Inside The Cockpit - A6M3 'Zero' Fighter 

The Mitsubishi Zero is still spectacular, even after 80 years!

A6M3 notification…. Clicked on the video as fast as I could!

Very cool Chris. Kudo's to the air museum for letting you have a self-guided cockpit tour. Those aviator's, geez, having guns in so close. They came back smelling like burnt powder. Minimalism in instrument cluster. Really something else.

If anyone else like me was wondering, I believe the Zero's folding wingtips were meant to allow them to fit onto Japanese carrier elevators more than being optimized for hangar storage space.

Well done, Chris! Fagen Fighters is a fantastic small museum tucked away in rural southwestern Minnesota about 2 hours west of Minneapolis. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and the admission fee is modest. Their aircraft are not only in flying condition, but most are actually flown from time to time (I can't speak to the Zero, but I've seen a P-51, an F6F, and a P-40 from their collection flying). One of the hangars also contains a sizable aircraft library. If you have an opportunity to visit, take advantage of it!

Big thanks to _Fagen Fighters WW II Museum_ for letting us inside! A rare honour. \m/

Thank you Christoph and Fagen Fighters WW2 Museum. Beautiful display and a true privilege.

This was fantastic. What a stunning Aircraft, I have always appreciated Japan's ability to design and build amazingly good aircraft. I always learn something new while watching these videos and this doesn't disappoint. And thank you to the museum for allowing this, I am based in the UK and unfortunately will never get to see this beautiful aircraft in person, so these videos are the closest I will ever get.

Very nice Video. Nice of the Museum to let you get up close with such a legend.

The extremely precarious way the pilot has to get into the plane makes me wonder how difficult it was to service this machine.

One of my favoutite planes-along with , of course the Spitfire, P-51, FW190, Me262, Mosquito, Mig 17, and Cessna C-152 (not all are Warbirds) Apparently, so the story goes, Chuck Yeager flew a Zero and said it was a delightful airplane to fly, but he wouldn't want to fight in one. Great video of a great airplane, thanks Chris. Cheers, from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

My Pops was an aircraft engine mechanic on biak island which contained a large Japanese aircraft boneyard. He said he couldn’t believe how fragile and lightly built the aircraft were

Chris, Thank you very much for this opportunity to see Zero. Special thank to many people who put soo much effort to restore this Zero.

THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!! one of the iconic aircraft from ww2, so interesting to get a look inside

Thanks to Christoph and to the Fagen Fighters museum, very appreciated.

An Excellent job as usual, Chris! The A6M is an excellent example of how different Tactical Philosophies and Design Approaches can have a huge effect. In the early Japanese planning for the outbreak of the Pacific War, they were originally planning to have 3 Aircraft Carriers supporting the initial airstrikes and landings on the Philippines. (Then a U.S. Territory) The demonstration by some operational A6M squadrons that showed the, as you say, "Unbelievable" range of the Zero allowed the fighter cover to be flown from Formosa (Taiwan), freeing up those carriers for the other actions that were to occur on Dec 7/8 (International Date Line). With its almost biplane-like maneuverability, exceptional (For the time) Cockpit Visibility, and, if you got close enough, 20mm punch, if you were able to keep on the offensive, you could defeat anything they were going to encounter in 1941-late 1942. It took the introduction of a new generation of fighters, like the Hellcat, Corsair, P-38, P-47 and P-51 to tip the scales, moving their peak performance out of the Zero's envelope. As you note - it's structure was very strong for its weight - as long as it was undamaged. The light weight meant that there weren't a lot of acceptable alternate load paths to provide strength if the structure was compromised. (Sort of like a cardboard box, strong when it's intact, but tear it, and it comes apart.) I wonder if this was the airplane that was part of the pool of aircraft available for comparison flights at the Joint FIghter Conference held at Patuxent River, Maryland, in October 1944. The Maintenance Officer would stress every day that pilots flying the airplane had to be careful to put their feet on the steps, so that they wouldn't have his tinsmith's working all night to fix the damage to the skin. A great look at an iconic airplane.

The Zero's great beauty is, in so many ways, in the eye of the beholder, the angle of one's POV perhaps most of all depending on what side of two of them you were on, like a gun, a good side and bad side. This first occurred to me when watching an F4 Phantom of the Blue Angels fly right at me for a low-altitude maneuver on the only large swimming pool in the area where I was, somehow, this time, directly at me and us. Now the Phantom had the same effect as having a high caliber weapon pointed right at you with a loud, screaming belligerent unknown assailant-thing behind it, looking aggressive and destructive as can be coming right at me faster than a speeding bullet is altogether different from my previous reactions to the warbird. So too it was with the Zero's prey.

0:10 - the headband is upside down. I'm surprised a museum would miss such an obvious detail that could easily be Googled.

A huge thank you to you and the museum for this video, which allowed us to enter the original Zero plane. Once again, a big thank you to the museum and you for the effort you put in, so that we could see these rare birds. 🎉❤

Nice museum with some interesting looking exhibits. It looked like a Helldiver in pieces in the background of the P-47 shot at 10:54. Thanks to Fagen Fighters WW2 Museum for the chance to look in the cockpit of this beautiful A6M3. And thank you Chris for your dedication and knowledge, and your willingness to share.

