Prince William Current Events 18: January-May 2008

[Duke of Marmalade]

What a desaster

William and RAF sorry for Prince's FIVE Chinook joyrides to visit family and friends | the Daily Mail

Why would the public take the younger generation seriously? Maybe they would if they started acting soriously? Instead, it's five joyride's here and an appointment to the Order of the Garter here ... what for? Is there anything William has done so far for this country to justify any of this? I am seriously missing the EARNING part.

Hope this doesn't continue when he's in the Navy - but with a bit of luck we'll see him on a submarine on the River Thames stopping by near Chelsea where it's only a short walk to the clubs.

 

[Skydragon]

What a desaster

William and RAF sorry for Prince's FIVE Chinook joyrides to visit family and friends | the Daily Mail

Why would the public take the younger generation seriously? Maybe they would if they started acting soriously? Instead, it's five joyride's here and an appointment to the Order of the Garter here ... what for? Is there anything William has done so far for this country to justify any of this? I am seriously missing the EARNING part.
Hope this doesn't continue when he's in the Navy - but with a bit of luck we'll see him on a submarine on the River Thames stopping by near Chelsea where it's only a short walk to the clubs.

The Ministry of Defence has admitted it made a mistake allowing Prince William to fly a £10 million helicopter to visit family and friends during his RAF training.
Both the RAF and the Prince himself are said to acknowledge they misjudged how the public would react to the heir-to-the-throne's personal trips during his training to get his pilot's wings.
And the MoD conceded today it had acted with a "degree of naivety" after it emerged William had been allowed to take five personal flights during the month-long introductory course.

RAFish Wills also buzzed dad and Queen | NEWS.com.au

 

[Jo of Palatine]

That's not true, is it? Five stunts in one month? And the Order of the Garter on top of it?

 

[Royal Fan]

I Think its silly nonsense most of it anyway.

 

[christinacg]

What a desaster


Why would the public take the younger generation seriously?

How could they not? Both William and Harry are working hard in the military. They're too busy to be making regular public engagements right now. Just b/c, like they said in the article, William acted naively in regards to his heli training, doesn't mean that William is just flying a helicopter around all day for play. Remember that his stop at the Middletons was for a few seconds and he was actually training, not visiting. I know there are people in the public that share your thoughts but I think its just sad to automatically think the worst of someone when innocent things like this happen.

 

[Skydragon]

How could they not? Both William and Harry are working hard in the military.

Do you really think so?

They're too busy to be making regular public engagements right now. Just b/c, like they said in the article, William acted naively in regards to his heli training, doesn't mean that William is just flying a helicopter around all day for play. Remember that his stop at the Middletons was for a few seconds and he was actually training, not visiting. I know there are people in the public that share your thoughts but I think its just sad to automatically think the worst of someone when innocent things like this happen.

I suppose it does only take a few minutes to show off to someone or her parents, or his parents, or his brother, or his grandmother, etc, etc. It is the sort of thing even the 'League of Gentlemen' would not be amused by!

 

[christinacg]

Do you really think so?

I really do. Unless its different in the UK. But I have many friends over here in the military and I know its an exhausting career for them.

 

[laduchesse]

I definitely think there are multiple parties responsible for this error in judgement. I don't question the value of the training and perhaps the cost would have been no different had he done elsewhere, but it seems as though they didn't ask the important "Would this pass the media test?" question.


If I were a PR advisor with Clarence House, I would recommend issuing a statement from the Prince apologizing for his part in the incident, yet at the same time offering up positive words to try to undo some of the negative publicity surrounding the RAF, which I think his particularly important given his future role as King. I think it would show maturity on the Prince's part and help diffuse some of criticism he has received of late.

 

[Principessa Cano]

I think there is an important point to be made regarding the flight to the wedding and the flight to the stag. My first point is that the flight to the stag happened the weekend after the graduation ceremony. If this flight was a legitimate training exercise that means William was allowed to graduate before completing the requirements of his training. I find it hard to believe that Joe Smith would be allowed the same courtesy. My second point is with regard to the intent of each flight. With these two flights it is obvious that the purpose of them was not to train but to get William to his destination. It is not as if they went up in the Chinooks and William said, "I am attending a stag/wedding near by, mind if you drop me off?" The flights were scheduled with the intent of getting William there, that was the purpose. Again I find it hard to believe that Joe Smith would be allowed the same privilege once never mind twice.

