His Royal Skyness

[chevvron]

If you want a laugh, check out the article on p37 of the Daily Mail for Dec 8th.
You know it's accurate reporting when they talk about a 'G' suit 'to protect him from the pressure of the plane' and instruction on how to operate 'the explosive ejector'!!

[PPRuNeUser0211]

Saw it, couldn't find it online anywhere tho! Quite amusing, they could have made a better effort to get a decent photo!

[vecvechookattack]

The Royal Air Farce (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005570153,00.html) are in a bit of bother again then.

Mind you, I suppose that the odd £10k is bugger all compared to the tens of thousands spent this week ferrying Santa around to various schools.




BUt, £10k for a 30 min hawk ride - thats cheap isn't it?

[airborne_artist]

From The Sun:
An RAF spokesman said: “This was a planned training flight for an instructor pilot to refresh his skills.”

His skills in bowing and scraping, perhaps? :E :E

[gashman]

Air Cadets get trips for being cadet of the week, so why can't a future army officer get an insight of the RAF? Is this being blown up out of proportion because of the passenger's bloodline?

I've flown all sorts of pax dudes around, both military and civilian. They all had a reason for sitting in that back seat. Some had less of a case for earning the place than HRH.

The main snag here is that he combined business with "pleasure". Some would see this as hitting two birds with one stone, obviously the tabloids have papers to sell.

[vecvechookattack]

How many other Cadets who start Sandhurst in January will have the opportunity to hitch a ride back home to pick up some kit?

[An Teallach]

Och, let the laddie fill his boots ('scuse the pun). As, out here in the real world, deference is dead: I'd have thought the chances of the soap opera surviving his father are slim. The only way William may become head of the Armed Forces might be professionally.

Blue touch-paper lit, now retiring ...

[tonkatechie]

Sun quote:
Ironically, Wills had a stint at the controls of a Hawk during his work experience.
How is it ironic?? He's hardly going to let the opportunity go and just sit there like a bit of ballast (after all, he's not a trained Nav is he:E ).

[Elmlea]

How many other Cadets who start Sandhurst in January will have the opportunity to hitch a ride back home to pick up some kit?

I'm sure any who had arranged to do some work experience at Valley would have gone flying.

Likewise, if a QFI had been authed to do a couple of hours SCT broken up with a night at Lyneham, then I'm sure any visiting cadet could have lept in the back if he lived near to the destination.

At the end of the day I'm sure no-one pays more tax if a Hawk gets parked for the night at Lyneham or Valley; and if it's all SCT that would have been flown anyway, what's the fuss?

[SilsoeSid]

vecvechookattack;How many other Cadets who start Sandhurst in January will have the opportunity to hitch a ride back home to pick up some kit?
Probably all of them, but not in a Royal Air Force Hawk. :ok:

Then again, how many other cadets are second in line to the throne?
(Therefore, soon to be in charge of said Royal Air Force!)

Perk of the future job I suppose!!

;)
SS

[Roland Pulfrew]

VVHA

Good to have you back, been OOA? T:mad: r.

So what if our future King gets a Hawk ride? Why not? Who knows, he might see the light and realise that there is better job out there than attending cocktail parties on a grey boat or crawling around in mud!!

This has undoubtedly been blown out of proportion by some tabloid (republican?) so called journalists. I for one would like to know what "senior RAF source" quotes the Hawk as costing £10k per hour. How senior? LAC? SAC maybe? If a Hawk costs £10K per hour then there is something seriously wrong with the maintenance charges. A Tristar is quoted as being £10K per flying hour and even the old and thirsty VC10 is quoted as costing £14K per hour. Obviously the "senior RAF source" doesn't not know his @rse from his elbow!

[Twonston Pickle]

Senior Aircraftman sounds about right for the source. Technically the press would be correct in quoting a "senior source" but, as always, somewhat misleading.

Couldn't give a flying 4ecks whether my future boss has a bit of a jaunt in a hawk. Quite frankly, I have more respect for him than any politician or journalist.

[Duncan D'Sorderlee]

I doubt any SAC would give the journo scum the time of day. I'd suggest that they simply made up a number.

One of the guardforce at Valley is defending HRH on an AOL forum full of quotes about 'What would Diana have said...'

I'd have expected to get more than 25 mins in the air and just have pulled rank on his little brother and got him to polish his boots! (2nd in line v 2Lt - no contest)

Duncan

[Onan the Clumsy]

The Daily Mail runs to over 37 pages? :ooh:

[JessTheDog]

Hey, get a sense of perspective - it's his granny's piece of kit anyway.

