AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2013 - 30

BRIEFING

DEBONAIR SWEEPSTAKES

PROGRESS REPORT

Sticking with the ‘teardrop’
Why we’re keeping the standard windows
BY THOMAS A. HORNE

WE’VE BEEN HAVING AN INTERNAL DEBATE about one aspect of the Debonair
Sweepstakes restoration. Do we install D’Shannon Aviation’s highly popular large baggage compartment, or stick with the original? The big baggage
compartment does offer advantages. As advertised, it’s much longer and more
capacious than the stock compartment, and the modification also comes with a
larger baggage door. Our current baggage door has seen better days, as revealed
by the unsightly stop-drilled cracks around the latch assembly.
So yes, we could certainly use the room and the big door to make loading
cargo easier. However, there are some downsides, and here’s where the debate
opens up.
Why? Because if we install the big baggage compartment we change the
essence of the airplane. It means that the small third window would have to go,
and be replaced by a longer, larger third window. The standard third window,
colloquially dubbed the “teardrop” window—or, to use Beechcraft marketing
lingo of 1963, the “opera” window—is one of the defining visual signatures of
the Debonair line. If you’re looking for a Debonair on the ramp, you know to
look for that teardrop window. So in our opinion, ditching the teardrop window would mean ditching a big element of the airplane’s identity. If there’s
such a thing as overmodification, then trashing that small window meets the
definition.
D’Shannon’s baggage compartment mod requires different third windows—ones that are both larger and longer. They look like the third windows
on Bonanza F33s, and they’re needed because the baggage compartment mod
isn’t a simple extension of the compartment’s dimensions. It’s a major job that
calls for adding extra ribs and stringers in the aft fuselage, and the large windows themselves also needs extra structure.
There’s another consideration: weight and balance. A larger baggage door
and compartment may tempt a pilot to load too much heavy cargo. The implications here are much more serious than window aesthetics, in our opinion.
All Debonairs have comparatively narrow center of gravity envelopes. Load
too many people or bags and you’re asking for a CG location well aft of limits.
That’s true of all airplanes, but with Debonairs there’s an aggravating factor:
As fuel is burned the center of gravity moves aft. It all makes for an airplane
that could easily go out the back of the loading envelope on long trips with full
fuel, full seats, and a full baggage compartment.
So even though D’Shannon says scads of happy customers have opted
for the large baggage mod, we’re passing on it. Besides, our/your Debonair
will have plenty of other D’Shannon mods—enough to make it a standout
wherever it goes.
EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org

30 | AOPA PILOT February 2013

THAT SMALL THIRD WINDOW is the mark of

all Debonairs. D’Shannon Aviation installed
new windows all around, including the
“teardrop” window. All are tinted, but the
two aftmost windows have a darker tint.
D’Shannon took the window frames down
to bare aluminum so that the paint shop
will be spared the risky business of
applying paint stripper right next to the
new windows. The standard baggage
door will be replaced, because wear and
tear has caused cracks around the latch
mechanism.

ON THE

WEB

Follow along with Editor at Large
Tom Horne as he—with a little help
from some friends (our generous
contributors)—transforms the 1963
Debonair from tired sixties crooner to an
up-to-date 2013 standout. His sweepstakes
blog is available online (www.aopa.org/
sweeps) and features journal entries,
photography, and videos of the
remarkable transformation.

http://www.aopa.org/sweeps http://www.aopa.org/sweeps http://www.aopa.org/sweeps

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2013