I have been noticing that the P-51 is a pain in the rear to taxi. Now, I read in another post (couldn't find it) where it was mentioned that actual P-51 pilots verified that the handling and flight capabilities of the P-51 representation in Acceleration are accurate. I was looking at the P-51 from the spot view tonight and noticed that once the throttles are advanced (even slightly), the tail wheel no longer touches the ground. Once the throttle is at idle and the aircraft stops rolling, the tail wheel returns to the ground. Is this the same for others? Once I use rudder input, the aircraft maintains the turn and I can only stop it by applying the right or left brake, depending on the direction of the turn. Just curious if others are experiencing this too. Thanks.

I've found most WWII type tail draggers require an equal and opposite brake/rudder to stop the turn once it starts. Just centering the rudder and having the brakes off will not stop the turning motion.Also watch out for the torque of the P-51 engines to induce turning momentum.

My Dad flew D's in WWI, and he kept the original pilot's manual. It's been a really LONG time since I read it, but I distinctly remember one thing that might be relevant here.The tailwheel had two distinct modes: with the stick pulled full back, the tailwheel was steerable with the rudder pedals, but with the stick neutral or forward, it simply swiveled.The manual suggested pulling the stick back for taxi and intital take-off roll, and when a certain airspeed (ground speed in this case) was reached, the rudder became effective and the tail wheel could be released.-z-