Thank you for posting.
I have always been a fan of the 51 and the other outstanding aircraft of the age.
They will be with us long after men of the caliber of their pilots have left us.
I mentioned here before a number of years ago, I had encountered a chap with a license plate "SPIT IX" on his car and inquired. He confirmed that it referred to the aircraft he flew in Europe and was kind enough to tell me a bit of what it was like.
In late 2009, I was in the home of a lady who had been recently widowed. Her home still had the aircraft models her husband had built and painted. Prompted by the models, I told her the story about meeting the gentleman some years before who had been so kind as to share some of his memories with me.
"That was my husband" she told me. She was pleased that I had memories of this man she had shared most of her life with and brought out the plate to show me.
Honor these men now when you get a chance.
Les