|
N141SW, the Texas Air Aces T-34 that
crashed in December 2004, had cracks in the horizontal tail spar --
cracks that were not detected by dye penetrant inspection that was
performed just a few flight hours before the crash. Thus,
there has been renewed interest in this area of the airframe.
Tail Type
According to Earle Parks there are three
different tails on the T-34s: The original tail ("light"), a tail with a
stiffener straps ("thin" or "stock"), and the "Navy tail" upon which his STC is based
(also referred to as "heavy" or "thick"). Just because
you have a T-34B does not mean that you have a "Navy tail". Look at
the pictures and descriptions on this
page to help you figure out which tail you have.
Tail Cracks
Cracks have been found in the tail
sections of four T-34s. Info and some pictures on
this page. |