 

[MARG]

. . . My first point is that the flight to the stag happened the weekend after the graduation ceremony. If this flight was a legitimate training exercise that means William was allowed to graduate before completing the requirements of his training.

Just one little point. Pilots engage in "Training Flights" throughout their career. How do you think they get really good at what they do?

Because the UK is actually engaged in the "War on Terrorism" in both Afghanistan and Iraq it is easy to forget that pilots were and are engaged continually in intense training flights.

Here in NZ the RNZAF is well known to practice Alpine flying (an art in itself) over the Southern Alps around the holiday towns of Wanaka and Queenstown. The fact that more than a few also pack skis is hardly surprising!

Serendipidy?

 

[ghost_night554]

5?! Wow ok what in the world are they insane?! I'm just glad they released a statement, it's best just admit your wrong doings. It's nice we got an explanation and all but I think it's better that they just admit they made a mistake. I just think this whole thing was a lack of judgement from both parties. I hope William personally releases a statement soon as well. I still respect William I don't think we should worry about the future just based on this. I know he's not a child anymore but he's still learning like it or not.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

How could they not? Both William and Harry are working hard in the military.

Are they?
At least for William all this seems to be a nice opportunity to have some fun. The result is fix anyway, he'll become a flying officer whether he lands in girlfriends garden or not, flies out to a stag night or not.
OK he's only 25 but already miles apart from the people who once will have to back him as King, demonstrating the perception of a naive 15 year old regarding the way his actions are being perceived in public.

 

[tommy1716]

William and his superiors will NOT be punished over prince's 'pleasure trips' in RAF helicopter | the Daily Mail

I'm genuenly surprised by te number of negative comments attached to the above daily mail article. I think this has casued alot of damage. I think the realtionship between William and the RAF may be damaged for along time to come, espceally as their "future king".

As for the order of the garter? I think to some it will look bad, almost as if, "yeah you can fly around using a RAF helicopter as your taxi, and you know what, we'll throw in BRitain's top honour for free as well."

 

[Skydragon]

Just one little point. Pilots engage in "Training Flights" throughout their career. How do you think they get really good at what they do?

Yes they do, however this was supposedly a component he missed before his pass out, not an added component or intensive pre deployment training for active airmen/women, therefore he had not officially completed the quickie training before he was awarded his wings.[/quote]

William and his superiors will NOT be punished over prince's 'pleasure trips' in RAF helicopter | the Daily Mail

I'm genuinely surprised by the number of negative comments attached to the above daily mail article. I think this has caused a lot of damage. I think the relationship between William and the RAF may be damaged for along time to come, especially as their "future king".

EGoat and the bases forums are being so heavily moderated/censored it is laughable, no wonder they are using the Mail to comment!

 

[Isana]

I would only regard 2 out of those 5 "joy rides" questionable namely the stag party flight and the one to the wedding. Those were obviously arranged in a manner to allow William to attend private functions. I don't see where the scandal lies in him flying over Highgrove or Sandringham. And I don't get the anger over the training in the Middleton's field either. The last three were apparently indeed training flights. Who knows how many other trainees flie in these directions? Certainly none landed on the Middleton's field before but what would have been the difference if it was someone elses field? To me it looks like the papers blew the number up to add to the two "real" joy rides.
Still the damage is done and, IMO, William should adress the issue personally at some forthcoming function. I guess people would be more willing to accept an apology if it is delivered by himself and not merely on paper. Maybe he should offer to pay the costs for the flights. The money could then be donated to one of his charities.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I would only regard 2 out of those 5 "joy rides" questionable namely the stag party flight and the one to the wedding.

