SUMMARY
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a proven trainer of the United States military being in service now for over 7 decades! Coming off of World War II, Beechcraft was working on providing an updated and more economical trainer for the US military to replace and retire the T-6 Texan.

HISTORY

The T-34 Mentor was the primary trainer for the US Navy from the late 1950’s through the late 1980’s.  Many a Navy, Marine and US Coast Guard aviator began their training in this aircraft. 

Following her retirement from the US Navy, our aircraft was transferred to the Air Force of the Dominican Republic.  After spending time there, she was eventually brought back to the United States and in 2015 was procured by the CAF.  The aircraft spent that entire year in a rework facility in Florida undergoing an FAA mandated repair to strengthen the wing spar section of all T-34’s.  

The Coyote Squadron is fortunate to be able to operate this wonderful aircraft and have been able to take it to many places to show the younger generation how fulfilling a career in aviation can be.  As part of the CAF’s role, we pride ourselves in educating the young in the history of these great aircraft as well as helping some who are somewhat older remember days gone by.

This past year we lost one of our most ardent supporters of the squadron and have named our Mentor after her.  Colonel Candis Wells rides along as our co-pilot on all our flights.    

Please help us to preserve this historical aircraft with your generous donation to keep this aircraft flying.  Whatever you can do will help us in our endeavor. 

PROGRESS
Following her rework in Florida, the aircraft was painted in the scheme used by the Navy from the late 60's.  She is a beautiful sight to see and a joy to ride in. 

TASKS AHEAD
Our avionics are outdated, prone to periodic breakdowns and are no longer supported by the manufacturers of the units.   A simple failure of the most used button on our Nav/Com suite (the enter button) will render the unit useless and make the aircraft unflyable until repaired.   Fortunately, the manufacturer will still do a "rework" for us but at a significant price.  We know that this will be a multi-year process but we hope to upgrade the navigation and communication systems to more modern units that will be supportable for many years. 

VISION
Our goal is to raise $10,000 to be able to procure updated navigation and communication systems at a time in the very near future.  With your help along with contributions from our own members, we will be able to upgrade to a more sustainable comm/nav system.   Regardless of the amount that you are able to contribute, we appreciate your support.