Former Mojave Zero to Japan?

[C VEICH]

A thread at HyperScale is reporting that the Zero formerly based at Mojave (N553TT) and recently flown to Alaska has now been sold on to a new owner in Japan. Anybody that can read Japanese to confirm the details?

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/03 ... 80092.html

[Mike]

That news is true, but about 4 years old!

[C VEICH]

Guess I missed it the first time around. Obviously the bird has not been in Japan that long (if it's there yet at all) because I saw it in Chino last year!

[Mike]

It was brought out of hibernation a couple of years back after changing ownership. The owner is a Japanese based in New Zealand I believe, who has loaned it to the Alaskan operation. AFAIK it is still in Alaska.

[gary1954]

if it ever made it to Japan, wouldn't it become grounded and prohibited to fly because of it's "heritage"?

[C VEICH]

So it has been sold to a Japanese owner but neither the owner nor the airplane are necessarily going to be residing in Japan any time soon if at all.

[Mike]

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_new ... 1303290083

http://m.upi.com/story/UPI-79371364582419/

[k5083]

I hope Ishizuka-san can overcome the obstacles to get his plane flying in Japan.

An opportunity for the global warbird community was missed in the 80s and 90s when Japan's economy was booming and there was the money and interest to get a warbird scene going there, stifled mainly by regulatory obstacles.

From a parochial perspective, the inability to operate warbirds in Japan might have been seen as a good thing from the standpoint of the U.S., U.K., Australia etc., because no doubt quite a few choice airplanes would have been exported to that country if they could have been flown, much in the way that Van Goghs and vintage Ferraris were.

But warbirds are a renewable resource in a way that Van Goghs and vintage Ferraris aren't, and if those guys had been scouring Asia for rebuildable wrecks and underwriting restorations for the past 30 years, the global warbird community would be much better off.

Here's hoping it isn't too late. Ishizuka should, if he has not already, get together with like-minded individuals and some good regulatory lawyers to make a petition to the CAB highlighting the generally positive experience with warbird operations in countries with more liberal policies.

August

[gary1954]

August, you and the word guru's in here need to formulate a letter to the Japanese Government regarding lifting the ban, and set it up so we cam add our names in support of the measure.
I imagine that there are thousands of never seen before photos in the field of aviation of the Imperial Forces of the Japanese Empire hidden away as well.

Just tossing that out there

[k5083]

I don't know what the exact nature of the government's concerns are, what the best approach would be and to whom, but someone must. I'd be willing to pitch in. I have heard that the appearances by the POF Zero in Japan, of which it is now winding up its third trip since it was restored in the 1970s, have been well received -- although I don't have hard facts on just how well.

August