Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor
The Hickory Aviation Museum’s T-34C, Bureau Number 160638 is on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation. It was delivered in March 2011. Coordinated by Kyle and Kregg Kirby.
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engine, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s-1950s, were piston-engined. These were succeeded by the upgraded T-34C Turbo-Mentor, powered by a turboprop engine. The T-34 remains in service over six decades after it was first designed.
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Beechcraft |
| First flight | 2 December 1948 |
| Introduction | 1953 |
| Primary users | United States Air Force, United States Navy, Japan Air Self Defense Force, Philippine Air Force |
| Other users | Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Columbia, France, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Turkey, Taiwan, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Gabon, Algeria, Philippines |
| Produced | 1953-1959, 1975-1990 |
| Number built | 2300+ |
| Propulsion | 1 x Pratt & Whitney (CA) PT6A-25 |
| Developed from | Beechcraft Model 35 Series Bonanza |
| Developed into | Fuji KM-2 |
Crew: Two
Length: 28 ft 8½ in (8.75 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 3⅞ in (10.16 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Wing area: 179.6 ft² (16.69 m²)
Empty weight: 2,960 lb (1,342 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 4,300 lb (1,950 kg) (T-34C-1 weapons trainer - 5,500 lb (2,494 kg))
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25 turboprop, 715 shp (533 kW) (de-rated to 400 shp (298 kW))
Never exceed speed: 280 knots (322 mph) (IAS)
Cruise speed: 214 knot (396 km/h, 246 mph) max cruise at 17,000 ft (5,180 m)
Stall speed: 53 knots (98 km/h, 61 mph) flaps down, power off
Range: 708 nmi (1,311 km, 814 mi) at 180 knots (333 km/h, 207 mph) and 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,145 m)
Rate of climb: 1,480 ft/min (7.5 m/s)
g limit: +4.5, -2.3
Hardpoints: 4 with a capacity of 600 lb inner, 300 lb outer
