ZERO!!

[Dauntless]

 

[Boom]

Luv the sound of radials. Makes the hairs on the arm stand up.

Looks like an A6M5. Beautiful aeroplane. Such a clever design for it's time.

[wheelsup_cavu]

14 hours ago, Boom said:

Looks like an A6M5.

Give that man a cookie! 🍪

https://planesoffame.org/aircraft/plane-A6M5

 

Wheels

[golani79]

Such an amazing sound and a beautiful airplane!

[javelina]

On 7/7/2023 at 9:35 AM, golani79 said:

Such an amazing sound and a beautiful airplane!

Definitely sounds different then the Pratt's.  Awesome to have a real flying bird!

[spreckair]

Now there is a source for some good research.  I wonder if they would be happy to provide some in-cockpit sound recordings?

[BlitzPig_EL]

For a hefty fee.

The operating costs for a warbird are astronomical.  They are not going to just give you some tach time so you can make money with it.

Edited July 11, 2023 by BlitzPig_EL

[wheelsup_cavu]

20 hours ago, spreckair said:

Now there is a source for some good research.  I wonder if they would be happy to provide some in-cockpit sound recordings?

Not without compensation.

 

Wheels

[WWSandMan]

Reminds me... For those of us in the corn fields, there's a great resource for photos/video/audio of many *currently being flown* war birds at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Mn. Their latest acquisition is an A6M(5?) Zero, possibly from the Planes of Fame collection? I'm not sure. The day last summer I went there for their Pacific Fighters show the Zero had just arrived and was not flying due to (reasons.)

(I guess I'm looking for a reason to go back and grab more photos... )

Ummm.. here's a few photos I took of it ... 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by WWSandMan

[BlitzPig_EL]

Looks like a Pratt & Whitney re-engine job, but that's OK.  Whatever it takes to keep it flying.

Thanks for the pics!

[wheelsup_cavu]

AI-112 is not the Zero/Zeke owned by Planes of Fame.

https://planesoffame.org/aircraft/plane-A6M5

 

It is most likely this bird which is powered by a Pratt & Whitney 1830.

https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2016/01/30/a6m-zero-flies-again-in-japan/

https://www.boschungglobal.com/Inventory/Warbirds/Mitsubishi/A6M3-ZERO/N553TT

 

Most interesting news from the article even though they went with a P&W power plant was the fact that they used original blueprints to restore the aircraft.

Quote

Airframe:

    Original, salvaged airframe

Engine:

    Pratt & Whitney R-1830-75

    200hrs SMOH

Propeller:

    Hamilton Standard 33D50

    70hrs TSOH

BACKGROUND & HISTORY:

        Mitsubishi was first established in 1870 and grew to be a major industrial giant in Japan, involved in shipping, heavy industry and aviation. This iconic Japanese manufacturer built the legendary A6M Zeke “Zero” fighter during World War II. The aircraft was original and unique in both its brilliant design and labor-intensive construction.

        The hulk of the plane was found at Babo Airfield on Irian Jaya in what is now the Indonesian half of New Guinea. Through 1943 and the first half of 1944, the area had been exposed to many American bomber attacks and this plane was one of the unlucky aircraft that had been damaged by bombs. Not only the area seen violent attacks, but also it was later bypassed by the Allies, leaving many remarkably intact wrecks and abandoned Japanese airplanes.

        Babo was considered an almost mythical place in the eyes of aircraft salvagers by the 1970s and 1980s. A California aircraft salvager named Bruce Fenstermaker made a deal with local officials to obtain aircraft relics from the airfield in the early 1990s. Fenstermaker’s early actions in the area focused on an abandoned A6M3-22 Zero, which would become known as serial number 3869.

        After location and sale to the Santa Monica Museum of Flying (MOF), Fenstermaker and the MOF almost immediately agreed to participate in a joint venture to acquire more aircraft from the site before Indonesia withdrew permission, or other salvagers were able to mount efforts of their own. By 1991, the group had acquired two other Zeros and other airplanes.

        Efforts to get the three Zeros took “close to six years, covered two continents, and consumed in excess of 300,000 man-hours before all were actually restored to flying condition”, according to Bruce Lockwood, then MOF Director of Restoration.

        The three Zeros hulks, in varying degrees of disrepair, arrived in California in June 1991.

        After research, the planes were assigned serial numbers 3869, 3858 and 3852. All were in very bad condition – with bomb damage, bullet holes, and years of corrosion from being exposed to the elements.

        The sheer volume of work finally led the MOF to make a deal with Flight Magic Inc. of Santa Monica to continue the restorations more efficiently. This group had ties with an organization in Russia that had produced replica Yakovlev Yak-3 fighters powered with American Allison engines.

        The trio of Japanese fighters was transferred to Russia for completion in 1994. At almost the same time, the MOF unearthed a nearly complete set of Zero plans, which made a full restoration a much easier proposition. Original parts of each aircraft were used in the restorations, but since the planes were going to be flyable, “it would be mandatory that new materials and parts would have to be used in any area required to carry a structural load”, explained Lockwood.

        The rebuilt Zeros were sent back to California in 1997. American engines were judged much easier and cheaper to maintain than original Japanese Sakae powerplants, so each plane received a specially made Pratt & Whitney R-1830-75 power section, an R-1830-90 blower section, and an R-1830-94 accessory section – all mated together to work as a single unit.

        The first of the aircraft, SN 3869, flew in California in 1998. Marked as X-133, it is presently registered as N712Z and belongs to the American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum in Dallas TX, USA. Currently the aircraft is based at Southern California Wing in Camarillo CA, USA.

        This particular aircraft, SN 3858, was the second which flew (2000). The Zero departed for its ferry flight in March and has been delivered to NAS North Island CA, USA, for shipping to Honolulu, Hawaii, for the filming of the motion picture Pearl Harbor, which was released the following year.

        SN 3852 was the last of the three Zeros to be completed and has been purchased by the Flying Heritage Museum (today FHCAM, collection of the late Paul G. Allen). The aircraft made its maiden flight in 2012 and is currently registered as N3852.

• Significant WWII combat history

• Original, salvaged airframe recovered from New Guinea 

• Historic and authentic restoration using original engineering drawings (set of original Zero blueprints)

• Marked AI-112 and finished in the colors it wore for the film Pearl Harbor, where it flew some 55 hours for filming

• Cockpit restored to its original WWII layout. 

• Fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine modified in order to fit without unduly changing the cowling lines of the Zero. 

• Original Nakajima Sakae engine available

 

Wheels