T-34 ASSOCIATION, INC. Charles H. Nogle James H. Nogle President Editor,Tres. P.O. Box 1618 1009WilshireCrt. CInampaign.lL 61820 Champaign,IL 61821 Cameron Pk, CA 95682 217-356-3063 217-359-7990 916-677-0634

Julie Clark Membership Chairman 3114 Boeing Rd.

Travis Edwards Vice President 102 N. Leadbetter Ashland, VA 23005 804-798-4643

Lou Drendel Ken Williamson Secretary Merchandise Sales 9S155 Chandelle Dr. 1246 E. College Ave. Naperville, IL 60540 State College, PA 16801 312-355-5440 814-237-2581

April 1988 9\l^ius[ctter Issue 9\[p. 49

THE MENTOR MONITOR

A new flying season is already upon us; and, as I am sure most o f you can attest, fly-in promoters f rom a l l across the country are out searching for Mentors to attend and grace their flight and static display lines. F rom what I have been able to discern, most o f the " fo r p ro f i t " events are of fer ing one free room per engine and four hours o f fuel. No t a bad way to enjoy your airplane and the summer!

I hope that y o u ' l l find this issue o f The Mentor Monitor wor th the wait . Thanks to Lx)u Drendel and a few other contr ibutors, we have some real ly interesting articles. L u c k y for me, L o u recently aCquired a Macintosh computer....now I don ' t have to type in the newsletter material he sends me. He mai ls a disk, wh i ch I jus t insert into m y Macintosh, and the f i les are ready for integration into the newsletter!

A scan down the table o f contents to the right w i l l g ive you an idea o f what this issue has in store. There is one i tem o f interest, however, that doesn't appear i n the table. O n the back cover is an ad for Contro l Logist ics, Inc. who has recently acquired a large supply o f 0 -470-13 parts. This is great news for those o f you w i t h 225 hp. Mentors. I bel ieve that their cache o f parts came f rom Argent ina, who many years ago converted their fleet to 260 hp engines.

W e have jus t discovered that B A N A I R E Enterprises, supplier o f mi l i ta ry surplus aircraft parts, is sel l ing our Associat ion's format ion manual. They advertise i t for sale in their catalog, in their advertisement i n the Texans & Trojans newsletter, and elsewhere we presume. K e n Wi l l i amson and I telephoned to see what their source was, as The T-34 Associat ion, Inc. certainly had not supplied them. The lady who takes the orders reports that i t is their "hottest sel ler" but refused to disclose their source and indicated that the proprietor w o u l d not return our cal l i f we lef t a message. W e left a message anyway, and she was right, he never returned the call . So, to f ind out what you get fo r $3.95 and $1.50 postage, we had one o f our members order a manual. The merchandise received was a cheap photocopy o f our publication. W e were never approached by B A N A I R E as a supplier or fo r permission to copy or reprint our publ icat ion. W e urge you to purchase on ly authentic copies o f Format ion F l ight , wh ich is the o f f i c ia l format ion manual o f the T -34 Associat ion, Warbirds o f Amcr ica, and the Val iant A i r Com-mand.

J im Nogle, editor

IN THIS ISSUE:

T-34 News by Charl ie Nog le 2

History 2

Buyer 's Guide 3

Chi lean Imports 3

Indonesian Mentors 3

Sun ' n F u n & T l C O 3

Data Plates 3

Tai ls o f Our Members 4

T I C O Debr ief ing 6

Format ion Commit tee Report 8

Glossy Mentor 9

Detai ls 10

Pu l l ing Gs 12

T-34 Ass 'n Merchandise 13

Mentor Memor ies 13

The JET M E N T O R 14

Frequencies 16

For Sale by Members 17

Nominat ions Please 17

A T - 3 4 Turb ine Update 17

Mentor Maintenance 18

T -34 Insurance Update 19

N e w Ph i l l y F l y - i n 20

A i r Search 20

The M O P A R T-34 21

Summer 1989 in Goodland? 21

Letters to the Edi tor 22

Dues 24

© T - 3 4 Associat ion, Inc. 1988

T-34 News by Charlie Nogle: The Model 45 Beechcraft turns forty years of age on December 2nd. The Mentor was first f lown on December 2,1948 by V e m Carstens who was the Beechcraft chief test pi lot. The f l ight went very wel l during the 45 minutes that i t was airborne, and Vem gave his boss and good friend, Walter Beech a g lowing report on the handling of the new Beechcraft.

This project was completely funded by the Beech Aircraf t Corporation as no commitments f rom any mil i tary service or government had been received by Beech to help underwrite the development cost o f the new project. I t look a great deal of faith by Walter Beech to put his hard earned dollars into a mil i tary project, one that the mil i tary d idn ' t yet even know that i t needed or wanted.

In early 1948 when the decision was made to move forward on the project, W W I I had been over for only 2 1/2 years, and there existed tens of thousands of surplus mil i tary trainers, many sti l l in excellent condition, that could serve the training needs o f the services for many years to come. Walter felt a market could be developed for a modem trainer, which would incorporate a tricycle landing gear and al l metal control surfaces, that would closely approximate the performance o f the plent i ful North American AT-6, whi le burning only one fourth the fuel and requiring about one quarter of the maintenance.

Beech was enjoying tremendous success with its new Bonanza model 35, which was late in reaching the market place, having been beaten there by almost a year by its main competitor, the

The Mentor Monitor is the newsle t ter o f the T - 3 4 Assoc ia t ion , Inc . , an independent non -p ro f i t corpora-t i on dedicated to the preservat ion, restorat ion, and safe f l y i n g o f T - 3 4 M e n t o r a i rcraf t . A r t i c les and cont r ibu t ions are we l come , please credi t photogra-phers. I f photos are to be returned, please indicate so. Photos that are no t to be returned w i l l be added to the Assoc ia t i on ' s co l lec t ion . M e m b e r s h i p is open to aU. Dues are $35 f o r the first year f o r new members , $25 per year thereafter. T o j o i n , contact Ju l ie C lark , M e m b e r s h i p Cha i rman , 3114 B o e i n g Rd . , Cameron Park, C A 95682.

T h e maintenance and opera t ing comments , sugges-t ions, recommendat ions , and caut ions conta ined i n The Mentor Monitor and supplements thereto, as w e l l as o ther T - 3 4 Assoc ia t ion , Inc . pub l i ca t ions , have been p rov ided b y a i rc ra f t owners , operators, mainte-nance personnel , and other pub l ica t ions. A l l ma in te-nance, m o d i f i c a t i o n , o r o ther mechan ica l o r safety act ions presented i n The Mentor Monitor, should be rev iewed and imp lemen ted by p roper ly qua l i f i ed personnel. T h e T - 3 4 Assoc ia t ion , Inc . and its Boa rd o f D i rec tors sha l l no t assume any l i a b i l i t y f o r the f o l l o w i n g or fa i l u re to f o l l o w any o r a l l o f the same.

The original Model 45 prototype. Note the low cowl ing and the cockpit support suructure. (Beech photo)

North American Navion. But when the Bonanza arrived, i t took over the number one spot almost instantly because of its superior performance. The extra year was used by Beech to perfect the Bonanza into the performance leader i t was designed to be. Walter felt that the basic engineering of the Bonanza could be adapted into the trainer that he wanted to bui ld. His engineers went to work and reported that they could design what was to become the Mentor using approximately 80 percent o f the Bonanza engineering and tooling. They also determined that in mass production. Beech could turn out as many as fifteen of the new trainers per day, i f the orders for them required it. Price for the new aircraft was estimated at about $12,000 each i f large scale production could be sold and sustained. T w o more preproduction prototype Mentors were bui l t during the fo l lowing year to serve as demonstrators and flight test machines. 1949 saw a great deal of interest in the design by our mil i tary and by foreign governments, and Beech vigorously pursued prospects and made a great number of demonstrations to the public and to various mil i tary organizations. Bevo Howard and Betty Skelton, two top air show performers demonstrated the Mentor at such events as the Cleveland A i r Races, the M i a m i A i r Races, and the Chicago A i r Fair, however no orders were received during this f irst year.

The next year, 1950, would bring the first token order for the Mentor, when the Uni ted States A i r Force ordered three YT-34s. These were purchased to serve as test aircraft, to check the suitability of the aircraft in terms o f its design for the training role and to also check the maintenance characteristics during sustained training operations. This is when the Mentor became known as the T-34, which was the nomenclature that the US AF assigned to the design. The T-34 was placed into a competition against the Temco T-34 Buckeroo during this phase, and of course the Mentor won the competition. In August of 1950, the YT-34s were delivered to the U S A F at ceremonies held at Randolph Field Texas, the headquarters of the USAF A i r Training command. This function was important enough that Walter Beech attended and he personally turned the YT-34 aircraft over to the USAF. Not long after that, on November 29, 1950, just as the Mentor was starting to prove his faith in its future, Walter Beech passed away at age 59.

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Beech went on to bui ld a total o f 1097 Mentors which included 6 preproduction prototypes, 350 model A45s, 423 model D45s, and 318 export B45s. In addition, aircraft were bui l t under license in Canada and in Japan. Argentina assembled Mentors f rom parts bui l t by Beech under contract. The T-34C Turbine Mentor went into production in 1976 w i th 560 aircraft having been bui l t to date wi th a further U.S. Navy order of 19 ships to be bui l t in 1989.

Report on the T-34 publication "Mentor History and Buyers Guide": Whi le i t was hoped that this would be ready for printing this summer, i t has become obvious that next winter is a more realistic t ime frame. Estimates o f print ing and production costs have convinced us that we won ' t l ikely have a chance to make a revised second or third printing, and we intend to make this first effort correct and complete. Things have actually been progressing very we l l to date w i th most research now completed and text written. We are now in the editing phase, busy integrat-ing and smoothing al l o f the different topics and sections. The above abbreviation on the Mentor 's history is a sample conden-sation from the manuscript. We have yet to integrate pictures and graphics and already the book is better than twice the size in length we expected i t to be!

Chi lean Imports: W e had thought by this t ime that we could announce the winners of the Chilean T-34 sweepstakes, how-ever, the news from Chile is that a new round of escalated bidding was deemed appropriate. A l l parties, and there were a lot of them, were advised of the high b id in the last phase, so that new and higher b id prices would be assured. 1 have been amazed at the number of parties who have called me, advising that they were the successful bidders and that they would have these mint machines back here in thirty days or less. A l l potential buyers f rom the b id winners should be very careful wi th their bucks unt i l these airplanes are actually delivered to the U.S. w i th clean bi l ls of sale. W e think that the ships w i l l eventually get to the U.S., but when and at what price would be pure conjecture.

Indonesian Mentors; Meanwhile, the Indonesian T-34 imports are on track wi th thirteen ships scheduled for return this spring. The owners report that six o f these are already sold. The Mentors have " G " serial numbers and were at one time operated by the US A F A i r Training Command. They are reported to be stock airplanes, without armament modifications and use the O-470-13A engine wi th the 278 Beech prop. Contact John Byrum at Southwest Equipment Company, for additional details (404-798-4361 ext. 273).

