engine Bonanza derivative. The Super-V is an extensive conversion of the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. Serial number records indicate the aircraft chosen for conversion range in production dates from 1947 to 1950. The original conversion was developed by David Peterson as the "Skyline Super-V" in 1955–56, assisted by W.D. Johnson, and the rights to the conversion were acquired by Oakland Airmotive on July 2, 1958. Oakland Airmotive became Bay Aviation Services on July 8, 1960. The main wing spar was strengthened considerably in the process. The airframe is so different from the original Bonanza that, rather than supplementing the original type certificate, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a completely new certificate for the Super-V. Oakland Airmotive intended to produce converted planes starting in 1960, but never progressed beyond manufacturing and installing Super-V conversion kits on customer-supplied Bonanzas. Ed Gough was the President. FAA type certification was granted in June 1960. Production drawings, bills of material, and other documentation was prepared and there were several conversions in the pipeline. Flying Magazine published a story on the Super V in October 1960 and the marketing efforts were reaching a peak, with a Super-V (Registration N617B) completing a successful circumnavigation of the globe. The cost of a standard conversion was priced in 1960 at US$22,500 (equivalent to $197,000 in 2020), not including the cost of the donor aircraft. For further details of the development of the Super V, and detailed notes on each individual aircraft, click here.
