digitalsoul
Are you impressed by Chalkie world record breaking attempt?
Yes, very impressed.
You might think that if anyone was likely to share your views it would be Henshaw's son.
However, the first person to shake Chalkie's hand and congratulate him on his arrival at Southend was none other than
Alex Henshaw Jnr.
I was at Southend and made a point of asking Alex Henshaw Jnr what he thought of the view of some that his father's records should have been allowed to stand, or that breaking them in a modern aircraft with modern avionics doesn't really count.
His response:
"I disagree. I'm pleased pilots are trying to break my father's records, and I believe my father would be. He knew his records would be broken one day. It's easier in some ways now but more difficult in others, and it's still an enormous feat for a solo pilot in a single engine aircraft.
I think it's good that Chalkie has limited himself to 200 hp but, apart from that, you can't recreate how things were 70 years ago. I don't think breaking the records in a modern aircraft in any way diminishes what my father achieved in 1939. That still stands. This is different. It just reflects how aviation has progressed since then.
I'm pleased Chalkie's efforts are drawing attention again to what my father achieved. It had been forgotten, which is understandable. Many people weren't born when he did it; I wasn't myself.
I think it will boost people's interest in General Aviation, and hope it will encourage other pilots to try."
Well said Mr Henshaw.
Nor does the prestigious
Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, a London-based but international organisation, agree with your views.
Two senior representatives of the Guild were at Southend to welcome Chalkie and to acknowledge his efforts - whether or not his attempt was successful.
As it turned out, they were also able to congratulate him on his success in breaking the record from Cape Town.
If breaking Henshaw's records in a 200hp aircraft was as easy as you seem to think, it's surprising that it's taken 70 years for someone to do it.
Chalkie Stobbart succeeded - which means a South African pilot is the new record-holder.
Good for him.
I think he just wanted to earn fame the easy way
I doubt it.
Chalkie was already a well-known and highly respected aviator long before his latest achievement.
.