T I C O & Sun 'n Fun: One reason that this newsletter is so late is that I have been pretty much out o f action the past 9 weeks. I had major surgery that was pretty tough, but for good measure the hospital threw in an infection that refuses to go away no end is in sight yet. Medication helps but i t doesn't get r id of it. Unfortunately, I have no reports to pass along regarding the

T ICO or Sun 'n Fun events because I couldn' t get there. I had hoped right up to the last minute that I wou ld be feeling good enough to make the trip, but this d idn' t work out. I do under-stand, however, that the T ICO T-34 turnout was the largest ever, but at Sun 'n Fun the T-34s took on the appearance o f an endangered species. 1 want to thank those, who knew of my pl ight and sent cards and made telephone calls to cheer me up. Believe me, these were very much appreciated. M y first outing since the O.R. event occurred last weekend, when I drove 200 miles to Iowa to attend an auction of a Beech F B O which was going out o f business. I must tell you that the high point of this was running into Harry Pumel l and Paul Pribble. We had a great visit over the two days. Harry was there to purchase a tug to push and pul l around his recently acquired T-28A. He was successful in his b id and acquired a tug bui l t in 1943 for the mil i tary. Harry was an aviation cadet back in 1955 and flew the T-34 and T-28 in his training. Now he owns both.

Data Plates: We would l ike to help anyone who sti l l does not have an exterior data plate on their T-34. W e have only received six requests so far, but we expect that there are a few more airplanes that sti l l need them. I f you don't have an exterior stainless steel data plate, then your aircraft does not meet the original certification requirements the plate inside the rear cockpit does not count. The new requirement for all aircraft calls for an exterior data plate which can be made of just about any k ind of material as its purpose is just to al low "authorities" to check the aircraft's make, model, and serial number whi le the aircraft is on the ramp. This, however, does not address the certification requirement for the T-34s. In other words, i f you have a tail mounted stainless steel data plate, great, i t satisfies all the requirements, but i f you don't, then you need one to meet both the certif ication requirements and the new data plate rule.

You can purchase an original Beech data plate, complete with your serial number for less than $20, just contact myself or Jud Nogle.

I t has just been announced that T-34 owner and T-34 Associa-tion, Inc. member. Dr. Hal Fenner, has just been elected as the new Chief of the General Staff of the Confederate A i r Force. We understand that this is the highest non-salaried position wi th in the CAP. Congratulations Hal!

I f you' l l be form' f ly ing this summer, remember that your skills w i l l l ikely be rusty f rom the winter so f ind a wingman and go get some practice. And, i t would be wise to reread your formation manual to brush up on the procedures and hand signals. I hope to see you at the New Phi l ly f l y - in this June and later at Fond du Lac and Oshkosh.

Keep 'em Flying, Charlie Nogle

paged

Tails of Our Members

Believe it or not, all of our members do not l ive and breathe T-34s. They actually have an aviation " l i fe " outside of their Mentor activities! And some of those lives are very interesting and worthy of note. So much so, in fact, that we have dccided to incorporate a regular newsletter feature on those "other" aviation activities.

The famous quotation goes; " N o one stands so tall as when he stoops to help a chi ld." That being the case, Jim Porter could have signed a mult i -mi l l ion dollar contract with an N B A franchise after the night of January 4-5,1988.

Lifeline Pilot, Jim Porter: The temperature was already below zero when Porter's phone rang late that night. As a volunteer member of "L i fe l ine Pilots", the not-for-profit medical emergency transport service founded by Champaign resident Wanda Whitsitt, Jim knew that he could be called upon at any time to transport a crit ically i l l patient whose last resort was general aviation. Eight year old Jenny Bates, of Pontiac, had been suffering from degenerative liver and kidney disease for over a year while waiting for a compatible organ donor to become available. A t 7:30 that night the Bates family got the good news that a donor had been located. The bad news was that they had to be in Minneapolis by 2:30 A M the next morning, since organs do not survive indefinitely. Their only hope was Lifel ine Pilots.

I t was too cold for most of the Lifel ine fleet of general aviation airplanes to even start that night, and compounding the problem was a 70 knot wind right out of Minnesota, which would have made it all but impossible for most of them to reach the hospital in time, even i f they could have been started. As many of you know, Jim Porter has a Cessna 421, which he bases at Aurora, I l l inois, in a heated hangar. Not only would it start, but it was also capable of battling it 's way through those tough headwinds to arrive in time.

Howard Peck, a corporate pi lot who is also a friend of Porter's, volunteered to f ly co-pilot, and Mike Luman, of Lumanaire in Aurora, put his warm clothes back on and returned to the airport

Jim Porter

at 10:30 pm to get the 421 out of the hangar. I t was so cold outside that he had the two pilots get into the airplane and stand by to start engines as soon as he had pulled them out.

The nearest airport large enough to handle the 421 was Bloom-ington, and the Bates family bundled Jenny into the family car and headed that way as soon as they heard that Porter was on his way. The winds on the ground at Bloomington were gusting to 45 knots when Porter and Peck made a very careful arrival.

Porter kept one engine idl ing while Peck loaded the family aboard, and they were o f f to Minneapolis by 12:11 A M .

Shortly after takeoff, the right alternator died, necessitating conser-vation of generating capacity. They decided to shut down all but the most critical hghts and radios. (They couldn't shut down the heater it was 14 below zero on the ground!) They arrived in Minneapolis at 2:30. A wait ing taxi sped Jenny and her family to the University of Minnesota Hospital, where she was prepared for surgery immediately. The donor organs arrived shordy after, and after a 12 hour operation, Jenny had her new lease on hfe.

The trip back to Aurora was anything but an anti-climax. The FBO at

Minneapolis had a tough time starting his fuel truck, and Jim didn' t want to shut down his engines unti l the truck was ready to pump fuel. They finally did get their fuel, and the trip home was a lot faster. Jim got home at 5 a.m., but was so pumped up that he decided to go into work. Though his company regularly deals in mill ions of dollars in transactions, the meetings that day didn't seem as important to him. Helping that httle 8-year-old gir l survive made all the money he had spent on aviation seem like a real bargain, and all the business that a captain of industry regularly does seem less significant. The perfect ending to the perfect story is that Jenny is back home, able to eat pizza and ice cream and get back to being a child, with innocent faith in the future.

As president of First Options o f Chicago, Jim does a lot o f traveling, both nationally and internationally. He likes to f ly his own airplane whenever he gets the chance on these trips. In

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by : L o u D r e n d e l

addition to partnerships in two T-34s (N300SH and N400LL) , Jim owns the aforementioned 421, a Mooney, and a Fouga Magister. The Fouga is his latest passion, and you can expect to see it at many Warbirds functions this year. Jim also has the rare distinction o f having f lown in the A-12. The A-12 was the C I A version of the super-secret SR-71 Blackbird, the Mach 3+ creation of Ke l ly Johnson's Lockheed "Skunkworks".

T-34 owner Terry Brennan, o f Holl ister, California, achieved a different k ind o f notoriety. Terry volunteered to ride N A S A ' s Man-Carrying Rotation Device (MCRD) , whose name accurately describes i t 's function. The purpose of the M C R D is to induce motion sickness in astronauts so that i t can be studied f rom a cause/ effect viewpoint. Over half o f the astronauts who have gone into orbit have suffered f rom what N A S A has dubbed "SAS" , or space motion sickness. SAS differs f rom the earthly version o f motion sickness in its unpredict-able onset and remission which is related to the perpetual free-fall or weightlessness o f space.

Researchers have determined that the cause of motion sickness is movement of tiny calcium pebbles (called otoconia) wi th in the inner ear. Otoconia respond to motion and, coupled w i th visual cues, tel l the brain what our relationship is to the earth. Removal of famil iar visual cues can cause vertigo. Removal o f visual cues coupled wi th weightlessness causes unpredictable motion sickness. The M C R D has been in operation since 1972, and in those sixteen years only six subjects have fai led to respond w i th motion sickness to its gyrations. Terry Brennan has the distinc-tion of being one o f those six. Terry survived an hour in the M C R D , which began wi th six revolutions per minute and worked up to twenty revolutions per minute. O f the six subjects who did not get sick, the first f ive were determined to have non-functioning otoconia. Tel l us, Terry are your otoconia dead in the water? Is there l i fe after dead otoconia? Oh yes, a word o f warning to anyone who is going to ride w i th Terry. He won ' t get sick doing aerobatics.

Terry 's own version o f how he got involved in the project, and

what i t was l ike fol lows:

"The radio broadcaster announced, in a t ime f i l ler , that N A S A was conducting experiments at Ames Research Center, Moffet t Field, California into the perennial problem of air sickness among America's astronauts upon reaching earth orbit. They were looking for a " few good volunteers" who would swallow their pride and do just the opposite wi th their last meal, al l in the interest of science, of course. Since many o f my happiest hours have been spent inverted in the T-34, and because I have always

Terry Brennan in his T-34B, N45TB.

harbored the deep-seated desire to become part of the space program, it naturally fo l lowed that I should offer their scientists what I felt certain was one o f the stronger stomachs on the west coast.

The program began wi th an indoctrination session during which the purpose of the experiments was thoroughly explained. According to the "Psycho-Physiological" behavioral experts, a "Biofeedback" program could ultimately be developed that would enable our astronauts to convince themselves that they really were feeling fine, even though they were becoming nauseous. The net effect being more productive t ime in space.

Substituting we earth-bound astronauts for the real thing, N A S A introduced us to an air sickness inducing environment which took the form o f a monstrous machine called the " M a n Carrying

Rotating Device", or M C R D for short. This metal behemoth, which reminded me more of the cab of a locomotive than the capsule atop a Saturn rocket, contained a single sinister looking chair adorned w i th enough wires to start a radio station.

The M C R D began to spin, s lowly at f irst, whi le the maze of telemetry equipment wired to my body transmitted information to the control room on my current physical condition. It meas-ured pulse, respiration, skin temperature, perspiration and intensity o f most of these functions. The chair sat on a vertical axis of the M C R D and as it picked up speed, a series of pre-recorded commands instructed me to t i l t my head in any o f four directions at two second intervals. Every five minutes the nodding would stop and the technicians would ask a series o f questions regarding the presence or absence o f certain symptoms associated wi th the onset of nausea. Chills? Sweating? Head-ache? Salivation? Want to continue? I did, and on we went.

These cranial excursions into the slipstream of imbalance were designed to upset a collection o f tiny rocks harbored in the inner ear called Otoconia. The Otoconia move around w i th changes in body position signaling the brain to adjust balance as necessary. Normal movement is f ine, too much causes a k ind o f cross-talk, in the neurological vein o f things, between the stomach and the inner ear resulting in air sickness. Understandably, our astro-nauts in a constant state o f free-fal l face a serious problem.

As the M C R D accelerated toward 20 R P M I was asked to perform relatively simple mental tasks such as adding and subtracting columns whi le my physiological responses were tabulated. Dur ing what was certainly the low point o f the whole affair I was required to put my left foot into a bucket of ice water for one minute intervals. I certainly hope that the scientific knowledge gained f rom that port ion of the study was commensu-rate wi th the misery that I endured to provide raw data.

"Non functioning Otoconia" announced the chief white coat after two sessions in the M C R D totaling over an hour each, during which they were unable to induce the desired symptoms. Apparently normal for about 1 in 5000 people.

