Question for the Motor Heads

[Blakduk]

Winny- I've been googling Alex Henshaw this evening. I didn't realise he was such a celebrity!
I basically just said 'G'day' to him as he was surrounded by other pilots & engineers- he was having afternoon tea in the hangar my brother was working in (i was helping by shifting boxes of gear in a ute, filling the esky with beer and getting food etc). They were working on Spitfire that was in bits- it was owned by a New Zealander and i think it ended up at Wanaka. They were pointing at bits and nodding knowingly at each other- about the only thing i contributed to was a discussion about the bolts being made of magnesium. I commented they would react with the aluminium and disintegrate over time- i got an approving nod and went to get a beer (it was after 4pm after all and i thought i better quite while i was ahead). I do recall him saying the Spitfire was 'only a 1000 hour airframe, so it's a wonder any are still flying today'.