Originally posted by gaweidert I used to be a big fan of them too until I got to see a Spitfire up close and personal. I am not sure how to describe it, but it looks like you put the plane on and it just does what you want it to do. A work of art. Beautiful plane.
For beauty alone, I agree, although the lines of the Zero are nice, too. Very pure. There is just something about 8 .50's and a 2000hp Pratt & Whitney double wasp that called to me. No beauty, but imho no longer ugly after the intro of the P47D25 and later variants.
The Spit and the Mustang were like sleek quick trout to the Thunderbolts largemouth bass.
All the planes of that era have great appeal to me. I feel they were the last aircraft I could wrap my head around...if called upon I could assist in changing plugs, replacing cockpit instruments, yank a cylinder, change hydraulic fluid.
With jets? They might let me wash a tire under close supervision...