You asked, " Is there l i fe after non-functioning Otoconia?" You bet! I f you happen to be an astronaut or a fighter pi lot this would be one o f the best things that could happen to you. As for me, I 'm content in the knowledge that no amount o f aerobatics w i l l change my rosy pink to a pale green. Now i f only that odd b a U ^ inner ear could somehow smooth out that eight point r o l l . " V ^ 5 ^

TICO DEBRIEFING By : Lou Drendel

Thursday, March 10 looked l ike a perfect day to go to Florida f rom Northern I l l inois. I t was sunny and (semi) warm as we rol led 300SH out o f our hangar at Naper Aero. The F A A briefer had assured me that we would have no trouble getting to Florida today, even though some nasty weather was tracking across the Southeast. Tico is, for us at least, the off ic ial k ick-o f f to spring and the new air show season and we had been looking forward to this tr ip al l winter. W e were airborne at 0830 wi th Ted Adams leading in 34B, heading for our f irst fuel stop at Bowl ing Green, Kentucky.

By the t ime we got to Bowl ing Green the skies had gone from clear to scattered to broken. The briefer at the FSS there was not sanguine about continued V F R to the southeast. We decided to eat an early lunch whi le the weather continued to move. We weren't the only ones. There were two other T-34s and a P-40 hanging around the FSS. After lunch our w i l y leader plotted a course to the southwest to sneak around the backside of the weather. Gene Popma jo ined our f l ight and our f l ight of three took of f , wowed the locals wi th a formation pass, and headed for the r ight side o f Nashvil le. W e were forced down to wi th in a thousand feet o f the ground for about a hundred miles, but by the t ime we got to Montgomery, Alabama the clouds were once again scattered to broken. Af ter our fuel stop at Montgomery we cl imbed to 7,500 feet, on top o f the scattered layer, and found a healthy ta i lwind that gave us 220 knots across the ground.

The trip was made routine by the absence of any really bad weather and by L O R A N . Ted and I both have Northstar M l Navigators, and his is coupled to an autopilot. (F ly ing wing on an autopilot is easy!) The Northstar is about as close to naviga-tional overki l l as you can get. Its huge database makes it virtu-ally impossible to get lost, and guarantees that you won ' t get bored on those long, derriere-busting fl ights. W e jo ined Gene Mart in and Bob Morse at Tico. Both had wintered in central Florida. (Ah, for the l i fe of the idle r ich!)

As usual, T ICO was a blast l i teral ly (because of their penchant for pyro) and f iguratively (because o f the Val iant A i r Command's great hospitality.) They put on a fun airshow al l warbirds and manage to give everyone plenty o f f ly ing whi le keeping i t safe. B i l l Noriega, who also runs the big Oshkosh Warbi rd airshow, is a great organizer and kept the show moving along for both participants and spectators. This in spite o f a really hectic pace, and more than an average ration o f jibes and jokes about his infamous namesake in Panama. One of the neat things the V A C does is to put up al l types in sequence. You go up, do your thing, then come r ight back down. This gives you a chance to taxi past the crowd r ight after you are finished and get back to your f l ight l ine where you can watch the rest of the airshow.

6

Bob Morse, foreground and with smoke, breaking out of the missing man formation at TICO. According to the Airboss: "It gave me goose bumps, guys!" Photo & caption by Lee Mouhot

TICO briefing, with Bob Russell (right) explaining how we will do it to Gene Martin, Ted Adams, Mac McGuire, Emile Mouhot, Forrest Molberg,JudDeakins, and Dean Spencer, (photo: Lou Drendel)

Bob Russell led the T-34 formations on Friday and Saturday, and our f l ight of 19 l ived up to Oshkosh standards. We made one pass as a group, then went to trail for the war, wi th everyone getting a chance to strafe the target area next to the runway. Morse, Mart in, and I have had smoke systems installed and we made the most of the free smoke o i l supplied by the VAC. Formation participants were Bob Russell, Dean Spencer, Jud Dcakins, M ike Brady, Dave Marco, Bob Mahanor, Bob Livingston(s) (Sr & Jr), Joe Howel l , Walter Mayer, Mac McGuire, Emi le Mouhot, Forrest Molberg, Don McNal l , Ted Adams, Gene Mart in, Bob Morse, Gene Popma, Rick Gretz, Lou Drendel.

Attendance was down somewhat from last year, probably because the dates for the E A A ' s Sun & Fun f ly - in at Lakeland were moved to Apr i l . In years past, T ICO and Sun & Fun were scheduled for consecutive weekends, which encouraged atten-dance at both. Having to choose between one or the other w i l l probably reduce attendance at both.

Bob Morse and I f lew down to Key West on Monday because we had never been there, and i t seemed l ike a good idea at the time. Key West, at spring break time, at least, is pricey, touristy, and fu l l of rampaging college kids. The highlight of the trip was f ly ing down the Keys inbound, and a long overwater f l ight, against st i f f headwinds, on the trip back. (We f lew direct to Marco Island f rom Key West, and were out o f sight o f land for a long time.) The west coast o f Florida has beautiful white sand beaches and blue green Gul f waters. (Also lots o f f ishing boats that need strafing.) I t is a magnificent and stimulating fl ight. Coming home to Northern I l l inois two days later was not nearly so much fun, especially since we were bucking headwinds that dictated staying low, where we got beat up by turbulence. (The inside o f my canopy has plenty o f paint on it from my helmet.) Stil l, compared to the hum-drum of everyday l ife, it was great. Only 353 days unti l we leave for T ICO 89'! ^ ^

Gene Martin and Ted Adams. "Gee Ted, when are we gonna be able to buy one of these?" (photo: Lou Drendel)

page. 7

Formation Committee Report

Ever since we put up the first large formation, there have been concerns about safety. Flying in close proximity to another airplane seems inherently dangerous. One lapse of concentration and you could have a disaster. Fly ing in relatively close proxim-ity to dozens of other airplanes seems even more dangerous. And, what happens i f there is an "incident"? In these litiguous days, i t seems certain that there would be a rash of lawsuits. Who would get sued? Is all this fun really worth the possible risk?

These concerns have to be addressed, and the Association leadership has done so repeatedly. Our first concern is for safety, which is why we instituted what is now considered to be the best civil ian formation f ly ing program in existence. Our standards are high, and we intend to keep them that way. In fact, we intend to raise them.

We don't believe that formation f ly ing is any more dangerous than IFR f ly ing i f you are properly trained and fol low the correct procedures. In fact, the parallels between the two are striking. When the F A A issues you an instrument rating, i t is after you have passed a written test and a check ride. They are certifying that you are instrument-rated and qualified to use that rating at that time. I t is your responsibility to remain current. I f you don't, you are not legally able to use your rating. Worse still, you may be endangering yourself and others.

When we issue you a wingman patch, i t is because you have passed an oral exam and a check ride, demonstrating that you are familiar wi th the procedures and are capable of station keeping in a formation at the time of the check ride. I f you do not utilize your newly acquired skills for months at a time, you w i l l l ikely lose them. IFR f ly ing demands more head work than pure physical skil l, and is therefore subject to rapid deterioration of competence. Formation f ly ing procedures are the equivalent of

"head work". The physical aspect of both may return quickly wi th a litt le practice, but the mental aspects must be practiced regularly to remain sharp. One thing we all agree on most accidents are caused by lapses in judgement. The F A A assumes no l iabil i ty for lapses in judgment after issuing you a rating, and the T-34 Association assumes no l iabil i ty for lapses in judgement after issuing you a wingman patch. Individ-ual responsibility applies in both cases.

So, i f formation f ly ing can be made safe with proper training and practice, is the size of the formation a safety factor? That depends on several factors. First, and foremost, the leader of any formation must be competent, and qualified. The old days of putting the guy who was unable to f ly wing in the lead are long gone or they certainly should be. That was a way o f address-ing a lack of the physical ski l l needed to fly formation before we had a formalized program which enables a pi lot to gain that skill.

The military qualifies leaders according to their formation f lying competence and their ability to maintain situational awareness and translate that into the proper commands. We are doing the same thing. We realize that all formadon pilots may not be qualified to lead, and that all formadon pilots may not have a desire to lead. Naturally, we hope that all who are qualified w i l l want to be checked out and certified as leaders. Our procedure for checking out leaders w i l l fo l low the same basic format as the wingman qualification check ride, wi th the leader candidate leading a formation of at least four airplanes and demonstrating competence in briefing the f l ight, maneuvering the formation, and communicating with the formadon via hand signals and the proper A T C facilities via radio. A t this time, leaders may be checked out by members of the formation committee, (Ken Will iamson, Lou Drendel, Bob Farrell,) or designated check pilots (Bob Russell, Forrest Molberg).

When you think of big formations, you automatically think of Oshkosh. Last year's formation was the largest ever of T-34s. I t was also one of the best. I t virtually went together without a hitch the first time we flew it, and the show was f lown without any problems. But the planning and the individual training that

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preceeded i t was intense and draining for those in charge. Some of the former leaders may not want to devote the k ind of time required for another effort of that magnitude. Some of the leaders of other formations have already expressed reluctance to expose themselves to any possible legal action in the event of a future incident. W e don' t know what w i l l happen at future Oshkosh conventions, but we feel that i t is prudent pol icy to put qualif ied leaders in al l section lead positions for the main show formation. We also feel that those groups who f ly together often and who represent the "cream of the T-34 formation crop" should be given the opportunity to f ly together at some time during the convention.

The b ig show formation has become a trademark of the T-34 Association. We proved to everyone that we could f ly bigger and better formations than any o f the other Warb i rd contingents. W e did it w i th organization, standardization, and a r ig id adherence to a "safety f i rst" pol icy. W e feel that the next plateau in making this trademark appearance as safe as possible is assignment of key leadership positions. That w i l l be taken care o f early in the practice sessions at Fondulac.

We also urge you to get yourself current i f you are already wingman qualif ied. Read the manual again get those proce-dures and hand signals down before going out to practice. In practice, use hand signals only. Get sharp before coming to Oshkosh so that when you do arrive we won ' t have to retrain you i f you want to fly in the formation. I f you intend to take the wingman check ride at Fondulac, come prepared which means

trained.

We intend to l ive up to our tradition. That means that we w i l l fly no formation before i t 's time. W e are not going to rest on whatever laurels we may have earned. I f anything, our proce-dures are going to be even more stringent. This whole formation flying deal is about as much fun as you can have wi th your clothes on, but i t demands a whole new committment to disci-phne and training. W e haven't lost sight o f that, and we hope that you haven't either.

GLOSSY MENTOR The U S A F has recently instituted a pol icy known as "Glossy Eagle" in an attempt to l iterally clean up their airplanes. Warbird owners/restorers would recognize this program as standard procedure for upgrading the condition of an older mil i tary airplane. The A i r Force has writ ten a set of standards for accompUshment of a "glossy eagle", and when those standards are met, the plane captain or crew chief is given the award.

