Beechcraft T-34B Mentor

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Beechcraft. Model: T-34B. Nickname: Mentor
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane Single Engine Land
> Engine Description: single piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/5/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 21
> Number of Times Flown: 11
> Other Aircraft Models Associated:
D-45, Model 45; T-34C (turbine powered follow-on)

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 12
> Date First Flown: 6/23/1983
> Location First Flown: NAS Moffett Field, CA (KNUQ)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Navy Moffett Flying Club

Recollections: While I hadn’t flown the T-34C (turbine) in flight school, I was excited about getting some experience in its older brother, the T-34B, powered by a 185 HP Continental recip.  This airplane was the first airplane flown by Student Naval Aviators (SNA) from about 1960 to 1975, in “primary”.  After this, SNA’s would then go to the T-28.   By the time I went to primary in 1980 you either flew the T-34C turbine-powered airplane or straight to the T-28.  As a “Trojan guy”, I was curious to explore whether the T-34B would’ve been a smarter first plane.  It certainly was easier to fly and probably a good lead-in to the Trojan but, based on my successful completion of primary in the T-28, I could see why the Navy had chosen to at least temporarily try “straight to the 28”.  

I flew the T-34B at three Navy Flying Clubs.  First NAS Moffett Field, CA (where I was in an operational P-3 squadron), then NAS Patuxent River, MD (TPS), and finally at the Monterey, CA airport (where I was in Postgraduate School).  At each location, I witnessed the retirement of the T-34B from flying club use and/or the total closing of the club.  It was a sad thing to watch…essentially the base commanders saw only risk and bad press and perhaps didn’t have enough civilian grass-roots flying experience to understand the huge value of flight training for Navy personnel.