The 300-mph Charlie, powered by a 400-horsepower Pratt & Whitney turboprop, is 1,000 pounds heavier than the A and B models, and uses a stronger main wing spar, adapted from Beech's twin-engine Duke. Production of the piston-engine versions ended in 1959, but Beech delivered 441 copies of a turbine version, the T-34C (or "Charlie"), to the Navy between 19. A few foreign air forces also bought the airplane, and some were assembled under license in Japan, Canada, and Argentina. A year later the Navy ordered a slightly modified version, the T-34B Beech eventually delivered 423. Air Force bought 348 T-34As, with deliveries beginning in 1953. (With minor reinforcments, the Bonanza also proved capable of handling the higher aerobatic loads.) These are the limits the Mentor was certified to withstand. They must withstand 9 Gs or minus 4.5 Gs without breaking, though the structure may be permanently bent. Their structures must be able to withstand plus 6 and minus 3 Gs without permanent deformation. Airplanes used for aerobatics-and those used by military pilots-must be sturdier. The Bonanza had originally been certified in the "utility" category, with a load limit of 4.4 Gs. A conventional three-surface empennage replaced the Bonanza's trademark V tail, which had been intended to produce less drag but never quite provided solid yaw stability. The original engine was a six-cylinder, 225-horsepower Continental O-470. Tandem seating put the student in front, instructor behind. For the trainer, Beech replaced the Bonanza's cabin and upper fuselage with a greenhouse-style canopy, similar to that on the World War II North American T-6 Texan trainer. The T-34 Mentor is a military trainer version of Beech's tremendously successful Bonanza, the V-tail four-seat airplane that came onto the market in 1947. Both men died in the crash, which also destroyed a half-century of confidence in the structural integrity of the T-34. Both pilots were wearing parachutes, but as the wing failed it swung over and crushed the canopy. Without warning, as the T-34 made a tight left turn, its right wing separated near the fuselage. That's it, good! Now don't chase him into the ground." "Roll all the way through-harder, harder! All the way through! That's it, that's right. In the front seat was the customer, another professional pilot, Ted McFann Sr., 60, who had retired from the airlines with some 25,000 hours.īouck urged McFann not to be shy as he closed on the other airplane. Bouck, the safety pilot, had been flying for the Sky Warriors civilian aerial combat school for two years and had logged 450 hours in the T-34. In the rear seat of the attacking airplane was Dan Bouck, 51, of Atlanta, an airline pilot with 15,500 hours of flight time. Air Force camouflage paint, with "SW" in big black letters on their tails-the one at "perch" (the higher altitude) began a descending turn to intercept the aircraft below it. When the pilots caught sight of each other- both flying Beech T-34 Mentors in gray and blue U.S. The mock dogfight, on April 19, 1999, began with the airplanes outside each other's visual range. T-34 owners are the latest to prove the value of good old-fashioned American ingenuity. Below is a look at just one of those stories to save the mentor. Thanks to the efforts of so many the T-34 is flying and has been returned to it's full aerobatic or utility category as applicable.
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