President Charlie brought this up at our "m in i board meeting" (Charlie, Jim, Bob Farrell, and Lou Drendel) o f 14 February. Charlie mentioned the fact that many of the T-34s at Oshkosh were potential award winners, but that the competit ion only allows one winner leaving al l those other well-done restora-tions as unheralded also-rans. This, of course, happens whether the airplane goes to Oshkosh or not or whether i t is of f ic ial ly " judged" by an airshow judging committee.

There are also other problems when it comes to judging. As far as the A i r Force is concerned, there is only one approved list of equipment for a given aircraft type, so when they judge an airplane by "glossy eagle" standards, they don' t have to worry about the addition o f a fancy piece of avionics or a custom paint job, etc.

Warbirds, on the other hand, are often judged very heavily on authenticity, which may or may not hurt you in judging. (You could come up wi th a really stunning paint job, spend thousands on it, install a glass cockpit, or some other really great improve-ment for the airplane, and be penalized in judging because the airplane is not historically accurate.) There should be some way to publ icly recognize outstanding restorations, regardless of authenticity. This sort of recognition would also attest to the fact that the restoration was in fact a restoration, not just a cos-metic face-lift. (We al l know that a good paint job can conceal a lot of serious problems in airplanes that are over thirty years old.)

The problem is in establishing the standards, and in cert i fying the restoration. (Who is going to do it, and where?) Keep in mind that the main purpose in this possible program is to recognize a genuine effort to restore our favorite airplane. Your ideas and comments on this program would be appreciated.

Lou Drendel

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Detai Since our last issue, I have been considering a new column for The Mentor Monitor which would focus on small but neat improvements or "detai ls" that our members have been doing to their airplanes. I was able to comer Lou Drendel a couple of months ago when his airplane was in the shop and since he had a couple of these details worth mentioning, I grabbed his brand new camera and took a few pictures. Lou has never failed me on newsletter conu-ibutions, and once more he came through. The fo l lowing article, wri t ten by Lou and accompanied by those pictures, describes just a few details on his airplane.

Now this is just the seed I expect this column w i l l grow as our members proudly send in photos and descriptions of their "details". There are no limits....the details can be big or l i t t le, expensive or cheap, just as long as they are neat. For example I hope to receive pictures and information on flush baggage latches, C model cockpit glare shields, fighter style rear view mirrors, f i re extinguisher mountings, unusual panel layouts, etc. etc. This can be a really interesting section of the newsletter, but we need your input!

Photo 1: Just behind the utility light you can see the rubber tipped belt hook, and behind that mounted on the floor is the fire extinguisher. I •wonder how easy it would be to retrieve when you really need it?

L o u Drende l on N300SH's "de ta i l s " : Af ter ten years of f ly ing T-34s, I f inal ly managed to get my hands on a new Mentor. Wel l , i t 's as close to a new T-34 as you can get. A long with partners Jim Porter and Ray Mor in , I took dehvery of Beech Nogle CN-2 last June. The interior was pristine....I am sure they never came out of the factory looking this good....and we sure wanted to keep it that way. One of the first things we looked for was some hooks to install on the canopy walls. The originals had hooks on the right side, and they were always handy to hang a helmet bag. But we had other reasons for wanting those hooks on both sides of the cockpit. The original equipment seat belts have some really heavy hardware and, don' t you grit your teeth and wince when you hear your passenger unbuckle and drop the seat belt? I don ' t know how much paint has been chipped by those things, but we decided hooks to hang your belt on would sure save a lot of nicks and dents in the console and seat. I found some very nice galvanized cast aluminum hooks at my local Do- I t Center for 42 cents each, and added those l itt le soft rubber tips f rom the electrical supplies box at the same store. They were a dime apiece, so for less than $3 total I acquired a nice touch which w i l l save the paint on our interior. Photos 1 & 2 show the locations...and, by the way, I d idn ' t have to dr i l l any new holes, or use new screws. I removed existing screws and reinserted them through the hook mounting holes and back into their original holes.

Photo 3 shows a real good safety idea. Most o f us who do aerobatics in the Mentor carry two parachutes. Since we are not always successful in convincing someone else to ride through aero wi th us, the second parachute often rides the rear seat, sans

Photo 2: Belt hook in lower left corner aft of the flap control. Also note: the location of the G meter in the left corner of the windshield, the T-34C glare shield, M-1 Northstar Loran at the top of the radio stack, and the Silver Instruments Fuelgard digital fuel flow meter & totalizer (lower right corner).

page. 10

wearer. The seat belt/shoulder harness combination is just not secure enough to ensure that the chute won ' t have a fainting episode and end up slumped over the stick....which could ruin your whole day, especially i f i t happens midway through some wi ld gyration. The local Do- I t Center also sells a variety of bungee cords, which are easy to carry and have a multitude o f uses. One is securing that rear parachute f i rmly against the seat back.

Another good use for a bungee is holding open your baggage compartment door whi le you load/unload, (you know how that door is always whacking you in the backside, or catching on your new f l ight suit as you try to arrange 200 pounds of baggage in a 100 pound compartment. Hook one end of the bungee to the door, and the other end to the boarding assist handle on the side of the fuselage.

Photo 2 shows my choice o f position for the accelerometer. This is a convenient placement for a couple o f reasons. Number one, is save panel space. Number two, and more importantly, i t allows you to check the accelerometer easily during aerobatics. (Somehow, my eyeballs can't seem to lock onto an instrument in the panel real easy when I am grunting under G.) Wi th the G meter along the base of the canopy bow, it is easy to check quickly during maneuvers. The easy way to apply markings is with pre-cut vinyl numbers/letters.

Rick Gretz, of The Signery, will make you a complete set of T-34 military detail stencils, which include all wing, tail, and fuselage station numbers, compartment and fuel tank instructions, etc. etc. He can also do large numbers such as those shown on the nose of N300SH, and individual letters like those on the "DANGER" nose stripe. They are easy to apply, look better than paint (no ragged edges where you didn't mask real tight), and will survive any airspeed you can put on the Mentor. These have been on since last summer and show no signs of wear. Contact Rick Gretz or Dave George at The Signery (312)-357-2300 or (312) 357-2252.

Photos 3 & 4 (left &. below): A short bungee will help keep the back seat parachute in place and keep the baggage door from inter/erring with loading and unloading.

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P U L L l j ^ ^

Gs... by: LouDrendel

Since much of the basic appeal of the T-34 has to do wi th its acrobatic capabilities, most of you are probably familiar wi th the term, and to some degree, the sensation of "PuUing Gs". But how many of you are aware of what is going on in your body when your arms get heavy and the seat starts pushing back at you? I f you are a former mil i tary fighter/attack pi lot, you are well aware of the debilitating effects of Gs, and are probably able to anticipate and (to some extent) counter their onset. Fighter and attack airplanes have been able to actually cause blackouts as far back as Wor ld War I I .

As for the T-34, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the T-34 doesn't have enough performance to generate the kind of Gs which w i l l cause a real blackout. The bad news is that the T-34 doesn't have enough performance to generate the kind of Gs which w i l l cause a real blackout. Stil l, you can pul l enough Gs to make yourself uncomfortable, and perhaps cause a fatal disorientation, so a little G education is probably not a bad idea.

The term "blackout" is no longer in vogue. In fact, what was once known as "blackout" could vary from loss of vision to loss of consciousness. The average pi lot is able to withstand up to four Gs without the aid o f an anti-G suit with no loss of visual acuity. That's not 4 continuous Gs either, but then, there aren't any T-34s that can pul l 4 Gs for more than a few seconds. But you can pul l hard enough and long enough to produce some "grey-out" in the T-34 maybe even a little "blackout" i f your arteries are supple and you are tall.

As everyone knows, the term " G " refers to gravity. One " G " is the natural force of the earth's gravity. When you convert your airplane's kinetic energy into a change in direction, you encoun-ter centrifugal forces which produce "G" . You can produce the most G by pushing or pul l ing on the stick. (Since your tolerance for negative G is significandy less than i t is for positive G, most airplanes are designed to maneuver wi th positive G more rou-tinely.) 2 Gs means you weigh twice what your normal weight is, and your body must cope with the added strain. I t also means that gravity is trying to force the blood (which carries the oxygen) out of your head and into your derriere. (I know, I know, you're thinking that would improve the cognitive skills of some of our members.) But to most of us, that spells trouble. As the blood drains to your lower extremities, you begin to experi-ence a narrowing of your peripheral vision. Keep up the Gs, and tunnel vision becomes loss of vision the old classic "black-out".

The new term for a total blackout is G-Induced Loss of Con-sciousness, or "GLOC" , and it is a serious problem in the US AF. The newest generation of "super fighters" are able to pul l a lot more Gs than even the super-hero-cum-fighter pilots of the

1980s can stand. The F-16, in particular, was designed and built to routinely pull 9 Gs. A lot of fighter pilots can keep up with i t for short periods, i f they are prepared. Many more cannot, and there have been several fatal crashes as a result. The GLOC which caused these crashes was not necessarily induced by the G you might be familiar wi th as encountered in a wind-up turn. Most often, loss of consciousness occurs because the pilot is not ready for what he is about to put himself through. That might sound odd I mean, how could he not be ready for it, i f he is the cause of it....right? Wel l , imagine that you are cruising along, fat, dumb, and happy, when you happen to glance over your shoulder and spot an aggressor pul l ing his nose into f i r ing position behind you. What's your first reaction? Y A N K A N D BANK...r ight? Wel l , when you yank on the F-16s stick, i t is going to give you an immediate dose o f high G, and the chances are, the enemy behind you w i l l not have to waste his ammuni-tion to score a ki l l . Oh, the airplane is not going to depart l ike your airplane would i f you "snatched" the stick into your lap. These new airplanes are ruled as much by their f l ight control computers as they are by the pilot. State of the art aerodynamics, coupled wi th f l ight control computers, and engines which produce thrust which is equal to or greater than the weight of the airplane allow them to pul l a lot of Gs! And those Gs can be rapidly encountered. No, the airplane won' t depart the pilot w i l l from the land of the conscious.

Well , back to our T-34s. You don't have to worry about GLOC....the airplane just won' t al low you to produce it, unless you have an unusually low tolerance for Gs. But i f you do get yourself into a situation that is capable of producing a lot of Gs, here is what you do: Pretend you are sitting on the toilet and you are really constipated. Grit your teeth, tighten your stomach, thigh, and ( i f possible) calf muscles, and grunt against the Gs for all you are worth. The average pilot can gain himself an extra G of tolerance by performing this maneuver. I f you have ever listened to a tape of a jet dogfight, your can hear the pilots grunting and groaning as they strain against the Gs. It doesn't sound l ike Maverick and Goose, but i t sure works!

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From The Company Store

Our Merchandising Officer, Ken Williamson, reports the addition of some new merchandise and some special pricing. Now is the perfect time to consider Father's Day gifts, or to drop some hints!

T-34 Silk Ties. Blue or Maroon $15.00

Sweaters, with embroidered Ass'n emblem, available in Blue, Grey, or White. Normally $30, special price only $15.00!

Association Emblems (minor stitching flaws) T-34 Association patch

T-34 Wings (metal) Gold or Silver

$2.00 $4.00

$7.00

Decals, interior or exterior, normally $1 each, special sale price 500 each (minimum order of 5).

