On a day when half our troops are grumbling they don't want to stay in the forces and that they want to live in higher standard accommodation, I shudder to think how tomorrow this fair compensation paid to an Iraqi "tortured" by British troops will be reported in the Sun, Mail and Express !
Our soldiers not only train fighting, it is alleged, the good citizens of Ayia Nappa but the MOD can't all be that short of funds if there's money in the kitty to fly the royals about, including that infamous stag -do flight, described laughingly as a "collective error of judgement"
The first sortie took place on April 2 when Prince William flew the helicopter over his father's country home in Highgrove, Gloucestershire. The flight, which lasted nearly three hours, cost the taxpayer £ 11,985, according to the MoD.
The following day, the prince once again got behind the controls of the helicopter and this time headed off to Bucklebury, Reading. The MoD says he landed the helicopter on "private land" during what it described as a "general handling" training flight. That private land belonged to the parents of his girlfriend, Kate Middleton. The second in line to the throne is understood to have circled around the house at 300ft before touching down next to the house while Middleton and her parents watched.
At the time, the MOD defended the decision to land in the Middletons' field, saying: "Battlefield helicopter crews routinely practise landing in fields and confined spaces away from their airfields as a vital part of their training for operations. These highly-honed skills are used daily in conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan".
The MoD calculated the cost of the flight to be £ 8,716.
The next controversial flight took place a day later when he flew to Hexham in Northumberland. Conveniently, this was where he was a guest at a wedding. The four-hour flight - described by the MoD as "general handling and low level" training - cost £18,522.
His flight over the Queen's Sandringham home on April 9 cost £ 4,358. His trip to the Isle of Wight on April 11 to attend the pre-wedding celebrations of his cousin, Peter Phillips, after stopping off in London to collect Prince Harry also cost £8,716, for the two hours he was on board the Chinook.
Yes, but HRH was in training and he had to make up the hours by law to qualify, and as a general navigation flight he could fly the thing just about anywhere for the following reasons
1. Exercise in submitting flight plans
2 general navigation in flight training based on that flight plan.
3 Demonstration of take off and landings and the start of, during, and at the end of the flight
4. cockpit management
5 Radio procedures speaking to ATC etc
So you see, he had to do the hours anyway, and if his lady friend lives in the a area, then why not? HE also gets landing practice as part of the nav exersise
As for "circling round the house at 300ft", well, yes, from personal experience I can tell you it is standard practice for a pilot to "orbit" the area in which he wishes to land. Standard practice and part of the flight training syllabus.
So his girlfriend lives in the area where it is quite legal to fly and land a helicopter and he has to make up the aerial experience according to the syllabus
Can't see a problem.
Posted by: gavin | 27 July 2008 at 02:52 AM
Oh A little P.S. here
William is training to go overseas into hostile areas, into battle, in fact, like Andrew did in the Falklands.
That's a bloody sight more than his critics are doing
Posted by: gavin | 27 July 2008 at 02:59 AM