This is for Wayne.
I recently transitioned from a PA28-150 to an N35 Bonanza, Basically P with a worse panel. The P may have a higher gear down speed too.
For my checkout, My CFI had me study the POH for a couple of days before the first trip. Our first lesson we spent a couple hours on the ground going page by page through the POH hitting the high spots. Then we went to the plane and did "mock" emergency scenarios, on the ground, engine off. He'd give me a scenario like: no gear down light, engine running rough, engine quit, engine quit just after take off, engine quit in cruise etc... and make me react from memory about what to do.
After that we went up and did basic maneuvers, figured out where it stalled at etc..
PROTIP: If you've been stalling 172s the Bonanza's power off stall is abrupt, coming from a PA28 that just sort of mushes around, it was eye opening, power on stalls are a non event. I do recommend being 2 or three mistakes high.
We then went and practiced landing in various scenarios, we'd turn final 2000' above the runway, chop power abeam the numbers and land from pattern altitude, fly the lenght of the runway at 10' AGL just above stall speed in the landing configuration etc..
I've found that 90MPH final and have the power off at 80MPH over the fence works out well, I have no problem making the 1600' turn off with those numbers, I'm not sure how you get a Bonanza to float with the power off. When I fly 80MPH on final, I tend to plop it in. I'm not a fan of carrying power across the fence, though I understand some Bo pilots land that way.
Handles like it's on rails, very responsive and smooth. The cherokee was more akin to "making suggestions" where the Bo does what you tell it.
You have to plan a little bit ahead, not a big deal but it's something to get used to. If You're gear up WOT entering the pattern, you're going to have a hard time landing. GUMPS GUMPS GUMPS GUMPS GUMPS. I have a bare minimum landing checklist attached to the panel that gets referenced after 3 or 4 gumps checks.
If you were unfamiliar with the right rudder, you will learn what P factor is on your first take off. The second big difference you're going to notice is the impressive climb rate. I trim mine nose down slightly more than the markings say, mainly for CHT purposes, and I don't typically need to get to altitude that fast.
The various power settings and prop configurations seem complex at first, after a few trips, you'll have em' all down and it'll be a non issue, but it does add to your work load at first.
The tail does wag in turbulence, but the Bonanza seems to handle the turbulence better than my Cherokee did. Keep some pressure on both rudders, not a bid deal. You can also slow down in turbulence to get some relief (and should slow down if it's rough).
IMHO, the Bonanza is easier to land well than a cherokee. It lands like a dream, handles cross winds with ease, don't land with a side load.
My first solo trip, I took off and let the plane get ahead of me, it was climbing like a banshee, and I sort of froze, blew through my altitude and my brain froze on what to do with the prop, fuel, mixture, cowl flaps, trim, autopilot etc... visibility wasn't great with the forest fires in the area and that added to my anxiety. I let it climb and climb to give me some space and pointed it towards a 9,000' x 150' runway and got my bearings back, landed taxied to the FBO and realized that I needed a better game plan. About an hour later, I took back off and did pattern laps at the huge runway so that I had plenty of time to go through the motions. 100% sure I was overconfident. Haven't had an issue since, stay ahead of the plane.
)