I made it to the museum in June of last year with my dad and son. It was a memorable trip. Great to see a Zero in person, glad they opened everything up for you to do your thing!

The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a beautiful airplane and magnificently restored that also highlighted what thin aluminium panels it was using and of course no armour of any kind. But I would like to point out it's achievement in long distance was only possible to the great reliability of The Nakajima Sakae, a thing that very has commented on this issue. Anyway again you did a great job 👏 👍. Looking forward to see your new videos

Thank you and a big thanks to the museum for maintaining these aircraft.

Wow! Thank you for a fine tour of one of the most beautiful aircraft ever produced. I understand the frustrations of rebuilding, original parts are as scarce as moon rocks. How anyone gets their hands on a Zero must be quite a story. The Fagan Fighters WW2 Museum looks very nice. I will put that on my list of destinations. Well done.

Ah yes, my favorite WW2 plane, thank you for showing us this! What a rare sight

Thank you, great video. I'm actually in the process of making A6M5 model kit and will use this video to help me out with cockpit. Cheers

Fantastic look inside an old, rare warbird! HUGE THANKS to the museum!

Thank you Chris (from a fellow German resident) for a fascinating insight into this aircraft. Appreciation to Fagen Fighters for enabling access to this aircraft.

Amazing Plane! Thank you for showing us this legend...!!! Congrats from Brazil!!!!!

Ahhhhhh I’ve been waiting for this for years, no joke! Absolutely love the zero and any more information I can gather on it. Thanks for making this!!!

Granite Falls is my hometown! On a clear summer day it wasn’t uncommon to hear P-51s flying overhead. I’m so glad you enjoyed the museum and I didn’t know they got a zero so I’m gonna have to visit again.

As close to perfect video as I have seen in a long time, no filler, opinions or waste of time. Thankyou greatly.

Once more a wonderful video allowing access to an historical aircraft, keep up the wonderful work. Also kudos to the Fagen Fighters WW2 Museum for allowing access to one off their stunning exhibits.

Just fantastic! Outstanding tour!👍🏼

初めまして、貴重な零戦を紹介していただきましてありがとうございます。日本人パイロット人形が頭に巻いているハチマキが上下が逆になっておりますのでよろしくお願いします。 First of all, thank you for introducing me to your precious Zero Fighter. Please note that the headband that the Japanese pilot doll wears on her head is upside down

Great video! The scarcity makes it unreplacable, so I am delighted beeing able to see all the details. Big shoutout to Chris and, of course, to all the people at the museum who took exellent care for this precious machine!

An excellent Inside the Cockpit Chris. And a hearty thanks to Fagen Fighters for permitting such a good walk around and showcase.

Thank you to all involved! Greetings from NYC!

Thank you for especially cockpit view.

Thing's so ridiculously small. With such light wing loading. It really is a masterpiece of design. Too vulnerable and a one trick pony, but there's just something special about a machine that does one thing better than all the others no matter its shortcomings.

Wow, I love the detail-part by part with a robust history to ground it all. Subscribed!

Thanks for the great video Chris, and thank you to the Museum for letting you get inside such a rare aircraft!

Thank you for this visit.

Excellent content and tour 👍🏻 beautiful museum Thank you!

Great video. Very nice walk-around and cockpit tour.

Great video and great museum. I used to work at an aircraft museum with a wreck of a Zero. It's a lot more elegant plane than many might think. Thanks for this vid!

Thank you Fagen fighters! That is so rad! Well done as always

Really enjoyed your comprehensive tour of this plane! First time I've come across your channel. I'm anxious to see more.

Outstanding! Great presentation and very cool that the museum allowed this!

Much awaited, much appreciated looking forward to excellent insights as always from you.

Very lovely to see inside this cockpit Chris! EXTREMELY privileged access.

Thank you for posting this. It looks like a fantastic air museum.

Fascinating look inside this iconic aircraft. Thanks to the Fagen Museum for the opportunity.

You can still find strafing marks on Pearl Harbor asphalt where there are regular gaps from the propeller interrupter. This near air museum hangers, which still have windows shot out.

Thanks Chris & the museum !

Great walk-around as usual, much appreciated, thank you.

Loving how great your work has progressed

I really like the outlines you put in to highlight the various controls. This was really helpful it showed stuff that might be missed like the actual shape of some controls because let’s face it any cockpit is kind of cramped and hard to see stuff in

thanks for the walkabout!

This aircraft was at EAA Oshkosh in 2013. Flown by my friend Warren Pietsch.

Cheers for making your videos, Chris; a remarkable aircraft, certainly :)

AMAZING video, info is great, and I really like the cockpit rundown and video.Awsum how a museum let you do this. .....When I think of the Zero, I think of what Saburo Sakai wrote, when he was jumped by a mass of Hellcats. He had just returned after losing an eye. His first encounter with the F6F. A very harowing experience. He only escaped because those Americans flew like they had little experience, and by flying into a water spout ( tornado). 'Zero pilot' by Sakai is a must read.