Gatsby Cap, white cotton cap with Ass'n emblem as made famous by internationally renowned banjo picker and top cover pilot. Bob Morse. $6.00 each.

Helmets — SPH-5. Olive Drab, Large and medium only. Fair to good condition $95 . Add $4.80 shipping, (sizing pads with hehnet for custom fit)

Military Audio Panel - this item is available through the Association by special order. It is a very high quality audio panel with six station intercom built by NAT (Northern Airborne Technology) primarily for the helicopter industry. The AMS40 and AMS41 models have been adapted for fixed wing use by eliminating much of the helicopter specific equipment in order to significantly reduce the price. This is a very miUtary looking piece of equipment with too many functions and capabilities to name here. Contact Ken, who is installing one in his T-34, for more details. Cost for AMS40 which has push to talk or hot mike is $1395 and the AMS41 which has the added capability of VOX intercom is $1495.

Brown or Black Leather Wings Name Badge Velcro for the above, add each

T-34 Assoc. Maintenance Compilation Decals, interior & exterior (min. of 5)

T-34 Assoc. tie tacks and lapel pins T-34 Association Wings

$7.50 $1.00

$15.00 $1.00

$3.50 $9.50

T-34 Assoc. Hats - sohd or mesh, with or without scr. eggs $10.00 T-34 Assoc. Shirts - embroidered wings or emblem $19.00

T-34 Jackets - like 'Members Only', grey or navy $39.50 Complete 4 volume T-34A manual set $125.00

(please add $4 shipping & handling)

To order write to Ken at the address below or give him a call at 814-237-3716.

Ken Williamson Merchandise Sales 1246 E. College Ave. State CoUege, PA 16801

Mentor Memories One of the major sections of the book we are working on is entitled Mentor Memories. In it Charlie Nogle, and various other members, recount interesting experiences that involved T-34s. The following contribution, from Bob Russell, is an example of this section.

" I first met the T-34 in the fa l l of 1956 at N A S Saufley Field, Pensacola, Florida. I was a brand-new Naval Aviat ion Cadet, eager to f ly . Our f irst meeting was benign to say the least. In fact, I thought we got along rather famously.

Ground school was two weeks long and consisted of an in depth study o f al l systems, a "b l indfo ld" cockpit check and bail-out procedures. Our first twelve fl ights in the T-34 were "pre-solo" and consisted o f instruction in basic air work, stalls and spins, takeoff and landing w i th a special emphasis placed on high and low altitude emergencies (engine failures) usually carried out to a landing. A t that time the Pensacola area was literally covered wi th Mi l i tary Practice Landing Strips (grass fields) and you were almost always wi th in gl id ing distance of a suitable field.

Takeoff f rom "Mainside" (NAS Saufley) was rather straight forward. (i.e. just takeoff and proceed to your practice area. A l l f ly ing in Primary was strictly " N O R D O " (No Radio). There was a coffee grinder V H F installed but no one bothered to explain how i t worked. A l l o f our landing practice, etc. was done at the out ly ing fields. One grass strip that we used was called "Ran-goon" ( i t was in the middle of a swamp). Another strip (where everyone did their first solo) was called "Milesquare" (you guessed i t—a mi le square grass f ield, hard to miss.)

Compared to takeoff, the landing back at Mainside was another story. One usually entered the pattern at 1,0(X) feet in a 3 mile counter-clockwise circle around the airport. When approaching abeam the numbers and clear of other traffic (remember, no radio) you let down to 500 feet and entered a one mile init ial to break over the numbers for landing. The standard procedure at the break was "Chop, Prop, 110, Drop" signi fy ing throttle to idle, prop forward, 110 knots, gear down. W i t h over 20 T-34s trying to land at any given t ime it was usually quite thri l l ing. The pre-solo phase consisted o f 11 fl ights plus a check ride which averaged about one hour each wi th one f l ight a day. (My log book shows 15.7 hours including the check ride.)

First solo, a real pi lot, a real tiger. The only memorable thing I recall is getting behind a T-6 at Milesquare and f ighting wing-wash for my first three landings, something 1 have been doing ever since at al l the air shows. Af ter init ial solo the tempo picked up considerably. W e averaged two flights a day and 1 show one day where I f lew three fl ights. ( A total o f 4.1 hours) ....All aero. We f lew about 25 hours o f acrobatic training, becoming com-fortable wi th every maneuver approved for the T-34. On January 27,1957 I left the T-34 for a whi le to go on to bigger airplanes. (The SNJ, T-28, etc.) M y logbooks shows a total of 44.2 hours in the T-34 during this period, a grand time indeed for a nineteen year old."

Bob Russell

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The JET MENTOR

On one o f his recent trips to Wichi ta, Kansas Charlie Nogle ran across the remains o f the Jet Mentor. The aircraft is parked on a ramp at a Wichi ta Area Vocational Technical School. Standing on flat tires and rusty landing gears, wi th control surfaces long ago removed, the prototype has been sadly neglected. The canopy is crazed, the rear seat is missing, and the engine has been removed. T o go along wi th the pictures we are printing, we are re-running an article that we printed nearly 6 years ago in January o f 1982. This article is f rom an interesting book entitled CLOSET CASES, written by Randy Mertens, and published by Pilot News Press:

T H E JET N O B O D Y W A N T E D :

On December 18,1955, what looked l ike a Beechcraft T-34 Mentor taxied onto Beech's north-south Wichi ta runway. But whi le i t looked l ike a prop-driven T-34, i t d idn ' t sound l ike one. Instead of the famil iar rumble o f a six cylinder Continental engine, there was an unfamil iar high-pitched whining sound.

The aircraft pointed its nose to the north, accelerated and became airborne, launching Beechcraft into the jet age wi th a design called the Jet Mentor.

But with al l the technical expertise, and patriotism running high at the time. Beech would never pul l o f f the idea of selling a jet-powcrcd T-34 to anyone. Twenty-f ive years after the first f l ight, the company's init ial step to turbine-power would be in the hands of vocational students learning their trade in a Wichita technical school. Beech had donated the Jet Mentor to the school to create more hangar room.

Beechcraft, despite its normally astounding abil i ty to determine what aircraft w i l l sell successfully, created an airplane that no one really wanted. The A i r Force, who would buy many of the jets to replace T-34 design, instead purchased the Cessna T-37 design—an unconventional airplane for the t ime wi th its two jet engines and side-by-side seating.

In 1955, however, neither Beech off icials, Tom Gillespie who f low that first Beech je t f l ight, nor the chase crew in a Tw in Beech, had any doubts they were on the brink o f a very success-fu l and profitable airplane.

The T-37 was barely heard of at the time. Besides, Beech had strong relations and contacts wi th the mil i tary and it would seem simple to beat this newcomer wi th its strange design. Even i f Cessna d id bui ld a few je t trainers there would be no great problem. The vaunted Jet Age had arrived and soon everyone would throw away their propellers and f ly on cheap and easily available kerosene.

page. 14

In 1955, c iv i l aviation was just entering "the year of the jet ." The first of the b ig jet airliners were roUing o f f assembly lines to the airlines, whose execs were wondering how they would pay for the expensive monsters. A t that t ime the airlines collectively signed contracts for more than $1 b i l l ion worth o f the new transports.

Alert to the trend o f the times. Beech saw an opportunity to capitalize on the tremendous interest i n jet aircraft. This seemed an opportunity to attract suff icient init ial buyers in both mil i tary and c iv i l spheres to get a strong head start in the marketplace.

The company promptly bought the exclusive North American distributorship o f the French Morane-Saulnier 760 "Paris" executive jet.

Beech took the example of the je t on national tour. In 90 days the Beech import made 724 demonstration fl ights from 38 airports, nearly everone who saw the 410 mph jet echoed the sentiments o f one veteran pi lot quoted in Beech's of f ic ia l history as saying "Goshalmighty, what a do l l ! "

The four-place airplane, capable of cruising at 23,000 feet, gained Beech prestige even the famous Bonanza had not achieved. By 1956, however, Beech discovered that whi le everyone loved the airplane, no one was going to put their money on such an experiment in air transport. Later, the idea was dropped. Today, despite being a leader in corporate aviation. Beech does not have a U.S. bui l t jet.

But whi le the 760 was sti l l being touted around the country. Beech market speciahsts and engineers were preparing the second thrust—this t ime into the mi l i tary market.

Speed brakes on the top of the Jet Mentor's wing, (photo by: Charlie Nogle)

B E E C H C R A F T M O D E L 73 J E T M E N T O R

Performance and Specification Data

Cru is ing Speed 245 miles per hour

H i g h Speed (at 15,000 feet)

Service Cei l ing 28,000 feet

Range (maximum with reserve)..

Gross We igh t

E m p t y We igh t

Useful Load 1,596 pounds

Load Factor (u l t imate) 11.25 g's

W i n g Load ing 25.5 lbs. per square foot

Beech decided to take a conservative approach to the mil i tary jet trainer. Rather than experiment wi th a new design — after all there was barely a hint of an upcoming mihtary specification — i t was decided to repower their tried and proven T-34 design.

This approach offered several advantages. Such an airplane could easily be incorporated into the existing T-34 assembly line. Since the two airplanes would share a great number of parts and systems, including the aft fuselage, wings, and landing

Continued on page 16

The remains of the Beech Jet Mentor, on a trade school ramp in Wichita, KS. (photo by: Charlie Nogle)

page IS

Jet Mentor Continued

gear, the cost of producing a jet would be cut down. Addit ion-ally, the T-34 was already proven to the mil i tary and was generally wel l - l iked by pilots. The idea that the elimination o f the cost o f producing a totally new airplane that in turn could make the airplane less expensive and more competit ive was lost to the company.

Wi th less than a year of development, the f irst "o f f - the-she l f Jet Mentor was turned over to test pilots for init ial f ly ing.

Beech had l i t t le doubt then it could sell the airplane design. Its T-34 program began also as a private venture w i th no specific mil i tary contract in mind. In 1955, that airplane was the standard primary trainer for the US A F and Navy. Beech off icials thought they would see a rerun of what happened wi th the T-34 — the mil i tary would write their specification to f i t the design, then sign a contract.

Beech market specialists saw the end of the T-34 coming. Mi l i tary sales were nearing the end of their contracts and it d idn ' t look l ike any large fol low-up orders for the T-34 were coming. Some Beech off icials thought the next mil i tary trainer would be another propeller design. But wi th newer types of jet aircraft capable o f higher speeds, range, and ceihng coming into mil i tary inventories, i t seemed to fo l low that the miUtary would adopt an "al l - jet undergraduate training philosophy," as was being done successfully at the t ime in Great Britain.

The Beech airplane also had other capabilities. A carrier-based version was considered. And mounts for external underwing stores were to be introduced as soon as mil i tary contracts called for them. Beech never considered the Jet Mentor to be a combat aircraft, but rather a natural candidate for combat training.

For ferry missions the jet 's range wou ld be extended to more than 600 miles by adding 80 gallons of fuel in two l ip tanks on the end of the Beech Bonanza wings. Main fuel tanks were located in each w ing and were of bladder type. They were connected to a central sump, and had a capacity of 180 gallons. Two engine-driven fuel pumps were installed, al lowing inverted f l ight capability.

