Rare 1950s Japanese-American Hybrid Has History

Phil McLanahan picked up his Fuji LM-1 while he was still on active duty with the U.S. Navy. It belonged to an older pilot in Maryland, where he was living at the time, and McLanahan helped the man to restore it to flyable condition. But by that time, he told AVweb here on the Sun ‘n Fun flight line, the owner was too old to fly the airplane, so he offered to sell it to him. McLanahan took him up on the offer and has since earned the nickname “Fuji Phil.”

The LM-1 is the love child of a post-war relationship between Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries and Beechcraft in the U.S. The Japanese Defense Force was looking for an aerobatic trainer, and Fuji built 176 tandem two-seat Beech T-34s under license before redesigning the upper fuselage to accommodate four seats for a communications aircraft. Twenty-seven were built between 1955 and 1956.

McLanahan’s aircraft is serial number 14 from 1955. It is mechanically solid, but what makes it most special is its original patina. “That’s the factory paint,” he told AVweb, proudly. “And the interior, upholstery, and headliner are also original.”

It shows.

He operates the LM-1, one of three known to be flying, from a grass strip fly-in community in Culpeper, Virginia, and is a regular participant in Commemorative Air Force events. Look for a video featuring “Fuji Phil” and his LM-1 in future AVweb posts.