At least it wasn't the Wicked Witch being chauffered to a mud-bath feng shui hairdressing appointment, more likely nowadays...

[Farfrompuken]

Fer Gawd's sake,

It was the ROYAL Air Force, last time I got paid!

If we can't fly one of the heirs to the throne then who can we fly. No-one complained when the Navy flew Jodie Kidd did they? What has she got to do with anything?

[Archimedes]

No-one complained when the Navy flew Jodie Kidd did they? What has she got to do with anything?

Rupert Murdoch doesn't think that Jodie Kidd should be abolished....

[Melchett01]

Rupert Murdoch doesn't think that Jodie Kidd should be abolished....

Maybe its about time Rupert Murdoch should be abolished ( and no ... not literally before the liberal twiglet munchers get the wrong idea).

Just when did Rupert Murdoch have the final say on how the country was run, or maybe I missed something last time I was OOA?

Does the Sun (it must be true) have the full gen on this? Can they guarantee that it was a specially laid on trip for HRH? If so, and they object to it so much, I'll pop in and have a word with my Boss on Monday and tell him that we can't take any pax in one of the spare seats that we have on every cab.

For God's sake, I wish the press and more importantly the various Press groupies (that keep buying what we now loosley alude to as NEWS papers) would realise that Murdoch et al are all about selling papers rather than the truth. If they really want a good story, how about the Iranians next door to MND(SE) buying SA-15 from the Ruskies.

Then again, that isn't news is it.:\

[Michael Edic]

People back (or side) seat all the time on scheduled trips without necessarily having a constructive influence on the sortie. If it was Fg Off Bloggs who wanted to go home one weekend to see his mum/girlfriend/favourtie gerbil, who happened to live/was kept near the destination of said trip would this have been an issue?
It is sad that the majority of the general public will be so anti-establishment/stupid (not a synonym, sometimes) that they won't think through this story but will down another pint of Stella, belch, shout at the "footie" on TV and turn to each other knowingly and moan about the waste of their taxes that they could have easily spent on another beer/fag/whore.

Mike

[Gary Lager]

Does anyone have a link to that story about the Sun reporter back seating in a Typhoon recently?

Quite a nice juxtaposition, I'd say.

Journo scum. :mad:

[southside]

Maybe its about time Rupert Murdoch should be abolished or maybe its time the monarchy was abolished. The monarchy is racist and undemocratic - get rid of them .....

[Duncan D'Sorderlee]

Southside,

The monarchy may well be described as undemocratic but how do you qualify racist?

Duncan

[southside]

To become the head of state you have to be a white protestant. Thats racist.

[An Teallach]

William could marry a Buddhist Hottentot woman if she took his fancy. You do not have to be white or Protestant (or even Christian). You must just not be a Catholic.

The monarchy is therefore sectarian, but not racist.

[STANDTO]

Farfrompuken


I complained about Jodie Kidd getting a ride in a Harrier.

Then again, I complained about ONE of the rides that Katie Hill got with the Red Arrows.

I spent many thousands over the years with the same fuel supplier as the Reds use, and despite my protestations, never got a ride as a thankyou.

Anyway, what is this supersonic Hawk like, then?:confused:

[MostlyHarmless]

Wobbley

:ooh:

[WorkingHard]

If we can have the BRITISH Army why not the BRITISH Air Force?
Stop all this crap then about who owns what. BTW good luck to anyone who gets a seat in a Hawk or any other a/c of the RAF. I hope he really enjoyed it. Wonder if he would make a better pilot than his father.

[southside]

IM sure that when David Cameron-Blair is elected as the next Tory Prime Minister, life in the Armed Forces will improve. Mind you, there is one major obstacle which will put paid to any plans David Cameron-Blair has to enter No 10....and that is......



































Mrs Cameron-Blair.

[tyne]

Speaking as a journo (Now at One Zulu with everything closed up to accept incoming.) And yes I know I shouldn't post here.

What is the problem?

The RAF ferry hacks around in 146s. Very nice indeed especially when you are in the principle pax seat.

Mates of mine in the FAA have often been very obliging with Cabs..Part of the job.

Better spend a bit of cash on the future head of state than some regional journo who'll end up calling it a trip in a Harrier or Hunter. (I don't have much faith in my breteren at times.}

So the lad got a ride in a Hawk. I want one. I can hopefully turn it into good publicity for HM Armed forces. If not....Well so what at least I have experienced somethng - and I may find that usefuel at some point. Just like Wills might.

I really don't see what the problem is here.

Tyne

[Farfrompuken]

Standto,

Hawk supersonic is always a memorable experience for all the wrong reasons. Not something you'd chose to do on a regular basis!