Prince William uses Chinook helicopter to pick up Harry and go to a stag do !

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1313040,00.html

Well, the chinook, along with all the other armed forces and their equipment, technically belongs to his grandmother, so why not? It's just like using the company car really.

Levity aside, however, those of us with military experience can see beyond the tabloidish headline and can agree that this would have been a good training excercise. You could also say it saved the taxpayer money by allowing him to complete two tasks in one go. No need for an added car of driver, less fuel used, etc.

I note that the likes of Sky are fairly quiet when our Cabinet Ministers use a private jet each to attend the same function, or when Blair used airforce jets to fly off on holiday.

William has now "landed" a helicopter in the field next to girlfriend Kate's house !

MoD says - The Ministry of Defence issued a statement after the News of the World reported the prince had landed the aircraft at the property in Berkshire on April 3.

It described the incident as a "routine training sortie that achieved essential training objectives".

"Battlefield helicopter crews routinely practice landing in fields and confined spaces away from their airfields as a vital part of their training for operations," the statement read.

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Do ALL RAF personnel land in Kate's garden then?
Aren't the MoD making themslves look very foolish by constantly covering-up for these time and money wasting pranks?

Let's add a bit of balance.

He flew out of RAF Odiham, Hants, but, because of a shortage of landing spots in Hampshire, the Prince asked for permission to use the Middletons' property, the newspaper said.

In a statement, the MoD said battlefield helicopter crews routinely practised landing in fields and confined spaces away from airfields as part of their training for conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Helicopter bases continually seek permission from land owners to use their fields and there are only two fields permanently available in Hampshire. Opportunities to use alternatives are therefore regularly seized."

It added: "The aircraft landed in the field, after taking all necessary safety precautions, and was on the ground for 20 seconds. source Telegraph.co.uk


My neighbour occasionally pulls up outside his house in his Challenger tank and pops in for a few moments. He's not a Royal. No fuss is made. I seem to recall the old Spitfire pilots used to dip down and wave their wings over their homes too. So, this field was next to the home of the Prince's girlfriend's parents. It was a field and it served it's purpose. End of a fairly routine story really.