[ARC5] P-51 Cockpit

[gordon white]

     I am no P-51 expert, but I have had a chance to sit in the cockpit 
of one that, as far as I could tell, was just as it had been equipped 
during WW II. Not quite as pretty, with obvious wear in places. Much 
more chromate primer paint, and controls for the SCR-274N radios. Had no 
back seat.
     My late wife had been the widow of a 357th group pilot who shot 
down seven Germans in 1944 and was later the honcho of Cavalier Aircraft 
that rehabbed Mustangs. They did a lot of upgrading of avionics, though 
later in the company's career, did a few historical restorations. Angela 
and Jerry's P-51 did have a back seat where she rode. When they landed 
somewhere and people would run out to look at the plane, Jerry would say 
"But wait 'til you see my navigator" and Angela would stand up, take off 
her helmet and shake out her blonde hair and attract a fair amount of 
attention herself. After he died and we were married, we'd go to air 
shows and she'd find her way up to the planes and have conversations 
with the pilots and amaze them with the details she knew about P-51s. 
Thats how I got to sit in one. I'm licensed, but never got a chance to 
fly in a Mustang myself.
  - Gordon White