The airplane was designed for an 11.25 load — out-pacing the T-34 by virtue o f thicker w ing and fuselage skins. A larger jet engine would have been fitted should the mi l i tary demand a close support capability.

The prototype Jet Mentor used a Continental J69 engine, an improved version of the French Turbomeca Marbone I I . The Continental engine had a maximum thrust o f 920 pounds.

The Jet Mentor was designed wi th an eye toward the simplicity o f maintenance mil i tary contracts wou ld demand. Wing leading edges were removable as was the entire aft fuselage. The latter feature could in eight minutes cut the airplane in two for easier engine access.

The airplane used electronically actuated trimtabs operated f rom the control stick. There was also a hydraulically operated "clamshell-type" ejectable canopy.

Production versions of the Jet Mentor would have had a maxi-mum speed in level f l ight of 295 mph at 15,000 ft., 65 mph stalling speed, a 245 mph cruising speed, a never-exceed speed of 500 mph, and a service ceil ing of 28,000 ft.

A Jet Mentor, w i th A i r Force equipment, wou ld have a gross weight o f 4,521 pounds. This f igure includes cockpit air conditioning, ejection seats, dive brakes, and a radio and instrumentation equipment typical o f mil i tary services.

But when the mihtary compared the Jet Mentor wi th Cessna's T-37, i t was decided the Cessna best fu l f i l led the A i r Force's training roles. That decision added greatly to Cessna's coffers and left Beech wi th a prototype without a market. Because the developmg countries who purchased American aircraft usually wanted the same aircraft as in U.S. inventories, the idea of selling the design overseas seemed too remote to try for.

So the two-year period between ini t ia l design conception and the A i r Force decision became the l i fe o f the Jet Mentor. After testing the airplane was put into storage at Beech Field where it remained until 1979 when it was donated to the Wichi ta Area Vocational Technical School for use^in the training of airframe and powerplant mechanics.

FCC Says No In our last issue we reported that the Association was about to secure a private or discreet frequency for formation activities. Well...our report was a bit premature and exaggerated. We were given this impression by a high level FCC source, but his promise was a l i tde too ambitious. When it came down to the nitty gri t ty, i t was discovered that the entire spectrum o f frequen-cies designated for aviation use has already been assigned.

We can most l ikely receive a ground to air frequency, designated for a geographic area, but nothing that would give us the continental U.S. coverage that we really want and need. We can also receive temporary frequencies to use at specific locations for a specified and l imi ted period o f time, and we may elect to do this for our activities at Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Sun 'n Fun, and T ICO each year.

So, wi th the exception o f the few special events where we may have a discreet frequency in the future, we suggest that you just continue to use whatever frequency you have had the most luck with. The balloon instruction frequency of 123.3 is reported to be extremely under-util ized so give this a try i f the other ones are too busy.

page. 16

For Sale by Members: T-34 Parts: I have many items for the T-34A and would l ike to sell as one lot. I have a set o f w ing tips (late Bonanza type), wheels, set o f new canopies, set of good ailerons, instruments, generator, starter, and many more items. W i l l send list or cassette tape o f items. Chuck Bowen, 11 Faith Dr ive, Vernon, CT 06066 (203) 872-4004.

1955 T -34A, 5800TT, 325 SMOH. Parks annual. Exterior 8, interior 9. Original mi l i tary panels except new radios. This one doesn't look l ike your neighbor's Cessna. Sale or partnership (experienced). Also KX175B , fresh yeUow tag $1075. B i l l Greenwood. 303-925-8036.

Editor: We print at no charge, any T-34 related for sale or want to buy ads, submitted by T-34 Association, Inc. members.

B o a r d of Di rectors Nominat ions Please In our next issue o f The Mentor Monitor we w i l l be conducting our yearly Board of Directors election. Currently we have an 11 member board, two of which are appointed positions and the other 9 being elected positions. Each of the nine elected Board members serve a three yeat term, w i th three members up for re-election every year. This year the three directors up for election are: Charlie Nogle, current and founding President o f the T-34 Association, yours truly (Jim Nogle), Treasurer and editor of The Mentor Monitor, and Julie Clark, our membership chairperson.

Our last two elections have been formalities when i t comes r ight down to it. Al though we have received a wri te- in or two, the directors have been running unopposed. There isn' t necessarily a problem w i th this, but we do want the membership to have the opportunity to present nominees. Ac tua l l y , we wou ld prefer to have folks nominate themselves that way we know they are w i l l i ng and able to serve and w i l l f u l l f i l l the duties that go wi th the position. I f , however, you wish to nominate someone other than yourself, please confer w i th them to see i f they are w i l l i ng and able to serve as a Director prior to sending me the nomination.

Send your nominat ions to J i m Nogle, 1009 Wi l sh i re C r t . , Champaign , I L 61821.

AT-34 Turbine Mentor Update On the 24th o f Apr i l , N 4 C N w i l l begin a three week adventure through the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. Jay Penner, T-34 Association member f rom Indianapolis and pi lot for Al l ison Gas Turbines, a division o f General Motors, w i l l be pi lot ing and demonstrating the airplane. The tour w i l l incorporate stops in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Columbia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, E l Salvador, and Mexico and the AT-34 w i l l be accompanied by an Al l ison Turbine powered A-36 Bonanza. A considerable amount o f the f ly ing w i l l be over water, w i th some water legs as long as 500 nautical miles. And, in order to cross the Andes f rom Venezuela to Columbia, Jay w i l l need to cruise above 14,000' and make use o f the airplane's mil i tary oxygen system. Most of the f l ight, however, w i l l be conducted in the 10,000 to 12,000 altitude range where the engine is the most fuel efficient. The entire tr ip w i l l cover 6,580 nautical miles, about 35 hours of f ly ing time.

Already after a European demonstration tour and a round trip across the North Atlantic to Paris, France and Ankara,Turkey, N 4 C N has accumulated nearly 350 hours since the turbine conversion o f not quite a year ago. A couple of months back, after careful analysis, i t was determined that the large o i l cooler air scoop on the r ight lower cowl ing was not needed. In its place a much more aerodynamic flush mounted o i l cooler was installed. The result was an honest, though hard to believe, 10 knot increase in cruise airspeed. Indicated cruise airspeeds are now as high as 200 kts.!

Certif ication o f this aircraft is st i l l contemplated, though estimated costs are quite high. To answer the questions of price, the only figures currently available are based on an experimental category airplane. Figure on spending about $265,000 to convert your airplane to both A l l ison 420 SHP turbine power and 80 gallon internal fuel storage.

Nige l M o l l and Russell Munson, editors o f Flying Magazine, f lew N 4 C N and an Al l ison Bonanza A36 back in February. Their praise of both airplanes and the Al l ison 250-B17 powerplant can be found in the May issue of Flying Magazine.

page. 17

MENTOR MAINTENANCE This issue of The Mentor Monitor has a two part maintenance section. The first part consists of an articles submitted by Jay Sarver and Charlie Nogle regarding the retract mechanism and a report from Harry Hadley on the T -34A battery no longer being produced by Teledyne-Gil l . This article is printed both in the newsletter and in the separate maintenance section for easy collection. The second part is our regular installment of Beech-craft Service Bulletins. It w i l l be found in the collection section only.

The Beech Service Bul let in enclosed is No. 20 which deals w i th the installation of a new type bushing for the flap actuator. Aircraft affected, according to the bulletin, are al l B45 T-34s with serial numbers o f CG136 or less. These aircraft were exported to Chile, Japan, and Columbia and al l were bui l t between February o f 1954 and Apr i l o f 1956. Domestic versions of the A model, bui l t during this same period, also probably required the same alterations, however, they would have been handled via the U S A F technical order system. The documents that we are reprinting are f rom Beechcraft and were shipped to their foreign customers. The f ix has most probably akeady been made to your airplane, but this service bulletin does offer insight into the mechanical history o f the T-34 and may prove valuable to you during maintenance or rebuild of your fuel selector system.

T-34 A Batter ies Harry Hadley, San Jose, CA reports that T-34A operators who are preparing their aircraft for the new f ly ing season, w i l l l ikely have an unpleasant surprise i f they determine that their battery needs replacing. Apparently Tclcdync-Gill has discontinued production of their GE-51 battery, which after the removal of the junct ion box and installation o f two brass terminal pins would plug r ight into a T-34 A . This was done when they updated the product l ine to the polypropylene case to meet mi l i ta iy specs. Evidently, they d idn ' t realize that anyone was sti l l using this particular version of the battery.

Harry, experiencing this problem, has been in touch wi th Dan Rankin at Teledyne-Gil l and has been work ing wi th him to solve the problem. As the potential sales aren't large enough to just i fy a new product, the expected solution is a conversion ki t which would modi fy a GE-51C battery to f i t the T-34. Note that this is the G E - 5 I C and not the GE-51E, which is the version used by T-34Bs and has a large Eicon attachment on the front of the battery — hence the bulging battery compartment door on B models. Note: The Bs original ly were fitted wi th the same battery arrangement as the T-34 A , but the Navy elected to change the entire fleet to the Eicon connector style. Since they have come out of Navy service, however, many Bs have been re-converted to the original A model style battery compartments.

The GE-51 C batteries are current production and recent pricing shows that they can be purchased for about $245. The ki t would furnish the parts and instructions for you to remove the cannon connector, add two small stiffening angles which w i l l reinforce the terminal lugs on the battery where they protrude through the case, and screw on the brass terminal pins f rom your old battery. Once so modif ied, the battery should l ine up perfectly and plug right into the the airplane's receptacles. Rankin states that the new polypropylene battery case offers some advantages over the

o ld batteries even though they have the same number and type of plates. They hold more acid; they uti l ize an improved anti-spill vent cap, which w i l l seal after about a 45° angle; and the polypropylene w i l l not corrode.

As stated, this k i t is st i l l in the concept stage, but the company seems to be committed to f inding a solution and this seems to be viable. Harry w i l l send us a more detailed and updated report for our next newsletter. Whi le on this subject, there are two other items to report. First, someone has informed us that a Concord battery w i l l f i t the T -34A i f i t is shimmed up, inside the battery tray, in order to put the terminal pins at the right eleva-tion. And second, it is important to know that G i l l batteries require an acid that has a specific gravity of 1.285, whi le most other batteries use an acid with a specific gravity o f 1.265. Use o f the wrong acid w i l l dramatically shorten the battery's l ife.

Nose Gear Retract A r m Dear Charlie,

Recently one of the T-34's that I work on was forced to make an emergency landing due to a broken nose gear retract arm that would not allow the nose gear to lock into the gear down position. During the investigation I made to locate the problem, I found the nose gear retract arm on the landing gear retract box to be broken through in three pieces!

Nose gear retract arms. Both thick and thin castings carry the same part and casting numbers. (Jay Sarver)

page. 18

While comparing this retract arm to my own and others that I maintain, I found that there are both thick and thin nose gear retract arms and they all have the same casting number! These were found on both A andB model T-34's. The enclosed picture shows the obvious difference between the thick and thin castings.

I am happy to say that our pilot made a textbook landing and walked away uninjured. The airplane had minimal damage and will be flying again, soon.

