A Real Flying Zero

[sequoiaranger]

I attended the "Planes of Fame" museum's "event" this last Saturday of taking out the WORLD's ONLY flyable Zero (original, not "Tora Tora Tora" replicas) for a flight. The museum itself (in Chino, CA, about two hours drive from me) is FABULOUS, having literally THOUSANDS of well-done models, as well as HUNDREDS of aircraft. I'm holding the flag, and the A6M5 is behind me:



Here is a long shot as it flew by, something few people will get to see, regrettably:



They even had a Heinkel He-100   , though it was a full-scale replica, not an original (none exist).

[jcf]

Its not the only flyable Zero, however it is the most original flying airframe and the only one with an original Nakajima engine.
The other flyable restorations have P & W engines.

[Eddie M.]

Here is the one I saw in Houston last Nov.

[Pablo1965]

I envy you...Thanks for the photos. 

[GTX]

Visit already scheduled for next time I'm in the USA!

Regards,

Greg

[Spey_Phantom]

very nice pics 

i remember seeing a Zero here in belgium to last year, although it was a rebuild T-6 Texan

[Jschmus]

To quote the two dudes in the Intel commercial, "This is completely and totally awesome!"

[jcf]

The Chino Zeke was taken to Japan for six months in the late '70s following restoration and made a series of flights in its homeland.

[philp]

I've taken a few pics of the Zero myself and loved Planes of Fame but lost the pics I took .

2009 Hill AFB Airshow







And the first time was in 2006, also at Hill.







A few other close ups starting here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/modelphil/2006HillAirShow#5345593131889072706

[KiwiZac]

Cool shots, guys! Would love to see (and hear!) the POF Sakae-powered -5 in the flesh, as well as the former BlaydCorp machine.

PhilP, that's the SoCal CAF -3 which made a trip downunder for last year's Warbirds Over Wanaka show here in NZ, where it went up against a beautiful Spitfire IX as well as a combat-veteran P-40N-1 (which is the only one known worldwide which fires blanks from it's Brownings!).







Here's a whiff situation for you all: Yak-3 strafing an A6M3 on takeoff!

[PR19_Kit]

Here's a whiff situation for you all: Yak-3 strafing an A6M3 on takeoff!

Could that ever have happened for real? Anywhere in the China/Japanese theatre perhaps?

[jcf]

Here's a whiff situation for you all: Yak-3 strafing an A6M3 on takeoff!

Could that ever have happened for real? Anywhere in the China/Japanese theatre perhaps?

In China/Manchuria exchange the A6M for a Nakajima Ki 43 and its possible, or in a 'What-If' Soviet attack on mainland Japan.
China was primarily an IJA theater rather than IJN, however early model Zeros were used briefly in South-East China and they
were based on Formosa.

[rickshaw]

Here's a whiff situation for you all: Yak-3 strafing an A6M3 on takeoff!

Could that ever have happened for real? Anywhere in the China/Japanese theatre perhaps?

Unlikely but theoretically possible, during Operation AUTUMN STORM the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and Korea.

[trekaddict]

Would the OP mind if I used one of those elsewhere?