We pay tribute to the T-34 and its most famous air show pilot — General Aviation News

A program celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Beech T-34 Mentor training aircraft drew crowds at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024 – or was it to see Julie Clark, the T-34’s most famous air show pilot?

Looking at the crowd in the stands at Warbirds in Review, it was obvious that Julie Clark was a compelling reason so many people attended the event.

Julie learned to fly in 1969 and became a pilot, first with the Californian commuter airline Golden West Airlines and eventually as a captain with Northwest Airlines.

But it was Julie's decades-long connection with her Beech T-34A mentor that drew the masses to Oshkosh.

Julie told the audience that she had worked with Navy T-34Bs at Lemoore Air Base in California in the 1970s. Her husband at the time was a naval aviator and Julie had the opportunity to work there as a civilian instructor.

“I really fell in love with this airplane,” Julie told the AirVenture audience.

She was already competing in aerobatic competitions in a Pitts Special biplane when she saw an ad in 1976 offering a government surplus T-34 for sale in a sealed auction. She accepted her $18,000 bid on the plane, an Air Force T-34A stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. In June of that year, she traveled to Alaska and saw someone spray-painting over the Air Force markings on her new acquisition. The surplus Mentor was far from pristine.

Upon landing in Whitehorse, Canada's Yukon Territory, Julie worked on the compasses of the surplus T-34s, replacing them because the compass for the front seat was 45° off from the correct setting for the rear seat.

Julie took a nap in the ladies' room at Whitehorse Airport and then followed the Alcan Highway as she headed to California in her new acquisition.

An exploding battery sprayed acid onto her feet and fumes into the cockpit as she flew over vast, uninhabited areas. When she saw a gravel runway, she landed. Julie said that with the defective battery, she could start her T-34A using a 24-volt power cart that she had to find at airfields along the way home.

She told the AirVenture audience that she made the flight in her surplus T-34 with the landing gear down.

This dingy, surplus T-34A with the leaky battery and faulty compass became one of the most eye-catching aerobatic machines, admired by air show fans for more than 40 years. It sat on the Warbirds In Review ramp at AirVenture this year, a testament to Julie's decades of leadership and piloting.

Julie told the crowd that she has already logged 11,000 hours of flight time with this T-34, including the 1979 ferry to Oshkosh before it was a show aircraft and camping under the wings.

“This is my ninth locomotive,” she said, pointing to the silver mentor behind her.

Before her solo air show career, Julie flew as part of a three-person T-34 group known as the Falcons team. In 1980, she flew solo, accompanying her graceful performance with music.

At first she flew to Louis Armstrong's popular song “What a Wonderful World”. But she said the song was really too short for her number. In 1984, Lee Greenwood's hit “God Bless the USA” sounded just right for Julie and became her anthem.

The song is sometimes called “Proud to be an American” (a quote from the chorus) and was performed live by Greenwood at an air show near the stunning St. Louis Arch while Julie flew her T-34.

This duel was magical, and Greenwood's patriotic song became a signature accompaniment to Julie's flying skills. At some venues, at the end of her performance, when she was back on the ramp, she would turn off the T-34 and let it roll silently to a stop while she stood up and waved a large American flag. It's safe to say that Julie Clark is proud to be an American.

After more than 40 years as an air show performer, Julie retired in 2019.

But at the T-34 anniversary session at AirVenture, which showcased Julie Clark's extensive experience with the mentor, it was clear that her charisma and star status endure, with fans lining up for autographs and selfies long after the session officially ended.

For more information: JulieClarkAirShows.com