It was thanks to former WWI pilot Tommy Hitchcock that the P-51 entered U.S service — and changed the skies over Europe ...

There are few pilots who do not, at some point, fantasize about flying a P-51 Mustang. Of course, these rare, expensive, and unforgiving aircraft simply are not available to most people.

Given the incredible success of the P-51 Mustang during the Second World War ... Even then, many of the parts necessary to get this one-of-a-kind aircraft back in the sky simply no longer existed.

A P-51 Mustang flies over Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., during a 2015 event. (A1C Philip Bryant/Air Force) For the Allied forces, the skies over Europe from 1942 to 1943 brought ...

A P-51 Mustang sits on the flight line during the 2017 Heritage Flight Training and Certification Course at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. (Senior Airman Betty R. Chevalier/Air Force ...