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USA: Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero of the Military Aviation Museum takes off

dewoitine

dewoitine

SOH-CM-2025
Sorry, in French!

USA: le Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero du Military Aviation Museum prend son envol – L’Echarpe Blanche

www.lecharpeblanche.fr www.lecharpeblanche.fr

On May 5, at Paine Field, Everett, Washington, USA, Mike Spalding conducted the new first post-reconstruction flight of the Mitsubishi A6M3 Model 32 Zero . Rebuilt by Legend Flyers and registered NX9940 , the aircraft belongs to the American collector Gerald Yagen and his Military Aviation Museum based in Virginia Beach, USA. This former Imperial Japanese Navy fighter is probably the first model 32 to fly since 1945.
 
An old Navy shipmate of mine is a docent at the Military Aviation Museum, where this Zero is headed. He has invited me to spend a day at the museum with him and now I'll wait until the Zero gets there.
 
Yes! A wonderful restoration to airworthy condition. It was originally to be restored using a Nakajima Sakae-21 engine, but cost and availability forced the restoration to use a P&W R-1830. The propeller is actually a DC-3 prop and the prop spinner is from a Lockheed Super Constellation spinner.
 
Did the A6M3 Model 32 have a rudder trim tab configured like the A6M2 (Ground Adjustable) or like the A6M5 (Flight Adjustable)?
This one ground adjustable and I thought that had gone away with the A6M2.
 
In watching the videos, I can tell you that the narrator in the first video really doesn't know anything about the A6M3 he is trying to describe.
Many of the details he notes are outright wrong.

- Ivan.
 
About 10-20 years ago, there were about a dozen new construuction A6M airframes built in Russia. These were new construction and not restored wrecks. As such, there were probably a few changes made to suite the fact that these were no longer combat aircraft and were most likely going into the airshow circuit and would be powered by P&W R-1830s instead of the original 1700 CID Sakae engine. One of the observations that can be made with some of the modern aircraft is that the "No-Step" area over the Flap Wells is no longer being observed. The original aircraft had very thin sheet metal over these areas and an outline denoting a "No-Step" area. The Pilot and Ground Crew accessed the cockpit by using retractable pegs intended to support their weight. This wasn't easy but was necessary because of the light construction. My belief is that the new construction airframes did not reproduce the cockpit adjustable Rudder Trim in order to simplify construction. In other aircraft such as the Chino A6M5, the fuel capacities are not original and the fuselage fuel tank is not installed. I suspect this is the most likely situation here as well.
 
Ivan said:
About 10-20 years ago, there were about a dozen new construuction A6M airframes built in Russia. These were new construction and not restored wrecks. As such, there were probably a few changes made to suite the fact that these were no longer combat aircraft and were most likely going into the airshow circuit and would be powered by P&W R-1830s instead of the original 1700 CID Sakae engine. One of the observations that can be made with some of the modern aircraft is that the "No-Step" area over the Flap Wells is no longer being observed. The original aircraft had very thin sheet metal over these areas and an outline denoting a "No-Step" area. The Pilot and Ground Crew accessed the cockpit by using retractable pegs intended to support their weight. This wasn't easy but was necessary because of the light construction. My belief is that the new construction airframes did not reproduce the cockpit adjustable Rudder Trim in order to simplify construction. In other aircraft such as the Chino A6M5, the fuel capacities are not original and the fuselage fuel tank is not installed. I suspect this is the most likely situation here as well.
Click to expand...
Although they used the parts from several different wrecks recovered from Babo Island, there were only three A6M airframes reconstructed/built in Russia, all A6M3 Model 22's. That whole project was arranged and funded by the US-based company called Flight Magic (Museum of Flight), back in the 1990s. The work in Russia spanned 1994-97, and then each of the three airframes were later individually completed in the US (final systems work, engines, props, paint, etc.). The first of the three completed, which incorporated the most original parts, is the example owned/operated by the Commemorative Air Force Southern California Wing (c/n 3869, N712Z), which was first flown in 1998. The second of those to be completed is the example owned/operated today by Fagen Fighters WWII Museum (c/n 3858, N553TT), which was first flown in 2000. The third and final to be completed is the example owned/operated by The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (c/n 3852, N3852), which wasn't fully completed/flown until 2012 (partly due to extra work being put into rebuilding the cockpit and canopy section to match a WWII Japanese two-seat field-mod, completed in 2008).

Of the six authentic A6M Zeroes flying today, I'm not aware of any of them using skins that are any thicker/heavier than as originally used. Every example I'm familiar with, the no-step portion of the wings is most definitely observed, with pilots still having to be very careful to only step where they're supposed to. I do know that in some, there have been some "Americanized" cockpit modifications, such as expanding the distance between the seat and rudder pedals in some of them. I have noticed that, like you say, all of the flying A6M3 Model 22's have a ground-adjustable rudder trim tab, which I recall reading that they originally had cockpit-controllable rudder trim tabs on those examples. Where as the A6M3 Model 32 that is the subject of this thread (c/n 3148, N9940) originally had a ground-adjustable rudder tab, as it does today. It was actually found to have the tail section from another Model 32, c/n 3145.
 
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