Coincidentally, this year's EAA AirVenture Oshkosh WWII Grand Champion award-winner is a Bf 109G-6, WkNr.410077, registered as N42109, which is owned by Bruce "Doc" Winter. It was restored over a ten-year period, with incredible accuracy and attention to detail, by Midwest Aero Restorations. Unlike the majority of the other '109s flying, this isn't a Spanish-built Buchon, but a true, original, Erla-manufactured Bf 109G-6. This aircraft originally served with Stab IV/JG54 on the Eastern Front (hence the yellow lower cowl, fuselage band and lower wingtips). Although its original pilot remains unknown, it was marked with a chevron and circle, indicating that the aircraft was assigned to the technical officer of the Gruppe staff flight. It was involved in a forced landing on the frozen Lake Swiblo in February 1944, after having been severely damaged by Russian flak, and finally recovered in 1990 following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Every detail about the restoration, down to the paint scheme, paint and anodized finishes, the stenciling, all details of the cockpit and interior confines, all hardware and fittings, even the re-manufactured rivets, is accurate to how it would have been in early 1944.
Photos by my Warbird Digest colleague, James Church: