Beginning in 1975, the turbine-powered T-34C Turbomentor was introduced as the Navy's new primary flight trainer for Student Naval Aviators, and began replacing the North American T-28 Trojan with training air wings at NAS Whiting Field, Florida and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas.

The T-34C Turbomentor is an unpressurized two-seat, tandem cockpit low-wing turboprop trainer whose mission is to train Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

In 2002 the Navy began a gradual phasing out of the T-34, replacing it with the T-6A Texan II, a joint primary trainer for use by both the Navy and Air Force. In several variants the T-34...

However, the Navy decided in 1973 to buy 184 T-34’s with upgraded turbine power. This allowed the service to keep the tried and true Mentor airframe, with its excellent and forgiving handling qualities, while providing students with the required experience.

In 1973, Beech received a Navy research contract to see if the aircraft could be fitted with a 400 h.p. Pratt and Whitney turboprop engine and the latest electronics equipment. These were designated the T-34C Turbo-Mentor.

Jul 10, 2011 · The T-34 Mentor is a single-engine, basic trainer aircraft designed and manufactured by Beechcraft Aircraft Company (now known as Hawker Beechcraft) for the United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Navy (USN).

The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a 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 to the 1950s, were piston-engined.

The Navy used their initial batch of Mentors until the middle of the 1970’s. They were retired when the Navy bought the T-34C Turbo-Mentor, a heavier version of the Mentor which is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft of Canada PT-6A-25 turboprop engine.

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.

During the 1970s the Navy upgraded the T-34B to the T-34C by replacing the conventional Continental 225 hp engine with the more efficient Pratt & Whitney 400 hp turboprop along with some structural strengthening for higher operational weights.