Wings across the great divide

de Alex Henshaw

In 1946, after famously flying throughout the war as a production test pilot testing Spitfires and Lancasters for Vickers - Armstrongs at Castle Bromwich, Alex Henshaw became a director of Miles Aircraft of South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., and spent the next couple of years demonstrating Miles Messengers and Miles Geminis to potential customers in the Congo and South Africa. On several occasions he ferried aircraft the 6000 miles from the Miles factory at Reading in the UK to Miles' South African headquarters at Johannesburg. Some of these flights were hazardous in the extreme. In this book Alex Henshaw recalls vividly some of the horrors of flying wooden light aircraft in the often appalling and unpredictable conditions of tropical Africa. On some of these adventurous flights the author was accompanied by his wife and young son, a convincing demonstration of his faith in the first generation of post - war Miles aircraft, though one such flight nearly ended in tragedy. Profusely illustrated, with many photographs taken by the author, this book gives a fascinating glimpse of the last days of relative freedom in the air overseas, before stricter regulations and universal air traffic control virtually closed the doors to the intrepid long - distance non - radio pilot. This book contains three original paintings by Michael Turner, especially commissioned by the author. The artist's dramatic **front cover** painting features a hair - raising night take - off from Agadir during a flight made from the UK to Leopoldviille by the author in a Miles Gemini in 1948. (from cover notes) This is the third and final part of Alex Henshaw's autobiography