On Saturday I visited the Shuttleworth collection at Old Warden in Bedfordshire,for anyone who has not been here you are in for a pleasant surprise,the airfield is just like a time warp and is home to scores of vintage aeroplanes which actually fly on occasions at special air shows throughout the year,the day was a special one for photographers where they opened up the aircraft and allowed people to get really close to take detail pictures,here are two that I took of the Bleriot monoplane cockpit,note the wicker basket seat,brass fuel tank and delightful 'steering' column,this is an original Bleriot XI built about 1909.
Over the years I have built several models of the Bleriot,one of them was a tethered free flight model which I used to fly in a barn complete with home made spoked wheels,my current model is a modified Cambrian kit ( now obsolete ) called the Pioneer,this makes into a great radio controlled model which has all the character of the original.
When the conditions are right the Bleriot at Shutleworth sometimes makes short hops across the airfield at Old Warden.
It is difficult to imagine that Louis Bleriot flew one of these over the English channel from France,the very spot where he landed is marked to this day with a stone plinth,what a brave chap he must have been
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