Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
Fighter Factory

Beech began production the T-34 Mentor in 1948 in response to their highly successful Model 35 Bonanza. It was not adopted as a training aircraft by the United States Air Force until 1954. Shortly after the USAF purchased 350 T-34 Mentor's, the U.S. Navy also bought 423 from Beech. The first version of the Mentor, T-34A, used a Continental O-470-13 flat six engine production 225 hp, allowing the airplane to max out at 188 mph.

Over the next 20 years, very few modifications were made. Only a more powerful engine and expanded four seat versions were developed. Beech continued to produce a T-34C version through the late 1970's, which contained a Pratt & Whitney turbo prop engine with nearly double the horsepower. The final version was the AT-34C-1 which included armaments for Forward Air Control (FAC) and tactical strike missions. The T-34 Mentor was so popular that the countries of Morocco, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, and Argentina used the airplane in their militaries.

The Beechcraft company manufactured this particular T-34 in 1956. Very little is known about the military service of this aircraft but it has spent its civilian ownership on the East Coast in Virginia and North Carolina. The Fighter Factory acquired this Beechcraft T-34 Mentor in August of 2000 from Mentor Holdings, that had used it at numerous public airshows in formation aerobatics.

Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
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