The concept of "rolling Gs" entered the mainstream general aviation consciousness after the third in a series of fatal inflight break-ups of Beech T-34 Mentor aircraft in separate events. Each of these tragedies occurred in airplanes operated commercially for so-called "mock air combat flights"—aerobatic maneuvering to simulate air-to-air ("dogfighting") missions for recreational purposes. The T-34 is ideally suited for this operation because the military-surplus airplane has the look and feel of a fighter airplane but the gentle handling and forgiving nature of the civilian Beech Bonanza on which it was based.
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