Beechcraft T-34B
« AIRCRAFTThe mentor of a generation of naval aviators
The Model 45 Mentor became the primary trainer for the U. S. Air Force in 1953 after winning an evaluation competition against prototypes from Fairchild and Temco in 1950. Designed to withstand 10 positive and 4.5 negative g, the T-34 is fully aerobatic, making it popular with military training programs and advanced private pilots seeking a rugged, reliable "hot ride." The prototype flew Dec. 2, 1948, and after the YT-34 bested the Fairchild XT-31 and Temco YT-35, the first USAF contract was accepted by Beechcraft in 1953. Production of the T-34A reached 353, ending in October 1956.
Replacing the venerable North American AT-6 Texan as the USAF's primary trainer, pilot candidates started with the T-34A, then progressed on to the more powerful T-28 Trojan then the T-37 jet.
The T-34B is the Mentor version which won the U.S. Navy's approval as its primary trainer in 1954. The B model reached the USN in December 1954, with 423 produced over the next three years. The Arkansas Air Museum's Mentor is a T-34B, and dressed in the familiar orange and white colors of USN training squadrons. The Navy used the T-34B well into the late 1970s, when the turbine-powered T-34C replaced the older B models. The T-34C stayed in production for the USN until April 1990.
The USAF phased out the Mentor earlier, shifting to all-through jet training in 1960-61. The T-34As were sent to allied nations, and the Mentor serves to this day in foreign air forces. More than 20 nations ranging from Algeria to Uruguay using the T-34 for training, and occasionally as a ground support or forward observer aircraft.
The T-34B on display at the Arkansas Air Museum is on loan from Robert Younkin of Fayetteville, Ark.
