Read a great article today in new "Air and Space Smithsonian" about the main spar failures in the T-34 and what is happening. I attended Sky Warriors in 1994, had an absolute ball. I don't follow general aviation too much so I had not heard much detail about the wing failures, but the article gave the full story and what almost happened to the Mentor as a result. Seems its saviors are the very people who own and love them, way to go

One can find a lot of info on the American Bonanza Society website and also from the T34 Association.

Yeah, it was the T-34 Assn that was instrumental in finding a fix that allowed the plane to fly again. Raytheon, Beech's parent company, had come up with a "fix" that would have meant an expensive inspection of the main spar every 80 flight hours which would have cost many thousands of dollars a year for most owners, plus it limited the flight envelope. The T-34 Owners sought their own fix through independent engineering companies, and came up with four that met the FAA's requirements and allowed the full aerobatic envelope again, without having to have the frequent and expensive inspections. None are what you'd call "cheap", they range fro reinforcement of th weak area to complete replacement of the spar with a stronger one.