Beech T-34 Mentor. A photo. Characteristic.
other
Beech T-34 Mentor. A photo. Characteristic.

Beech T-34 Mentor. A photo. Characteristic.

US / Japan

A type: single-engine training aircraft primary education

Capacity: two pilots, arranged one behind the other (the pilot and three passengers, seated side by side in a modification of LM-1)

Based on a particularly successful model of civil aircraft 35 «Bonanza» (Bonanza) airplane model 45 «Mentor» (Mentor - Mentor) was built in 1948, in the hope of expected demand for the new US Air Force aircraft initial training. Nevertheless, it would take five years before a training aircraft of "Beach" was chosen to fill this niche.

The US Air Force conducted comparative tests of a large number of vehicles. As part of this evaluation test, the Air Force acquired three pre-production Mentor aircraft, designated YT-34. Once the aircraft was selected, Beach Company supplied 350 T-34A aircraft from its Wichita plant to Training Command (plus 100 more from Canada's Car & Foundry Company, deliveries began in 1954). In the same year, the US Navy chose the Mentor aircraft as its main training aircraft and purchased 423 aircraft of the T-34B modification. A number of air forces of other countries around the globe, following the example of the US procurement, also chose the Mentor aircraft, the Argentine FMA company assembled 75 aircraft for its Air Force, and the Japanese manufacturer Fuji built 124 aircraft for the Japan Self-Defense Forces under license, the latter of these firms later developing a four-seat modification and a Mentor aircraft with a more powerful engine to replace the main T-34A aircraft.

With I960 years after the adoption of the US Air Force through training programs on the jets, "Mentor" planes began to be replaced on the other, even though the United States Navy continued to use T-34V until the end of 1970-ies, when the operation began arriving aircraft T-34S " Turbo Mentor »(Turbo Mentor). As almost the main favorite of enthusiasts of historic military aircraft (especially in the US), "Mentor" aircraft in the amount of about 100 copies of more than 1300 built remain in the military.

Basic data

dimensions:

  • Length: 7,87 m
  • Wingspan: 10,01 m
  • Height: 3,04 m

Power point: 0-470-13 (on the modification of the T-34A) or 0-470-4 (on the modification of the T-34V) of "Rolls-Royce"

Power: 225 l. from. (168 kW)

The weight:

  • BLANK: 932 kg
  • Maximum take-off: 1315 kg

Date of first flight:

  • December 2, 1948

Aircraft performance characteristics:

  • Maximum speed: 302 km / h
  • Range: 1238 km

Surviving airworthiness modifications in the hands of civilians:

34A T / V and "Fuji» LM-1

Blog and articles

upstairs