I hope this letter will encourage all T-34 owners to be aware of the potential problem and have the nose gear retract arm checked and replaced, if necessary, to prevent any further damage or possible injury.

JayR. Sarver

Jay Sarver's letter and photo, above, came by mai l the morning I was leaving for Wichita, Kansas. No question the photos and story are dramatic. This is not a new problem; i t is in fact a very old problem and goes right along wi th the breaking rod ends to create nose gear failure and the associated financial trauma that this brings.

As I was going to Wichi ta, I programmed in some time to meet wi th Norm Colv in, o f Beech and American Bonanza Society fame, and Dave Seavy, the parts manager o f United Beech, a subsidiary of the factory. Dave had a new nose gear retract arm, part no. 35-825172-2, in stock that had a date showing that i t was made in March o f 1988. I t has the same part number as shown in the 30 plus year o ld T-34 parts manual, including the same dash number and casting number. Both authorities assured me that no A .D . note or service bulletin has been issued or is pending regarding this part.

The heavier boss around the splined opening on some retract arms is probably due to a different vender making the casting larger to give the casting more tolerance during machining rather than more strength. Norm feels, as I do, that when these arms break, or when the rod ends break, that i t is caused by too much up tension or malfunctions in the forward nose gear retract system. Dave quoted the new arm at a l ist price o f $156.50 wi th a whopping 5% discount to dealers.

You might also be interested to know that Dave also told me that the w i l d upward trend in Beech parts prices is going to be viewed by top Beech and Raytheon management next month and he hopes that rel ief w i l l fo l low. Included in this meeting w i l l be al l parts managers from the various Beech distributors through-out the country. Dave assured me that the parts managers w i l l really tell i t l ike i t is. They see increasing loss of sales to P M A manufacturers.

Charlie Nogle

T'34 Insurance Update by Glen Travers

I recently attended a meeting o f a state pilots' association, and the members of the group prepared a list o f questions on aircraft insurance for me to answer. Many of their questions would be o f interest to members of the T-34 group, so I have picked a few to answer in print.

#1. What are the general trends that you see in aviation liabil ity?

Generally, the cost of aircraft l iabi l i ty coverage has been coming down. However, settlements for bodi ly injury in aircraft accidents are sti l l high. Some industry experts say that today's average wrongful death settlement in an aviation-related accident is above $700,000.

#2. I own an aircraft that is leased back to an FBO for rental. What is my exposure? What type o f coverage should I look for in these types o f arrangements?

You are wi th in your rights to ask the FBO manager for a copy of their insurance policy. Once you have a pol icy copy, you should ask an aviation insiu'ance specialist to review i t wi th you. You may find that the F B O is carrying l imits o f l iabi l i ty that are lower than you should carry. Relying on the FBO to tell you that you are adequately insured is not a good idea.

#3. I do as much maintenance work as I can on my own airplane. Could this increase my liabiUty exposure?

Yes, particularly when you sell the aircraft. I f an accident occurs after you sell the plane, and the cause is traced to faulty maintenance, you may be held liable.

#4. I know that my l i fe insurance does not cover me when I am f ly ing. Is i t easier to add that coverage to my existing policy, or to get a separate policy? What about coverage for my family members, when they are passengers?

Normal ly i t is easier to have your present l i fe insurance coverage endorsed to cover you whi le you are acting as a pi lot in your own plane. This extra coverage can be added to most l i fe policies for a nominal premium. As far as fami ly members are concerned, their l i fe insurance is sti l l in force when they are passengers in a privately owned airplane. However, your aircraft pol icy may l im i t the amount that fami ly members can collect under your l iabi l i ty coverage. These fami ly exclusions or l imitations vary f rom one insurance company to another, so you should check your policy closely to see i f these apply.

#5. What is the difference between "per person" and "per passenger" coverage besides the price?

The "per person" l imi t is considerably less coverage than the "per passenger" l imi t . I f your coverage l imi t is "per person" no single person can collect more than the sublimit shown on the policy. This smaller l imi t (usually $100,000) applies to bodily injury to people in the plane and outside the plane. I f your l imi t is "per passenger," people outside o f the airplane can collect up to the value o f the pol icy, but passengers are l imited to the smaller amount.

Glen Travers

page. 19

2nd Annual Oshkosh Warm-Up New Philadelphia, Ohio, June 8-12

Once again we w i l l use New Philadelphia, Ohio as our base for a weekend of intensive f ly ing and fun. Those of you who attended last year are aware of the friendly treatment we got from the locals. (I t seemed l ike all you had to do to generate a crowd at the airport fence was cl imb up on the wing of an airplane.)

The airport itself is a nice facil i ty, wi th hangar space available, as wel l as a big ramp. There is a very nice restaurant right next to the ramp, and the motel we used was good and reasonable. The surrounding airspace is free of TRSAs, ARSAs, MOAs.TCAs, and complaining civilians.

Ed Lovejoy reports that a large airshow at Pittsburgh is a possible target for a formation fly-over on Saturday - about 40 mmutes away. We hope to have a parachute repacking service and local shopping and tours are available for those who may be interested. Make your plans now to attend. Once again the dates are:

June 8 , 9 , 1 0 , 1 1 , 1 2

Lodging w i l l be at the Delphian Motor Lodge, about 4 miles away. Transportation to and from the airport w i l l be provided. Cost for our group is $35/night, double occupancy. A confer-ence room w i l l be available at the motel for our group and a free continental breakfast is served in the lobby. To make reserva-tions, contact K i m at 216-339-6644.

The a i rpor t , H a r r y Clever Field, is located 3 miles SE of the town. Coordinates are N40-28.3;W081-25.2. Waypoint: BSV-112.4 181° 16.0.

The airport manager is Mr . Wi lbur Riesbeck, and he can be reached at 216-339-6078. Currently avgas is $1.52 which includes tax. There is plenty of ramp tie downs available, and overflow w i l l be onto grass wi th tie downs provided and security is provided. A briefing room w i l l be available to our group at no charge.

The runway is 14-32, 3,965 x 100 asphalt, lighted. Unicom is 122.8; FSS 122. IR , 112.4T. Pattern altitudes: 1890 M S L light aircraft: 2390 M S L heavy aircraft.

The airport is on the Detroit sectional, low altitude L23, L24.. FSS telephone number is 216-364-1413.

The organizers of this event are Ed Lovejoy (412-872-0261) and Lou Drendel (312420-3040). Please contact them i f you have any questions.

Air Search for a Missing Friend, by Ed Lovejoy

Monday, March 8, at 10:30 P M I received a call f rom Ken Wil l iamson from State College, Pennsylvania asking to see i f I could do a ramp check at Rostraver aiiport, my home base. We were missing a Mustang was the chilUng news. The Mustang driver was B i l l Clark, a Warbird director and good friend. Earlier in the day. B i l l and the Mustang lead. Bob Byrne, took o f f IFR, from State College, Pennsylvania, as a f l ight of two, bound for TICO, Horida. B i l l never rendezvoused with Bob above the overcast at 4500'.

M y wife, Joanne, and I made the ramp check and shortly thereafter reported back, "No Mustang, Ken." Expecting this. Ken had his airplane ready to perform an electronic search of those infamous killers, the Pennsylvania!! Mountains. Ken returned wel l after midnight wi th no success.

The next morning, our T-34s joined the Civ i l A i r Patrol search and rescue operation out of Bellefonte Airpark, which is just minutes from Bi l l 's home base of State College. We knew that i f B i l l was alive he couldn't take exposure in the mountains for long, so the atmosphere was one of haste. As we began our third sortie in the early afternoon, the radio crackled with " I think I see wreckage." I inquired, "What k ind — Where are you?" The reply: " I see some yellow and some red — pause — I 'm not sure — pause — it 's probably nothing. I just don't know." Since I was close by, I asked them to keep circl ing unti l we got there.

In just a few short minutes, my observer and I saw the circling Cessna and we were directed in for a low pass, 50' or so, down a steep valley between two very tightly spaced mountains. The turbulence down low between the mountains was quite rough. As the Cessna called " N o w " , I chanced a look and saw a prop blade with some red pieces near by, a large black spot, and a path of broken tree limbs. I wanted to say into the radio " I t 's Bi l l . " , but I didn't. I radioed to the airplane circl ing above, " I t is definitely wreckage. Good job Cessna." We went in for another low pass for double confirmation and Loran coordinates.

On my way back to Pittsburgh I radioed the State Police helicop-ter, which was hovering over the crash site, and asked for further details. The sobering report was that the wreckage was con-firmed as that of a P-51 and that it had hit very hard.

Later that week Ken called again to ask i f the two T-34s based at Rostraver could participate in the graveside flyover. Jim Falcione and I were both able to attend. Four T-34s, f lown by Ken Wil l iamson, Jim Falcione, Chuck Bennett, and myself flew the PA Diamond in formation as our final salute to B i l l Clark, a fellow Warbird and good friend.

Ed Lovejoy

page. 20

The MOPAR T-34! Summer 1989 in Goodland? Julie Clark just reported before press time that she has reached a sponsorship agreement wi th MOPAR, a division of Chrysler Corporation. Julie, who seems to love the grueling professional acrobatic circuit, has been work ing very hard to secure a national sponsorship and she is really excited about her new role wi th MOPAR. She reports that although the negotiations are nearly completed that things are somewhat tentative and it could be several months before the corporate red tape is finalized.

A l l this means that a paint scheme change is probably in order for N34JC something that Julie doesn't take l ight ly. How-ever, she and MOPAR have already agreed upon a new scheme that involves a min imum of changes and preserves the aircraft 's public identity which she has worked so hard to achieve.

To really appreciate the significance of this sponsorship, you would need to know how much work Juhe invested. She put together a presentation manual which documented her carreer in the public's eye from professional waterskier to professional acrobatic pi lot. She hired top notch graphic artists to design prototype paint schemes to show to corporate executives. And, she integrated the presentation manual w i th a professionally produced video. Af ter completing the presentation manual, she targeted two top corporations. General Motors and Chrysler. The M O P A R division of Chrysler jumped at the chance.

A detailed article on the M O P A R T-34 w i l l fo l low in our next newsletter, complete wi th a photo o f the paint scheme. Fol low-ing is a schedule of Julie's conf irmed airshow appearances:

April 23, 24 El Toro Airshow - Santa Ana, CA May 7, 8 "Wings of Victory" - Navato, CA May 17,18 Sacramento Int'l Airshow - Rancho Murieta, CA May 21, 22 Navy Dallas Airshow '88 - Dallas, TX May 28, 29 "Pulling Gs for Charity" - Stockton, CA June 3-5 Merced Antique Fly-in - Merced, C A June 11,12 Albuquerque Air & Trade Show - Albuquerque, N M June 18, 19 Weber State College Airshow - Ogden, Utah June 25,26 Willow Run Airshow - Detroit, M I July 2-4 St. Louis Riverfront 4th of July Celebration July 9 Park Rapids Airshow - Park Rapids, M N July 10 Wheels, Wings, & Water Fest. - St. Cloud, M N July 16, 17 Airshow Rockford - Rockford, IL July 23, 24 Lion's Club Airshow - Siren, WI July 29-Aug. 5 EAA Oshkosh '88 Convention August 6, 7 Greater Peoria Air Fair - Peoria, IL August 13, 14 Hibbing-Chishohn Aviation Days - Hibbing, M N August 27,28 Springfield Air Rendezvous, Springfield - IL September 4 Petaluma Air Fair '88, Petaluma - CA September 10, 11 Greater Denver Airshow - Denver, CO September 25 Golden State Air Fair - Santa Maria, CA October 1, 2 Sierra Vista Airshow - Sierra Vista, AZ October 6-9 Confederate Air Force Airshow '88 - Harlingen, TX October 29,30 California Int'l Airshow - Salinas, CA

I have recently been contacted by El l io t Braun, who is in charge of the annual Reunion Airshow, in Goodland, Kansas. They have generously requested that our Association jo in them next year, summer o f 1989, in their 1989 Renunion Airshow, which is to be held the last week-end o f June; the 23,24,25th .

