William & Harry 'Flew To Stag Party In RAF Helicopter'
Written by Joanne Leyland
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Page 1 of 2
The Ministry of Defence has been
forced to defend the actions of Prince William after it was revealed
the future Head of The Armed Forces used a Royal Air Force
helicopter to fly himself and Prince Harry to the Isle of Wight for
Peter Phillips' stag party.
In
a move which has provoked further controversy and likely yet more
debate
about the costs incurred by members of the royal family on air travel - a debate which has already seen the Duke of York condemned as 'Air Miles Andy' - the prince piloted a Chinook helicopter to London, where he picked up
Prince Harry, following which the brothers flew on to Cowes.
Attempting to defend what initially seems indefensible, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said today that Flying Officer Wales' sortie to the Isle
of Wight was always planned to be part of his training during his attachment to
the Royal Air Force and the flight itself helped the prince with his training.
According to the M.o.D: "The Prince's training was
designed to give him an insight into the many roles of the Royal Air
Force. Having spent a week under instruction with a Chinook helicopter
squadron Prince William flew a legitimate training sortie which tested
his new skills to the limit."
"Flying at low level Prince William piloted the heavy support RAF
Chinook helicopter through the busy London flying lanes to a helicopter
landing site in Central London before departing the lanes to the South
West, making a water crossing and an approach to a civilian airfield
routinely used by Chinook squadrons."