I agree with you but add Miss Middleton. Whilst greeting Grandma or Daddy could be seen as a nice gesture when flying above their estate (it's called ROYAL airforce and grandma is the monarch, remember) the landing in Kate's backyard is disgusting (leave alone the stag night). Why? Because she is not his fiancee or wife and does not belong to the Royal Family and obviously is his his private affair and nothing but. How does he dare to mix up personal fun with a serious - ok this is at least what I had expected - training to get his wings. This is shockingly naive and immature from a 25 year old who aims to carry Britains crown one day. He should be thankful for the opportunity instead of ridiculing or making a complete joke of army and institution. Does anybody wonder why people laugh when they see senior royals in uniform with all their decorations and think god, where did they get these from, just another goodie - unfortunately William unintentionally confirmed exactly this clichee by his stupid actions.

 

[Skydragon]

I would only regard 2 out of those 5 "joy rides" questionable namely the stag party flight and the one to the wedding. Those were obviously arranged in a manner to allow William to attend private functions. I don't see where the scandal lies in him flying over Highgrove or Sandringham. And I don't get the anger over the training in the Middleton's field either. The last three were apparently indeed training flights. Who knows how many other trainees flie in these directions? Certainly none landed on the Middleton's field before but what would have been the difference if it was someone elses field? To me it looks like the papers blew the number up to add to the two "real" joy rides.
Still the damage is done and, IMO, William should adress the issue personally at some forthcoming function. I guess people would be more willing to accept an apology if it is delivered by himself and not merely on paper. Maybe he should offer to pay the costs for the flights. The money could then be donated to one of his charities.

How many are allowed to fly directly over Highgrove or Sandringham, none I should imagine (there goes the imagination again ). None of them were real training flights, after all that is why we have a number of aerodromes and RAF bases for, to allow practise. They also have arrangements with a number of landowners to use their fields. How many get to land in the girlfriends field, none, I expect. Yes it is the Royal Airforce, so I wonder if HM would appreciate all her real trainee pilots buzzing her - I don't think so.

 

[ghost_night554]

I'm not going to say they weren't real training flights but I think his training was way different then most pilots.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

I Whilst greeting Grandma or Daddy could be seen as a nice gesture when flying above their estate (it's called ROYAL airforce and grandma is the monarch, remember) the landing in Kate's backyard is disgusting (leave alone the stag night).

As I'm a resident of a village which is directly under the flight path into Penzing Airforce Base and all pilots landing there use the northern end of Lake Ammersee as their turning point (here it is pretty clear that you are where you are supposed to be ), I see large transport planes all the time flying rather close to the ground over my house and turing into the landing approach of Penzing. Personally I doubt it is a nice gesture for anybody seeing and hearing a flyover or landing close to one's bedroom windows. So while I believe that it is difficult to get the permission of landowners to train the landing in their backyards I doubt other pilots than William will get permission in the future from the Middletons.

 

[Isana]

Nobody ever claimed he got regular training. Pilot training usually lasts 4 years, William had 4 months. It was made clear from the beginning that his flying course was especially arranged for him since he only had 4 months with the RAF. At his ceremony one of the other trainees said he took flights about 3 times a day when others would only have one. I also don't think that training flights are ususally taken over the base. What point does it make to fly in circles over the RAf base?
I assume they have some regular flying routes but those were obviously "adapted" for William. As I said that was definitely wrong with the stag party flight and wedding thing but not with the other flights. So even if no trainee ever flew over a royal residence before (how could anyone know?), what's the problem if William was the first? What harm was done by him flying over Highgrove or Sandringham? Who can tell whether other trainees might not fly over their parent's or relatives' houses as well? Certainly such incident would never make it into any paper and rightly so since the route the trainee takes shouldn't really matter. This article clearly states these kind of things have been goin on forever:

One senior RAF officer told the Mail of Group Captain Turner's frustration that the "freebie" trips were eclipsing William's achievements.
He said: "Frankly this sort of thing has always gone on - dropping a mate off somewhere en route, or flying over someone's house to give them a wave.
"If you're training for war you've got to learn to navigate a helicopter...and you can incorporate this sort of thing without it costing the taxpayer a penny more.
"It doesn't break any rules and it's good for morale.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23479891-details/William+and+his+superiors+will+NOT+be+punished+over+prince's+'pleasure+trips'+in+RAF+helicopter/article.do
And the Kate thing I don't really get either. What exactly is the problem with this? That it was the Middleton's field? So if it had been anyone else's field and the Middleton's would have watched him train, that would have been ok? Or is it the fact that the Middleton's were present that bothers people? So would the training session have been ok if they were not there and he still practised on their land?
I'm not denying that William was treated differently from other trainees but then he was never a "regular" pilot trainee in the first place. It was certainly a mistake from a PR point of view to even try to pretend he'd be treated like anyone else when he clearly was never one of the RAF pilot trainees. Still I think the uproar about this is rather exagerated. I do not see the damage done with those three flights. The stag party and wedding "taxi ride" are of course a whole other story.

