First of all, who made the rule that in order to be a good 51 jockey you have to fight a certain way? Saying, "oh the 51 guy is good until he loses the advantage, then extends", is like saying the Brewster or Sptfire pilot is good until he loses the advantage, then he turns!
I just don't get that argument.
I think the problem with the 51s is everyone is a damned expert on them, everyone flies them and most run like hell at the first sign of trouble.
Well listen up folks.....SO DOES 262S, F4U-4, AND TEMPEST GUYS!. If there were as many jets in the air as there are 51s in this game, the 51s wouldn't have the rep they do.
Personally I hate the bad rep the P51 has around here. But I understand why. So I try to fight whatever and whenever I can even when knowing I'm going to the tower shortly. I fought SFoxs' F4U-A one time in the knife fight. Not a good idea, but hey...better then running right? So after I lose he proceeds to tell me I don't fly the 51 correctly
If I had fought him "correctly" he would have been in the tower instead of me, and I would be called a running picker more then likely.
With all that being said, I've seen some outstanding 51 guys in the past. SkatSr and Steve come to mind as well as 0leDemon. And what set them apart was not so much their flying skills but their gunnery was 2nd to none. Alot of guys can get in there and mix it up with spits, hurris' and the such, but you better not miss your shot or you're toast. Because one you're out of E in a 51 it takes forever to get it back when you have no room to dive.
I can't speak to how good Rocky is...never fought him and BigR is on my side,...never fought him either. But right now B2B and RedTop are my favorite to fight. I'd like to get my hands on SirNuke but I can't ever catch him.
I'd say there are bunches of good 51 sticks out there.... all with different styles and skill levels