The Military Aviation Museum’s Mitsubishi A6M3 Model 32 ‘Zero’ made a successful first flight on May 5 with the attraction’s chief pilot Mike Spalding in the cockpit.

The sortie departed from and returned to Paine Field in Everett Washington and is the culmination of around three decades of work, primarily by Everett-based Legend Flyers.

It was also the first time a Model 32 ‘Zero’ has flown since the end of World War Two.
After a flying time of around 30 minutes in which Mike took the former Imperial
Japanese Navy fighter up to around 4,200ft and carried out a series of tests, he
landed safely and declared that the aircraft “handled exceptionally well and was light
on the controls”.

Further test flights will be undertaken before the rare fighter can be flown to the Military Aviation Museum’s Virginia Beach home.