Prince William Lands Chopper In Girlfriend Kate’s
Backyard
By D’Arcy Doran
PRINCE WILLIAM landed an air force helicopter at the
home of his girlfriend’s parents during a training flight, Britain’s
Defence Ministry said last month.
British media called the exercise wasteful at a time
when the military is stretched by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and
warned it risked testing the public’s patience with the monarchy.
The landing on the Middleton family farm on April 3
was planned and authorised as part of the prince’s Royal Air Force
pilot training, the ministry statement said.
“The aircraft landed in the field, after taking all
necessary safety precautions, and was on the ground for 20 seconds,”
the ministry said. “No one got on or off the aircraft.”
The military lacks landing sites and often seeks
permission from landowners to use their fields for training
exercises, the statement said.
DATED
The prince and Kate Middleton have dated since they
were students at St Andrews University in Scotland. Middleton’s
parents are self-made millionaires who run a children’s party
favours mail-order company from their farm in southern England.
The farm is 16 miles northwest of Odiham Air Force
base, where the prince began his flight.
William received his Air Force wings, the
traditional badge given to graduate pilots, on April 11 after four
months in the Air Force learning to pilot helicopters and planes.
His training was designed to make him a competent, but not
operational, flier.
News of the landing on the Middletons’ farm comes as
the Air Force faces criticism for allowing William to fly a Chinook
helicopter from London to the Isle of Wight to attend a bachelor
party for his cousin Peter Phillips on the day the prince was
awarded his wings. William’s brother, Prince Harry, was also on
board.
The ministry said both flights were part of the
prince’s training.
RESOURCES
The News of The World newspaper accused William of
using military equipment as a taxi service while military resources
are stretched.
“William’s jaunts risk testing the public’s patience
with the monarchy,” the newspaper wrote in an editorial.
British fighter jet pilots normally spend up to four
years training.
The pilot’s training was part of William’s
preparations to eventually become king, when he will become the
ceremonial head of Britain’s armed forces.
He is an army officer and is due to serve a tour
overseas, most likely on board a navy warship.
Defence officials said previously that William could
be deployed to areas such as the South Atlantic, the Persian Gulf,
the Pacific Ocean or the West Indies. |