At the risk of losing an arm....
and with all due deference to those arguing that the trips were authorised therefore all non-pilots ought to be shot after a damn good flogging...
This still seems very much an own goal. Everything, these days, isn't seen in black and white for what it is, it's subject to spin and Joe Public isn't that difficult to influence. This just looks like the chap got to do what he felt like because he's royalty...now you may argue that that IS in fact all the justification needed, but to the casual observer the 'Daily Mash' take on it isn't far off the mark, and it could have been avoided had any other field in the UK been selected - please don't bother to point out the field shortage issue, there is no way that every other Chinook sortie is doing practise landings at the Middleton's little hacienda, and has been doing for the past decade.
Good luck to the lad, if that hasn't earned him a little extra 'consideration' then goodness knows what he'll have to try next - I don't blame him for getting away with it. It's still a very silly thing to allow somebody as high vis as HRH to do ANYTHING that looks like an abuse of position and privilege, because a great many people will jump on such and make a great deal of noise about them. The Sun, Mail etc couldn't run 'Prince uses chopper to fetch chip supper' stories if he didn't actually make the flight. This last couple of events have had zero potential for good
PR, a 6 year old could work that out - somebody really ought to be trying to ensure that his time with the RAF avoids this sort of negative fallout.
Dave
(Puts helmet on...)