 

[kimebear]

This whole thing has just been blown completely out of proportion. The most William is guilty of is a naive lapse in judgment. He was not the first to fly a training exercise with personal preferences, nor is he likely to be the last (we just won't hear about it with a Flying Officer John Smith). If the RAF can have arrangements with other private field owners, why not the Middletons? Is their field less worthy of the exercise? William and his superiors surely misjudged the citizens furor over the events, but this is just becoming a witchhunt.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

It all reminded me of a funny story about a flying stunt of Prince Charles in 1971, also just after he got his wings, told by Holden. A press pack traveled in a plane with Charles at the helm, to an official engagement, I forgot what, and Charles was supposed to do a clean landing, but he decided to have some fun instead. So he did a touch and go, and circled the shocked spectators, and then he did it two more times before landing.

 

[ghost_night554]

Wills takes a 450mph Tornado ride (...too fast for any controversial stops!) | the Daily Mail

 

[Skydragon]

It all reminded me of a funny story about a flying stunt of Prince Charles in 1971, also just after he got his wings, told by Holden. A press pack traveled in a plane with Charles at the helm, to an official engagement, I forgot what, and Charles was supposed to do a clean landing, but he decided to have some fun instead. So he did a touch and go, and circled the shocked spectators, and then he did it two more times before landing.

Do you by any chance have a link?

 

[karla64]

Prince William | Tornado jet dogfight | Better clear the mall, i said I'd visit Gran | The Sun |HomePage|News|Campaigns|Our Boys

 

[tommy1716]

Ok, know i understnad the concept of him using aircraft to train in, but this is a joke now
What a bomber: Prince William goes back to basics at the controls of a historic Word War II aircraft | the Daily Mail

Why does he need to fly an WW2 bomber? How will they justify this? I think this is the final straw now, its just becoming a joke and it seems that William is either oblivious or worse uncaring about the talk over flights such as this.

 

[Amelia]

What is there to justify? How is him flying this causing anyone any harm - I understand why people are upset about him taking joy-rides in aircraft that there is a great shortage of where they are really needed but it is not as though they can send a WW2 bomber to Afghanistan!

 

[tommy1716]

What is there to justify? How is him flying this causing anyone any harm - I understand why people are upset about him taking joy-rides in aircraft that there is a great shortage of where they are really needed but it is not as though they can send a WW2 bomber to Afghanistan!

Because some people feel that at a time when money i toght for many people in the UK, taxpapyers money shouldnt be spent on wasteful things, such as flying around a prince in a WW2 plane. It serves no purpose so why should WE pay of it. If Will's dips into his mulitmillion pound finances to pay for it then he can of course do what he wants.

 

[Skydragon]

What is there to justify? How is him flying this causing anyone any harm - I understand why people are upset about him taking joy-rides in aircraft that there is a great shortage of where they are really needed but it is not as though they can send a WW2 bomber to Afghanistan!

Lets see....

Apart from the joyrides which is bad enough, why is he getting further time off from his shortened course to go on another jolly during time he is being paid for? Did he contribute towards the cost of the fuel for this joyride?

It really is not a good idea to be shown as insensitive to the servicemen and women who lay their lives on the line everyday, no time here for little trips in helicopters to show off to nearest and dearest. They don't even have the full or correct equipment, they have substandard housing, substandard medical care, substandard transport and substandard weapons - all we are told, due to a lack of money!

Incredible waste considering it is highly unlikely he will ever see active service!

 

[Amelia]

Well I don't personally see a problem with him flying a WW2 bomber. I think this whole thing is being blown out of all proportion. What's done cannot be undone - hopefully they learned from their mistakes but I do think it is time to move on now.