He aired his knowledge of the subject matter while helping 28 Squadron engineers work on the main rotorhead of a Chinook aircraft. Elsewhere in the hangar, the Crown Prince did the same – and William joked that someone would be coming to “check” his friend’s work.
Wednesday’s engagement marked a rare joint public visit by the Princes, who flew in by helicopter from Windsor Castle.
Kensington Palace said the engagement highlighted their “strong relationship” and their mutual respect and support for the Armed Forces.
‘The glory days’
William told his former colleagues and trainee pilots that he missed hearing the sound of the Sea King helicopter as well as his days working in the RAF.
“I left and went straight into the Air Ambulance afterwards and did three years or so there and… it sort of merged into one big flying trip. I miss the search and rescue days, the glory days,” he said
He told the group had loved to hear the sound of the Sea King flying as part of Donald Trump’s state visit last month.
“Seven aircraft were flying over and Sea King comes in and I was like ‘there she is’ – that noise went straight to my heart, it was a great sound,” he added.
Asked whether he still flies, the Prince said: “I do still fly – I keep my hours going because, when you learn that skill set, you just don’t want it to go. I’ve definitely lost a lot of the skills Ι had, but I like to just keep on top of flying and keep doing it. It’s my happy place when I’m flying.”
Following their chat in the crew room and hands-on work in the hangar, the Princes retired for a private meeting with RAF personnel.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.telegraph.co.uk ’
