Beechcraft has a knack for making winners. The King Air? Only the most popular turboprop of all time. The Bonanza? Oh, it’s only the aircraft that has been in continuous production the longest of any aircraft ever produced. With that kind of credibility, it only makes sense that they would build a primary trainer for the military that would stay in service for over seven decades. If the empennage on the T-34 looks familiar, it would also be used on the Travel Air later. Why construct a new design when you can use what already works?
Much of the T-34 looks familiar and is familiar. The wings are straight Bonanza, although the tandem fuselage is much more narrow, and the entire aircraft is stressed to +10g and -4.5g. The original powerplant was a woefully underpowered 225-horsepower Continental, but it got the job done and churned out thousands of Naval aviators.
The current iteration of the Mentor, which has been retired as a primary trainer, is the T-34C. The Charlie model was fitted with a 550 shp PT6A-25, which is still insignificant compared to the T-6 Texan II pushing 1,100 shp. But it was enough of an improvement to take the Mentor into the 2000s before it was shelved. However, the Mentor’s usefulness has not been fully expended. The Navy still uses a handful of them as chase planes and for other miscellaneous duties, and the Army fields a few at Edwards AFB and Fort Bragg. Since they are only in use on a small scale, sourcing parts can be a real challenge for the end users of these aircraft.
The best hedge of defense against unplanned delays from the aircraft comes in a readily available supply of parts so that you can get them when you need them. Instead of wasting your time sourcing the parts and jumping through hoops to get it, let Greenwood Aerospace take care of it.
Greenwood Aerospace is a renowned leader in the supply and procurement of OEM and aftermarket parts, along with aircraft ground support, kitting and logistics services, foreign military sales program support, and with MIL-SPEC packaging. Greenwood Aerospace is the preferred partner of the largest Defense Contractors, Armed Forces, and Government Agencies in the United States.
Greenwood Aerospace team members combine for over 100 years of experience in government procurement, serving the largest contractors and government agencies in the United States. Located in Ponca City, OK, we use our centralized location to streamline aerospace craft and parts acquisition and distribution.
We feature a fully-certified team on site to fulfill all of your immediate and long-term aerospace demands. As a Small Business SBA-Certified Hubzone and Native American-Owned Business, we offer the Indian Incentive Program (IIP) to all our federal contractors, providing more cost-effective solutions to our clients. Let Greenwood Aerospace be your trusted partner in all your aerospace needs.
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