Excellent job Chris---that Hat is very becoming--

Pretty interesting stuff. Thank you for making this.

Fantastic work!

beautiful rebuild

Awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!

The headband on the pilot mannequin is upside down. 😅 Fantastic look at a Zero, thank you Fagen Fighters and Christoph. Never knew the gun trigger is on the throttle instead of the joystick. 👍🏻👍🏻

THANKS FOR THE INSIDE THE COCKPIT VIEW!

Grumman really had the advantage on folding wings vs. Mistubishi.

Good presentation. Thank you.

Hey Chris, I’m from Minnesota and live just outside Minneapolis. I’m kicking myself because the last time I was in granite falls I failed to visit this museum. Actually, I didn’t realize there was such a great collection of planes so close to me. Next time I’m in the area I’ll get my visit in for sure. If you’re ever in Minnesota again, post something about your trip before hand. I’d love to meet you. Big fan!!

Thanks Chris, this was fascinating 👍

Thanks for the in-depth look : )

Excellent little video, very informative 👏👏👏👍

A big thanks to the museum for this one! ❤

Fantastic video.

Great video, Chris! Your description of this Zero sounds much like my old VW Beetle: air cooled, light weight, great mileage, very maneuverable, and no protection!

Thanks for sharing Chris 🙏🛠️🔧

i didnt know about this place ! but now i do! going to visit this summer, an 8 hour drive from Canada.

Excellent video, Chris. The only fault I could find is that the headband (hachimaki) on the pilot mannequin standing beside the aircraft is upside-down. It's not your fault, of course, but considering the amount or research you do for these videos I expected you to note it. (Just kidding, Chris. About expecting you to note it. The hachimaki is indeed upside down.)

Vielen Dank, Chris!

Very interesting to see such an aircraft. Thank you

Great video!

Interesantisimo Documental, Chris! Muchas gracias a Ti y a Fagen Fighters. Es muy agradable ver aviones que en el pasado fueron encarnizados enemigos, ahora juntos, en paz y cuidadosamente conservados con mucho cariño. Best Regards from Spain (Europe).

What a magnificent opportunity to see such a significant part of history. Hats off to those who managed to restore this old bird to flight and to those who keep it flying.

Awesome!!! My favourite WW2 plane.

There are examples of some rare Japanese aircraft at; Historical Museum of Kanoya Air Base, Gifu Kamigahara Air and Space Museum, Aichi Museum of Flight, Airpark JASDF Hamamatsu Air Base Museum, and, Tokorozawa Aviation Museum. If you wanted to do a tour of Japan from Kagoshima to Tokyo you could see all the museums in ~10 days as well as Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Kobe,…

Sick, love the zero. But homie what is that hat.

My very first scuba dive after my certification on Guam was to a Japanese Zero fighter. It was on about 50 feet of water. It was almost entirely intact. The rising sun was still visible on the fuselage and wings. The guns and cannons were still in place, and you could see the 7.7 ammunition belts behind the engine and in front of the cockpit. It was obvious that the pilot had ditched the plane in the surf and swam ashore. It was amazing.

Makes me sad there are so few WW II aircraft of all types glad there are places like this museum to show the few that are still around

BEST comment by CHRIS was it was a great plane as long as you don't shoot at it! As a pilot it would be nerve-wracking to realize just a 30-caliber bullet an easily pass through the fuselage and go right through you!!

The only japanese warbird available to be see... incredible! Thanks to you, the contributors and the museum

Very well done. Thankyou

Thank you for this extremely interesting video, a legend of a plane. No I have to go watch Empire of the Sun.

Fagens is awesome. I stopped by there a couple weeks ago and they let me sit in the P-47.

I'm actually doing a zero inspired livery for my Na Miata. It's an NA6 MX-5 so I'm calling it NA6M5 like an A6M5 zero so great timing to see the interior to see what I can replicate for the interior of my miata

I'm making my must visit museum lists off your videos

9:28 WWII Japanese nomenclature can be confusing, particularly "Type" numbers. Both the IJN and the IJA used Type numbers deriving from the traditional Imperial dating system which counts years from the ascension of Emperor Jimmu in 660 BCE. Each Type number referred to the last two digits of the Imperial year in which the item was adopted. The Mitsubishi A6M2 was adopted in IY 2600 (1940), thus "Type 97" refers to the aircraft MG adopted in 1937. However, the Army also adopted a new MG that year, also known as the Type 97. These two have nothing in common except the designations. The Navy's Type 97 was a licensed copy of the Vickers Type E aircraft MG as used by the British S.E. 5 fighter in WWI. It even used the same .303-rimmed ammo as the Vickers gun. The Army's Type 97 MG was a vehicle-mounted weapon derived from the Czech ZB vz.29 LMG. The ammo was also a 7.7mm, but in this case, it was identical to the rimless ammo fired by the Arisaka Type 99 infantry rifle and in no way interchangeable with the ammo used by the Zero. The IJA air force also has a 7.7mm aircraft MG, but this was a semi-rimmed cartridge! Crazy.

Dang Chris! I didn't know you were in Minnesota! Love the channel, I wish you had a meetup event while you were here