Page 28 - Volume 13 Number 11

On Dec. 18, 1955, Beech Aircraft Corporation president and CEO Olive Ann Beech took time from her busy schedule to shake hands with test pilot Tom Gillespie shortly before the Jet Mentor’s first flight. (Wichita State University Libraries and Archives, Depart- ment of Special Collections)
aircraft designated TT-1 were built and assigned to the U.S. Naval Air Training Command, NAS Pensacola, Florida. The TT-1 would serve as a platform in the Navy’s quest to “determine the feasibility of beginning a student pilot’s flight training in jet-propelled aircraft.” Deliveries began in July 1957. By December 1960, however, the Navy discontinued use of the TT-1 and resumed primary training in the Beechcraft T-34B and North American T-28. During the 1980s both of those aging airframes would be replaced by the turboprop-powered T-34C.
As time went by the Beechcraft Model 73 did not attract any further attention from the Air Force, but Navy and U.S. Marine pilots who evaluated the Beechcraft were impressed by its systems, handling qualities, cockpit comfort and performance. The Navy, however, chose the Temco design chiefly because of its low price tag. As Beechcraft historian McDaniel wrote, “That was the beginning of the end for the Jet Mentor, but to pilots who saw and flew the swift, maneuverable little ship, it remains even today “The airplane I’d like most like to own—just for fun!”3 KA
Notes:
1 “Prime mover” is a term long used by the FAA to describe a power- plant, whether piston, turbine or electric, that is the chief means of propulsion for an aircraft.
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2 Throughout the late 1940s and into the early 1950s hundreds of war- weary North American T-6 (U.S. Navy SNJ) trainers were rebuilt and soldiered on as advanced trainers, but despite being refurbished, Air Force and Navy officials recognized that their aging airframes and thirsty static air-cooled radial engines would eventually become increasingly expensive to operate, repair and replace.
3 As of 2018 the sole Jet Mentor airframe is in storage at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita awaiting restoration. For more informa- tion go to www.kansasaviationmuseum.org
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kan. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
NOVEMBER 2019
During a test flight the Model 73 was caught in
a playful mood above the clouds and Kansas prairie. Equipped with dual ejection seats and a canopy that could be jettisoned in an emergency, the jet-powered Beechcraft was designed to be affordable and economical to operate but was rejected by the Air Force. (Textron Aviation)