The First FLIGHT of the Flying Heritage Collection's Mitsubishi A6M3-22 Zero N3852 took place in late March. This example of the wartime Japanese fighter is unusual in that it is a two-seat conversion, having a second cockpit behind the traditional one and a correspondingly extended canopy. It is largely of new-build construction, but based upon the remains of three battered hulks recovered from Indonesia's Babo Islands by Bruce Fenstermaker in 1991. While the restoration has tried to stay as authentic as possible, Nakajima Sakae engines are unavailable, so the restoration team chose an effective, more readily available equivalent to power the aircraft, the Pratt & Whitney R-1830. Several previous owners have been involved in the Zero's rebuild. Alan Preston sent the airframe to Russia for reconstruction in 1994. During 1997 the structural work was largely complete. Paul Allen, FHC's benefactor, bought the Zero in 1998, storing it for some years at his facility in Arlington, Wshington.
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