Good News For T-34 Owners

Most T-34 pilots can return to the air this summer as the FAA has issued several alternate means of compliance (AMOC). The Beechcraft T-34 Mentors were grounded last December after the wing of a plane used in mock aerial combat separated in flight. This was the third occurrence in the last few years, so the FAA issued an emergency AD to ground the planes.

"The T-34 owners have been great to hang in there through this process," said airshow performer Julie Clark in an exclusive interview with ANN. "It's been a lot of work, but we've had wonderful support from the engineering team of the T-34 Association."

Clark stressed that the GAMI folks, Jud Nogle of Nogle and Black Aviation, and Dan Thomas, the VP of the T-34 Association really pulled together to work the issue.

This AMOC is the first step in a process to return the aircraft to flight permanently. As the aircraft build up flight time, data will be collected. The goal is to extend the times between inspections, and hopefully allow the fleet to motor on for years to come.

The T-34 Association and the FAA worked together to obtain a solution for the problem. The AMOCs will allow owners to fly their T-34s with wing spar modifications by GAMI, Nogle & Black, or Parks Industries for up to 60 hours, as long as they don't exceed 152 knots or -0/+2.5 Gs. They aren't allowed to fly aerobatics, or fly into known moderate or severe turbulence. And, they must complete a surface eddy current inspection. Owners will need to contact the original AMOC holder to get the 60 hour flight extension.

Aircraft modified by the Saunders Strap AMOC will have to have the same surface eddy current inspection, but then can return to its original flight envelope. The center section will then need to be inspected every 300 hours.

A special AMOC incorporating frequent inspections of her plane will allow Clark to fly her airshow performances this season. "We'll make all of our scheduled appearances," said Clark. That's good news for the crowds!

FMI: www.t-34.com, www.americanaerobatics.com