As you can see from a couple of post in this thread there are a few people that are very defensive about the P-51 PTS.
YES I did own one. The gear blocks both broke after the 5th flight. It was quite alot more to handle compared to the SIG Kadet Senior that I learned on and I always had somewhat of a hard time seeing it as it was primarily grey. The visibility problem is what ultimately caused the fatal crash of mine.
There are very few trainers that get negative feedback at all, the P-51 PTS and the Nexstar (mostly because of the extra uneeded training aids that raise the cost) are in that group.
SIG LT40, Kadet senior and seniorita, Hanger 9 alpha 40 and 60 and a whole host of other high wing trainers that I have never heard a bad word about.
It is not because I am old and set in my ways as a previous poster stated, I own and have flown 4 other trainers aside from the P-51 PTS, all 4 are still flying today and IMO are much better trainers than the P-51.
So you can judge where I am. I soloed last year in early june with a Kadet Senior, I have flown quite a few models and am now flying a Showtime 90 and enjoying every minute. Consider the trainer a stepping stone and a plane to fly later on when you just want to relax.