Exactly - neither of them were as close to the throne, so the risk was deemed acceptable. Whatever any of us on here think about whether or not Wills should be allowed to be shot at, this decision clearly wasn't his - any more than it was Harry's decision to come home early from Afghanistan once his cover had been blown.

On the issue of whether he can hack it, I daresay he would be chopped if he couldn't cope - in the same way the Edward 'resigned' from the Marines. From what I've heard, I doubt he'd want to be a dead weight to those around him - but with luck all this will be pure conjecture and he will do very well.

It's their choice. Great Uncle Edward (the 8th) worked that one out.

And I don't think their status has stopped them doing any less travelling, boozing or shagging really...

Do we really need to pity these hugely feather-bedded individuals?

Royal Restraint of Freedom.....oh dear me!

Isn't that sort of like...well...errrr...complaining about the quality of the caviar at a banquet paid for by someone else?

Gimmee a Break here!

As noted....all one has to do is volunteer out of the program and take up a trade of some sort.

You will have to forgive me...but being a mere Yank....with a couple of hundred years of time to forget exactly why we raised our center digit to some of the lad's ancestors....he and his clan will get no concern from me about the trials and tribulations of being a "Royal".

As an individual and helicopter pilot....and thus one of the brothers (and perhaps sisters, Whirls...)...he is welcome to share a pint at the bar. Now in that venue....perhaps I would give him a listen and some sympathy. (cor...almost said empathy:oh:)

We prefer to take a full measure of a man over here....and not look at the pedigree papers alone.

It is likely that Wills will be stationed in the South, ease of access to his dad, social occasions etc and Chiv must be top of the list, look out crab, you might become more famous.

I take it he must be a PPRuNer by now? :cool:

Mind you, he might have to fight to get on the computer at work!:eek:

Oldlae - at least it might put our long-overdue accommodation rebuild back to the top of someones list:)

SASLESS, we have the Royal Family you have the Kennedy and the Bush "Families", I know which one I'd rather have...:ok::ok:

RAF Now welcomes short-sighted pilots
 

Ivor..
 

There are dozens of qualified pilots and students wearing CFS - nothing new or unusual in this at all. Mountain and molehill springs to mind.

Errr: yes :hmm:

I started in the RN with 6/18 (20/60) eyesight, as a helicopter pilot. Still flying 42 years later, still without a Guide Dog :p

There again, they could be clear glass treated to react to sunlight, just easier to wear from the start than having to faf around when busy and the sun comes out!:)



Ivor - the red mist rising from your republican politics is starting to show!;)

Timex,

I must withdraw my statement in light of some late developments in New York.

DNA is the trump card it seems!

But then this is the season for change now ain't it!

good for him
 

Good for him, I hope he does well and gets the support and enjoyment I have in the last 31 years in our exclusive profession.

Lup:ok:

Prince William: crab@'s new co-pilot?
 

Crab, meet your new co-pilot:

Rescue pilot role for Prince William

Hmm I guess I am missing something here.
70 hours real + 50 hours simulator and he is "qualified" to make SAR Ops as copilot???? :eek:

I guess he must have more flight experience but the article make it looks like he can jump into a copilot seat in SAR Ops with such low hours.

He has already qualified as an RAF helicopter pilot. The SAR training is additional to that.

It may surprise those non-mil people to know that a pilots course is approximately 200 hours and there are many military pilots flying operationally with only a few hundred hours total time.

For those who've read Chickenhawk (are there any helo pilots who don't?) it's no surprise. If I recall correctly Mason went into combat flying in Vietnam with under 100 hours TOTAL time!

Best of luck to William :ok:. He seems to be shaping up OK and it may give him a useful grounding in real life before he inherits his proper job.

Ian.

Yes it is "just a couple of hundred hours" but it is definitely not just a couple hundred hours of hours building. Almost all of those hours were with an instructor except for a few solo and mutual solo sorties which were part of the syllabus to consolidate skills learnt, and essentially each trip is pretty much a chop ride, or can lead to one. It is a very intensive and stressful course, and most definitely not an attendance course, and he has done very well to make the grade, as did his younger brother. There is a huge amount learnt in those few hundred hours, and the pilots who come out at the other end, whilst they lack experience, their ability levels are generally very high considering the low number of hours.
I think the general British public has every right to be very proud of the two young royals, whether you are a supporter of the monarchy or not, as they are both making a considerable contribution to the nation and working bloody hard to do it, and setting an extremely good example to the youth of today. They are truly getting where they are by hard work, made only harder by their positions. This is certainly not the case with every Royal Family around the world.

Well said HB.

Well said that man. There's certainly a big difference between 45 hrs gaining one's ppl (dual etc) then hours building for a couple of hundred, than 200 hours of being thrashed senseless by a military QHI!

Also, remember he's not going straight into a captaincy role, but will do a captaincy check in the next couple of years, having gained many more hours operational experience. (