僕はミャンマ一の人ですでも零戦が好き!

I think that the altering of the Texans was still a pretty neat trick and if you didn't look too close they were convincing. In actuality, the performance of the T-6's was improved with the modifications that were done.

The T-6s sucked. They looked nothing like A6M. The Texan was a brute while the Zero was a samurai sword. It was a pure dog fighter unlike any US aircraft. There is only one Zero flying with its Japanese engine.

Those Frankenstein replicas began the aircraft recovery/restoration industry.

@MrFattyfatfatboy, there was a lot of magnesium in Zeroes too. That turns to powder quickly but you’re right, no flying warbirds today are very original and recent restorations are usually reconstructions. I don’t care, personally, I’m just happy to see them flying!

Troo dat!

As originally designed, the Mitsubishi Zero would be unsafe to fly. The main spar had a five calendar year life because the wing spar crumbled due to age hardening.

Fw1421 - exactly my though too!!!!😕

The Zero of Theseus.

Looks like it will be better built than one-off the factory floor.

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There are no "restored" Zeros, certainly not flying ones. There's a very good reason why there's vintage American aircraft flying all over the world at air shows, but there are no "vintage" Japanese aircraft flying today - it's called ALCOA 7075 and ALCLAD. In fact, there were no Japanese aircraft flying even a few years immediately after World War 2; their aluminum skins crumbled to dust, became brittle with corrosion (under X-ray crystallography, it looked like a field of little tornadoes), and as a result were dangerous to fly. Even the one that was captured in Alaska, brought to the US and given American standards of maintenance (San Diego is known to be as dry and as low-corrosion an atmosphere as it gets for a coastal city) corroded relatively fast and was eventually determined to be unsafe to fly. Everyone in WW2 antiquities knows that Japanese "Sumitomo metal" was poor grade aluminum (much as any "vintage" Japanese katanas are poor grade steel) - it was not ALCOA 7075, or it would not have corroded in such a way that would stun American ground crews used to maintaining American aluminum alloys. And indeed the Japanese lacked the technology and materials science to gauge the differences in Manganese or Magnesian between alloy 7075 and - say 6061. If you can't measure the difference between alloys, how do you claim to have "invented" the alloy? (The Americans figured out pretty quickly that the Japanese knew about as much about aluminum alloys - nada - as they did about silicon purification which the US perfected to 99.999+% wt in 1945, ushering in the modern semiconductor age). And this comes back to the niggling detail of the Japanese having very low-tolerance standardization - their parts were made by clannish companies often by craftsman. Add in the fact that they didn't use an ALCLAD layer and it's no wonder that American pilots reported seeing Zeros with their wings and spars snapping off when placed under high-stress dives and turns while trying to keep up, or escape American aircraft - contrary to what many novices think, the Zeros couldn't "out-turn" American aircraft in all situations - also, having a small turning circle at low speeds doesn't mean you will be able to complete that circle faster than an aircraft that has a larger track but faster speed in that track. (The key for American pilots was tactics - that meant maintaining speed and energy in their dives and turns, or converting it back into altitude once they'd cleared the Zero's engagement envelope, then come back at the Zero for another run). All of this is besides the point, ofc. All the Japanese planes today are made from modern "American" materials engineering. If you want to see flying vintage aircraft, you can - but they either (A) won't be Japanese or (B) won't be vintage - they'll be replicas built with modern materials and technology (I doubt anybody building modern Zeros would be reckless enough to use Horikoshi's method of randomly drilling "lightening holes" into the structural components of the wing)

Stay tuned for more on the Zero soon!

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Much appreciated!

You and me both!

The man who designed this aircraft made the fuselage and the area where the wings are underneath it one large assembly when everybody else is making wings and fuselage separate and they were joined these are made similar to a unibody car is compared to a body over frame car. It was also one of the early uses of Dural and at the time new aluminum alloy

Continuing from my other post he designed it this way to make it as light as possible although It was very complex to build

Are there any wealthy businessmen and enthusiasts in Japan that have plans like these or have anything going on like this would be awesome if they did because they would have a great resource of family members pictures to help make the aircraft finishes correct to The originals including the pilots and ground crew and mechanics there's a lot of information these people could provide their letters their photographs their experience

We really appreciate the kind comments! Keeps us going!

I don't know how much of an airplane has to be original in order to be considered a restoration. I do agree with you however.

+ Escape Velocity The project is based off of the wreckage of A6M3 Zero #3148, but I don't know how much original parts were used, castings, etc. They have carefully researched the plane and its history. Legend Flyers was formerly Classic Fighter Industries which built the new-build Me-262s that are flying today.

@@88mike42 According to the FAA you can rebuild an airplane based on the nameplate and register it as a certified aircraft to the original certification standard… A lot of Piper Cubs fall into this category with wings, tails and fuselages being replaced at one time or the other…

Make Japan Great Again

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That would have been awesome. Hopefully the new owner will complete the Ju87.

+ @fw1421 The Stuka was at Paul Allen's museum, and I don't think much of the collection was sold before the new buyer stepped in. Several aircraft were advertised for sale, including a partially complete B-17E, the partially complete Fw-189, and a few early jets. The wreckage of an A6M Zero was sold to German buyer. I think the Mig-29 sale was planned a long time ago due to complaints from neighbors at the museum. Ownership of the aircraft remained with Vulcan Aviation, which is part of Paul Allen's business/estate holdings, and now transitioning to the new owners who have only announced initial plans to reopen the museum in the next year or so.

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You should see his wand and cape!

