I spent the day volunteering at the Military Aviation Museum. Each Saturday during the summer we have a program called 'Summer of Flight' where one of our planes is showcased with a brief lecture and a flight demonstration. It's super cool and very popular.
Today's flight was the last of the year (SOF restarts in April). The plane chosen was the North American P-51 Mustang. While it wasn't the best US fighter of WWII, it was a game changer. It was a very good fighter, but more importantly it had phenomenal range. It could escort heavy bombers from their bases in England deep into Germany and back again.
The plane on the ground is the North American SNJ Texan, the Navy's version of the AT-6 Texan. It was the leading advanced trainer of WWII. I should note that the Texan does normally have a two-bladed propeller, but this one has been removed for maintenance.
