Editoriat Comment

摘要

I've always had a big soft spot for the Bristol Blenheim, so the news that G-BPIV was rolled out at Duxford on August 12 certainly put a smile on my face. As you may have already seen in our headlines, it's been rebuilt as a Mk.l 'short-nosed' fighter variant, complete with gun pack mounted on the forward lower fuselage - a bold but welcome move away from the more familiar Mk.IVs we've seen rebuilt in the past. The project has been under way for several years now and its recent post-repaint appearance comes almost exactly ten years to the day that it was badly damaged in a landing accident at Duxford. (The original G-BPIV came to grief on August 18,2003.) I'm sure there are still plenty of tasks that need completing before the Blenheim is back in the sky, but it could re-fly later this year, although the spring of 2014 seems more likely. I'd be happy to be proved wrong on the latter point!