The Blenheim is probably the most photographed aircraft in my entire collection of shots.. Sally B coming a close second or thereabouts The shots in that link showing corrosion may well have prompted the decision to 'Go Mk1' rather than keep the IV nose and TBH.. they've not had much luck with either of their MkIV rebuilds. Perhaps.. and I sincerely hope so.. converting it to MkI spec may be the good fortune they've miraculously managed to avoid up to now Damage around the wing root was evident when I saw her up on jacks shortly after the incident (although not immediately obvious) shown in no small part by the damage to her (I think) RH engine nacelle.. (one side looked ok.. the other had taken a pounding off the dirt bank) and this would have been the reason for rippling on her upper fuse.
Regardless.. I'm really glad they had the 'get up and go' to rebuild her again and I look forward to seeing her once more but in new clothes and having had a nose job ;-)
Lovely as she is, I'll stick with Rick. I've had the good fortune to be allowed to fly the beta, an the work that Rick has put into her is brilliant. I am biased (unashamedly) I hold RP's work with the highest regard and will wait patiently for the end game. Its a great aircraft to fly, very rewarding and I've had great fun in our MP test flights.
Mr. Piper will always get my vote... without question.
Im not an expert in sheet metal working , so I showed my maintenance controller the photos - he says that the damage was done by the nose
moving to the right when it had its accident - He says it would be extremly difficult to repair to airworthy condition - and when I showed him photos
of a Mk1 his comment was it was a very clever and logical method of returning the aircraft to airworthiness by recreating a Mk1 nose using the last
undamaged former in the photo
Im sure our resident maintenance types can shed more light on that if needed
After once more proving my poor memory, I dug out the shots I took at the time The creasing shown in the shot Techy posted wasn't visible due to the canopy cover being on but you can get an idea of the impact damage from these..
I'd dragged my (then 10-year-old) daughter off to Duxford for a day cleaning these lovely ladies for the Shoreham show the following weekend..
C'mon, help me out here guys. Do I buy this one, or do I wait patiently for Rick's meisterwerk?
Edit - Following a quick question over at AS my decision has been made. As they are only modelling the standard light bomber (the IF and IVF are too "niche" apparently) looks like I'm saving my pennies.
Unfortunately, the restriction on screenie size here means you can't see the full degree of this 'friday afternoon job' but cast your eye's under the wings and you can see how poorly the flaps fit. This is nowt to do with lighting as I turned directly into the sun (shown by the eveness of the shadow). Maybe this is modelled on the 'T' at Duxford shortly after it hit the bank :roll:
I don't like the 2D panel and the gauges are similar to those found in recent releases (think Vampire and NOT He111) and give a 'morning after the night before' blur. I'm not sure where the brownish tint comes from either (on the gauges) which gives the impression of how the gauges might look now.. after 60years and not as they'd have looked when in use. I have a Beaufighter and Wellington ASI sitting a few feet away from me and they don't look anywhere near as old as those on the model :roll:
So.. what do we have as a first impression after a 30min flight from GCI to Alderney?? Well, the flaps don't fit.. the AE wire is OK.. weathering on the paint looks more like abuse but this is neither here nor there.. it flies ok which is a bonus.. the soundset isn't bad.. I don't like the 2D panel (personal pref no doubt).. the gauges are too aged and slightly blurred.. I've seen the popup throttle before which means it's come off something else (hopefully Alpha and not freeware).. that's about it really. Not looked at the Mk1 but having seen screenies, I think the shape is wrong so there's no reason to believe it will be right in the model I have. I'd love to rant and rave about how good it is and recommend you all dive out and buy it but I can't. Those that want one and can't wait for Rick's will get it anyway as I did (and I have Ricks Mk1.. pity he's not doing the others). This is no He111 ;-)
The shots in that link showing corrosion may well have prompted the decision to 'Go Mk1' rather than keep the IV nose and TBH.. they've not had much luck with either of their MkIV rebuilds. Perhaps.. and I sincerely hope so.. converting it to MkI spec may be the good fortune they've miraculously managed to avoid up to now 
