T-34 Mentor
Encyclopedia : T : T3 : T34 : T-34 Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza. The signature V-tail of the Bonanza was replaced with conventional tail control surfaces. The four-passenger cabin was replaced with a two-seater tandem cockpit and bubble canopy. The T-34A and T-34B used a conventional, piston driven engine while the T-34C Turbo Mentor is turboprop-powered. The T-34C is still used as the primary training aircraft for United States Navy and Marine Corps pilots. The T-34C is currently scheduled to be replaced by the T-6 Texan II but is still the primary aircraft at NAS Corpus Christi and NAS Whiting Field.
The Mentor is the aircraft used by the Lima Lima Flight Team.
In 2004, due to a series of crashes involving in-flight structural failure during simulated combat flights, the entire U.S. civilian fleet of T-34s was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration. The grounding has since been eased to a series of restrictions on permitted flight envelope.
This year (2006) two T-34C Turbo Mentors crashed during training at NAS Corpus Christi.
Variants
- YT-34 - Prototype, three built.
- T-34A - US Air Force trainer. Replaced by the Cessna T-37 around 1960. (450 built)
- T-34B - US Navy trainer. Used until early 70s when it was replace by the T-34C. (423 built by Beechcraft)
- T-34C Turbo Mentor - Two-seat primary trainer, fitted with a turboprop engine.
- * T-34C-1 - Equipped with hardpoints for training or light attack. Widely exported.
- * Turbine Mentor 34C - Civil version
- * YT-34C - Two T-34Bs were fitted with turboprop engines, and were used as T-34C prototypes.
Specifications (T-34C)
Military Operators
- Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gabon, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Spain, United States (Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard), Uruguay, Venezuela.
External links
- [Navy.mil - Standard Aircraft Characteristics: T-34B Mentor]
- [GlobalSecurity.org: T-34 Mentor/T-34C Turbo Mentor]
- [FAS Military Analysis Network: T-34C Turbo Mentor]
- [US Navy Fact File: T-34C Turbo Mentor]
- [T-34 Association: Non-profit organization dedicated to "Keep 'em flyin".]
- [Lima Lima Flight Team: The world's only civilian 6-airplane formation aerobatic team -- they fly the T-34.]
Related content
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.