I've read the book also, Dan. The A6M was a remarkable aircraft.

Thanks!!!

+ @N75911 A heritage group was negotiating for an F-105 to build for a flying display. I think the DoD and Congress were getting touchy with de-mill regulations, which is OK for newer aircraft but the F-105 is pretty old. I believe the idea of having a "nuclear capable" aircraft flying in civilian hands made some people nervous and the DoD came in a cut the wing spar on the candidate aircraft to disable it for flight. Paul Allen's museum has a nice F-105 but I'm doubtful that one will be air anytime soon.

We agree with you on this one... Neat, bit plane though!

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Thank you too!

Well there's the A6M5"D"&"E", and the A6M6, M7 & M8. But, I get what you mean :)

Thank you so much!

I believe that plane is now with the Flying Heritage and Armor Collection in Everett, WA. It is pretty rough still to this day...

@@gpagecolorado Thanks, I'll contact them.

@@Paladin1873 Flying Heritage is closed at this time. That Zero is now in their collection but not restored.

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@@Paladin1873 Just a heads up that this A6M project may be up for sale or has been sold. No information on it or who would have bought it.

Thank you very much!

They didn’t, it’s fitted with an American engine.

@@Pete-tq6in They have a Sakae engine for it but it was too expensive to return it to flyable condition, so they are substituting an R-1830.

@@FiveCentsPlease, they had a partial Sakae engine, but it does make a lot more sense to fit the P&W.

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Thank you for the quote!

Thanks for your kind words and support!

+ @fly-over1517 This was A6M3 Model 32 S/N 3148 manufactured in September 1942. She flew with the Chitose Kōkūtai group from the Marshall Islands, then with the 201 Kōkūtai group from the Marshall Islands. In 1943 she was flying with the 252 Kōkūtai group. She was left abandoned at Taroa Airfield, Marshall Islands until it was salvaged with group of other aircraft in 1991. It passed through several restoration companies until restoration to airworthy at Legend Flyers.

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That plane ended up in Texas and is now in New York.

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Glad you enjoyed it

@@gpagecolorado You welcome!

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Thanks for sharing the story of your Uncle! Man, what a job he had!!!

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+ AJ-2 Savage The Sakae radials are just hard to find. Only one Sakae in the world is flight certified, although I think another Zero restoration in North America was hoping/planning to use one. Multiple restored Zeros are flying with R-1820s or similar. Mr. Harada's collection in Japan has several authentic Zeros but they are not flown, and he is building a Betty bomber. lh5.ggpht.com/yamanobe.twoface/SJWVu9I4k5I/AAAAAAAARL8/9spNbuoT-nY/s640/DSC_3203.JPG

You have to go with what you have if it is impossible to find the original, the important thing is to see this aircraft fly.

It is an enormous amount! Spec aircraft like the 190s and 262s are highly risky in today's environment. It took years to find buyers for the 190s and 262s. However, it is possible to build another Zero if a buyer steps up. www.airassets.com

You bet!

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+Jordan Cunanan Yup, several A6M airframe restorations were contracted out to shops in Russia a long time ago. It's good to see the Russians now restoring some of their own WW2 aircraft like the airworthy IL-2s and Mig-3s. Another Bf-109 was pulled from a lake in Russia in 2019 and it will be restored in there but very likely not a flying restoration.

@@FiveCentsPlease Just looked up Russian ME-109 lake discovery. Good pictures and a video 😉

@@joelonzello4189 I think that Bf-109G will remain in Russia. They are doing good resto work there now but I'm pretty sure it will not be a flying rebuild.

+ BRealistic Not a copy, but using some of the design features.

It is modern Aotake type corrosion paint. Great question.

@@gpagecolorado That’s what’s great about us model builders, we do our homework on a subject and can recognize a lot of things.

If it has some original parts, it's a restoration.

Ehhh, I would say it's a lot more than just a replica. I feel that would be more of an appropriate title if the plane wasn't gonna be airworthy.

@@samsignorelli no a restoration is if more than 50% from the parts are original

Whether the AGM3-32 was the "perfected" Zero might be debatable. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero: "The shorter wing span led to better roll, and the reduced drag allowed the diving speed to be increased to 670 km/h (420 mph). On the downside, turning and range, which were the strengths of the Model 21, suffered due to smaller ailerons, decreased lift and greater fuel consumption. The shorter range proved a significant limitation during the Solomons Campaign, during which Zeros based at Rabaul had to travel nearly to their maximum range to reach Guadalcanal and return." I think there's a reason only 343 were built.

I agree

I would love to see a Claude but I think the only leftovers are in the truck lagoon inside a sunken Japanese freighter

@@964cuplove There may be a Claude at the Seaplane Base at Chi Chi Jima. My Father saw the Wrecks of Three Japanese Float Planes that had been bombed there. Two different Types. One Complete but flipped over and sunk. Two in Pieces.

@@964cuplove I remember reading on a forum about a surviving A5M(4?)-K in Indonesia stored in a museum. Probably just someone misremembering, but it's hard to not grasp at straws hoping that there's a recoverable surviving example of such a lovely aircraft. Also read something about an example captured and disassembled in Russia that might still exist.

@@P0nyB3h0ldr no not misremembering it's on display, don't know the condition though but it's been 30+ years since I'd seen it

@@michaelmckinnon1591 I actually went ahead and figured it out myself. Turns out it's a ki-27-K. Still a very rare bird, but not the legendary A5M. Could be different examples we're talking about though. Maybe the one you saw truly was an A5M.