User:94.196.50.15

It's a pity that you remain anonymous as I would be only too pleased to engage in a sensible discussion on the points you raise. This would be a much better use of your time that repeatedly vandalising the article on Alex Henshaw. However, in the hope that you may read this, I will point out that what you say about Alex flying secretly "for amusement....long after he'd officially stopped flying" is complete and utter nonsense.

Besides conducting several broadcast interviews with Alex, I have in recent years been involved in extensive research about his life, first as the Producer of a History Channel biography on him, and now as Producer of a 12-part radio series based on 20 hours of interviews carried out in 2005 by one of his closest friends, Tony Edwards. I have spoken at length to Alex's son, to his former colleagues and associates, and to his official archivist at the RAF Museum, Daniel Scott-Davies. At no time did either Alex, or anyone else, suggests that he continued to fly in secret after 1948. It's hard to believe that you know better — whoever you may be.

Though Alex liked to flout petty authority, he was not the sort of person to break the law in such a cavalier fashion. To have flown without a medical or currency requirement would have been illegal — if he had wanted to keep on flying he would have done it properly. He often flew with his son, and sometimes with friends. On his 80th birthday he flew a three-seater Leopard Moth from the front seat (there is only one pilot's seat plus two passenger seats.) This is probably the closest he came to flying P1, but in fact the owner, a qualified pilot, was in one of the passenger seats and though Alex was handling the controls he was not in command. To be strictly accurate he was flying as "supernumerary" as he was not qualified to fly at this stage. It is unlikely that any aircraft owner who allow him to go off solo, since the aircraft would be uninsured. Would you allow someone without a licence to fly your plane? I wouldn't, even if it was Alex!

I should also point out that Wiki content should be backed by source references as much as possible, otherwise it becomes very questionable as an reference work. The Henshaw article could be better in this respect, but if you had your way you would be adding material which is at best hangar talk, and at worst, stuff which you have conjured up in your own imagination. I suspect that you are someone who never met Alex, and whose knowledge of him is limited to what you have read in his books — or overheard as rumour. This, of course, is why you stay anonymous.

Finally, I am not an anorak or even a regular contributor to Wiki. I occasionally tweak articles — but only when I know what I am talking about. It is not pleasing to be rewarded with rude and sarcastic comments such as yours.

Graemebowd (talk) 18:47, 27 June 2012 (UTC)