"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in message
...

Also keep in mind that the guys who flew these back in the 40's while
getting shot at usually had less than 2 years experience flying.

True. But most of that flying time was training in a phased and regimented
course on a full-time basis. In other words, they were -full time- 90 day
wonders.

A civilian pilot can get his complex, high performance and taildragger
ratings at his leisure and without as much persistence and currency as
somebody who had a full-time flight instruction every day for three months.
In addition, the 90-day wonders who flew Mustangs back in the day were the
ones who weren't washed out first. They couldn't just lay out a few
thousand dollars and buy themselves a checkout in a P-51. If they weren't
skilled and better-than-average pilots by the time they got near a Mustang,
they'd have never flown one.

-c