The folks f rom Goodland are work ing hard to make this a National caliber annual event. This year the "reunion group" is the W W I I glider pilots. I have received a complete package of promotional materials, including formal invitations from the Airshow Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Goodland.

Each year we have a pre-Oshkosh warm-up, for formation practice, which this year is scheduled for New Philadelphia, Ohio. Although, I don' t have it in wr i t ing yet, I have a very f i rm verbal commitment from Mr . Braun for at least 2.5 hours of free fuel and one free motel room per airplane. They also w i l l provide a meeting room for us, and w i l l treat us to a Friday night banquet, Saturday moming breakfast, and Saturday night Bar-b-que.

The high plains area around Goodland have excellent airspace for formation work. In fact the United States National Aerobatic Team has selected this site for their practice base prior to the wor ld championship to be held later this summer in Canada.

Goodland is located right on 1-75 in extreme western Kansas, near the Colorado border.

Their event this year, scheduled for June 25 & 26 is featuring a lot o f mil i tary aircraft, national aerobatic acts, and Warbirds f rom B-17s to Spitfires. W e hope that some of our members w i l l be able to attend this year, scout out the area, and send us a report.

They have made us a very attractive offer, one that deserves consideration to move our pre-Oshkosh event from Ohio to Kansas. Perhaps we can lure some of our more western mem-bers into attendance. Keep this idea in mind, because we w i l l be discussing i t at our upcoming meetings in New Philadelphia and Oshkosh.

Congratulations, Julie!

page. 21

Letters to the Editor Dear Jim, Dear Jim:

Our T-34A is for sale, please run the accompanying ad in the next couple of issues o f The Mentor Monitor. Also, our Aspen Airshow is July 2, (Sat.) and one next door at Eagle on Sunday. W e ' d love to have fel low E A A or T-34 pilots, even without airplanes. Aspen is very pretty i f you've never been here, and we have as much of a pilots' party as we do a public airshow. B ig f ireworks on Friday night etc. W e can't pay b ig expense money, but we have been able to give out pretty generous fuel. We may have a B-17 this year. Runway is 7000' by 100' so plenty of room.

I was discussing the Loundagin accident wi th Jay Cul lum who has f lown our shows several times in his 285 hp A model. He says that high altitude aero is quite a bi t more d i f f icu l t and requires more allowances. The stall may be more pronounced wi th less warning, you rarely have a true horizon, and in doing any k ind of combination 8 type maneuver, one may run out o f airspeed. I had been at an airshow in Idaho earlier wi th Gary and he mentioned the di f f icul ty of doing point rolls at the 5000' + altitude on a 95° day. I ' d l ike to see Jay, or some other p i lot famil iar w i th high altitude write on this. Do loops require more room at altitude since true airspeed is higher? M y plane loops and rolls and spins f ine, but I usually go down lower to do much.

A few corrections to the article on "Krys and the Mentor": The photo was of her and the examiner, not myself. Also, we have an A model.

Sincerely, B i l l Greenwood

Editor: Bill's ad for his T-34A can be found elsewhere in this newsletter under the For Sale section.

I miscaptioned this photgraph in our last issue as Bill & Krys Greenwood. Actually the gentleman is not Bill Greenwood, but Bill Swofford, Krys' examiner. The photo was taken after Kry's passed her private pilot checkride in the T-34 A.

For the past few years I have owned many aircraft, mainly Beechcraft. I am currently f ly ing a Baron B55 and a V35B Bonanza. Yet, each year as I walked the f l ight lines in Oshkosh, I became more and more envious of "Warb i rd" owners.

Af ter several years o f wishing, my wife and I decided to make otu" dreams come true w i th the purchase o f a T-34 in October of 1987. There were several beauties at Oshkosh, and we spent hours looking, taking pictures, and weighing the pros and cons. W e f inal ly made the decision to purchase N83811H, hangared in Mexia, Texas just 90 miles south of Dallas. The aircraft showed questionable total time; but, w i th a freshly majored engine and many other repairs already completed, we decided this one was the best choice for us.

The air frame was very clean and free from corrosion. The paint scheme was hideous and both wings were hail damaged. Realizing that specific aircraft can be an excellent investment/ hobby, (a way to keep the economy rol l ing) we took the plunge and are enjoying the excitement o f restoring 8381IH.

In Mexia, Texas, at the time o f departure, the temperature was about 90 degrees. The 225 HP engine had 13 hours dme SMOH, so we decided to f ly at 1500 A G L fu l l power to continue the engine break-in. The radio functioned poorly and needed lots of coaxing. The engine cut out periodically due to a worn out fuel selector valve, and we had oi ly plugs to contend with. Needless to say, our tr ip home to Lake Elmo, Minnesota was most interesting and challenging.

The next two weeks were devoted to analyzing, inspecting, locating parts, and appropriate help to start the restoration project. I located several T-34 enthusiasts who were invaluable in sharing their ume and expertise wi th me in order to begin the restoration project. Among those who shared their wisdom and experience were: M i k e Langer and Greg Fieber (Anoka, MN) , Jud Nogle (Tuscola, IL ) , and Dick Peterson (Lady Smith, W l i Jerry Sirracco of Whi te Bear Lake, Minnesota made himself available throughout the entire project, starting wi th the flight home from Texas.

Jud provided us w i th many new and rebuilt parts and helped solve many unanswered questions. Jud's knowledge and expertise are greatly appreciated. Af ter replacing numerous parts and proceeding wi th the overall evaluation o f the aircraft, we decided to replace the top skins on both wings. Dick Peterson, whose expertise as a sheet metal mechanic is highly respected was then contacted to do the job. Since Dick has worked on T-34s and Bonanzas for the past 20 years, i t came as no surprise that he was so wel l recommended.

In the process o f removing the top skins, which were the originals, Dick called me to say that he had discovered a love

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Dear Jim,

letter written on the underside o f the left top skin. I now have this top skin, w i th the letter and photo intact, displayed on the wal l o f my hanger. Hopeful ly , the author might one day see the letter and recall the event that prompted him to write it.

A t the present t ime, the aircraft is being painted wi th the T-34 C scheme and w i l l j o i n the f l ight l ine at Oshkosh. We have jo ined the T-34 Association and Warbirds of America and are looking forward to many happy years o f f lying. M y T-34 Association number is #555. Our thanks to the many committed people who have helped to preserve our precious "Warb i rd " heritage.

Respectfully, Tom Olson

Please print this brief note in your next newsletter:

For the want of a nail —

You have al l heard the story about "for the want o f a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the battle was lost...." Wel l , my nail and therefore my attendance to T ico this year was the result o f direct and quick action by Jud Nogle and crew at Nogle & Black Aviation. After having inf l icted about a 6 inch gash in my elevator by pushing the plane into my newly rented hangar, I realized that Tico was only 10 days away. A call to Jud and he has none in stock, but can reskin one and hope to have i t to me in time for paint, etc. for Tico. From Monday's call to Monday's installation, i t was on the plane and ready to go. N o w that's service!!! Keep 'em f ly ing and out of the hangar!!

Joe Howel l (Dr. Dawg)

Editor: Jud said that Dawg must have wrote this before he received his air fright bill.

It ' M -n A

L>, f. < ' r <•«

0 Dear Jim:

The fo l lowing is an open letter to "Dr . Dawg" - Joe Howel l .

Your comment to the L ima L ima Squadron at Tico was in-spired!!

Above: "Love letter" which was obviously passed down the Mentor assembly line in Canada. The letter was discovered inside the wing as it was being reskinned due to hail damage. Below: Tom Olson's restored Canadian Car & Foundry T-34 A, in a late U.S. Navy paint scheme.

"Hey! M y favorite bowl ing team!" A l l six o f them did look sharp in those bright orange f l ight suits! Real Team Spirit!

As a resident o f Naper-Aero, where four o f the T-34's are based, the idea of them forming a bowl ing team is great! Of course, they would have trouble picking a team captain seeing that they are al l so evenly matched. They could bow l late on Saturday nights. That might discourage them from leaving at 7 a.m. every Sunday morning to j o in up w i th the other two airplanes o f the Squadron for a f ly - in breakfast. Bowl ing does tire one out!!

Four T-34's running up and taking o f f is aweome and thr i l l ing but not at 7 a.m. You have given us food for thought!!!

Thanks, Emi ly Mart in (Sometimes T-34 back-seater!!!)

P.S. We really do admire those guys and are so proud of their formation prowess - al l o f the T-34s did a great job of formation f l y ing at Tico. Congratulations! See you at Oshkosh!

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Dues: In just a l i t t le over a month, 1988-1989 annual Association dues w i l l be due. As you probably know, we operate the Association on a June to June fiscal year. Dues are currently S25 per year. The easy way to check your standing wi th regard to your Association's dues, is to just look at the mail ing label on the envelope o f your most recent mail f rom the Association. A two digit code fo l lowing your name indicates the year that you are paid up to. I f the code is an "88" i t means that your current dues w i l l expire this June. A n "89" indicates that you are paid up through June of 1989. A n d a "99" shows that you have L i f e Membership status.

I f your dues expire this June, please take a minute to renew now and save me the time and the Association the expense of having to send you a bi l l .

Please send your dues to;

Jim Nogle, Treasurer-Editor 1009 Wilshire Crt. Champaign, I L 61821

New Memberships: A l l new memberships should be routed through our Membership Chairperson, Julie Clark. She w i l l mai l out a new member package which includes a complete up-to-date maintenance compilation and copies of our last two newsletters. The new membership fee is $35 and covers the first year's dues. Please send requests for membership and $35 to Julie Clark, Membership Chairperson, 3114 Boeing Rd., Cameron Pk, A 95682

CONTINENTAL 0 -470-13 C O N T R O L L O G I S T I C S , I N C . is now stocking a huge inventory of 0-470-13 parts to meet the needs of T-34 owners and engine overhaul shops.

All New Surplus materials, we have engine cases, pistons, valves, lifters and about every gear and bearing in the engine.

We also carry a large stock of spares for Bendix STARTERS and, for the truly original T-34: generator parts! PS5 CARB parts & Overhauls!!

Also available: parts for Beech 258 propellers and governors! Spinners!

C A L L US AT (301) 694-5556, T E L E X 4990461 FAX (301) 694-5060

F R E D E R I C K M U N I C I P A L A I R P O R T • FREDERICK, M D 21701

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