Craig 6308 Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Prince William used a military helicopter to fly to a stag party, but the MOD insists the Friday afternoon jaunt was a "legitimate" training exercise. Yeah right The 25-year-old prince took off in a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter for a three-day party on the Isle of Wight sometime Friday, hours after receiving his wings from his father, Prince Charles. As part of his 80-minute flight, he also stopped at the Woolwich Army barracks to pick up his brother, Prince Harry. Media reports said that by flying, William avoided seven hours of driving in rush hour traffic and a ferry wait, allowing him to land at about 4 p.m. local time for a weekend of touring the island's pubs and clubs. Well good on ya! The Chinook was flown back to its base by an RAF crew. Members of Parliament and the Taxpayers' Association blasted the trip, saying it was inappropriate for the prince to employ a military helicopter as a party-going taxi service. They noted it costs about £5,000 to keep a Chinook in the air for an hour, and British troops in Afghanistan are short on the aircraft. Bloody amazing don't you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Probably fairly standard for officers in our armed forces. Not that that makes it ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JawD 31 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Oh come on, every takes in the piss in their jobs in one way or another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJS 3986 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Just like Chief Inspectors who "test" new police cars even though its not within their remit. Shame it wasn't the chopper McRae used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) Just like Chief Inspectors who "test" new police cars even though its not within their remit. Shame it wasn't the chopper McRae used. Doubt that would have taken off though. Worst thing is you're probably being serious. Edited April 17, 2008 by alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Hmmm - a few of them Chinooks aren't considered to be very safe........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14078 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Hmmm - a few of them Chinooks aren't considered to be very safe........... Especially after Al-Fayed tampers with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6308 Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Hmmm - a few of them Chinooks aren't considered to be very safe........... Step forward the crash test dummy..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I have a great distaste for travelling in helicopters - aaal that thrashing about, noise, vibration - not natural and if the engine stops................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6308 Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 I have a great distaste for travelling in helicopters - aaal that thrashing about, noise, vibration - not natural and if the engine stops................ If it blows up do you die instantly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I wouldn't be keen on getting in a helicopter. I'd like to know the accidents/miles covered statistics in comparison to fixed-wing aircraft. I bet it doesn't compare well, although I suspect that may have something to do with the number of amateur pilots who fancy themselves in a helicopter; businessmen, sportsmen etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I wouldn't be keen on getting in a helicopter. I'd like to know the accidents/miles covered statistics in comparison to fixed-wing aircraft. I bet it doesn't compare well, although I suspect that may have something to do with the number of amateur pilots who fancy themselves in a helicopter; businessmen, sportsmen etc. It's higher - but its mainly due to the fact that landing and taking off is done in much tighter spaces than with fixed wing and if sommat DOES go wrong its a lot easier to glide a plane than autorotate a helicopter back to earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I wouldn't be keen on getting in a helicopter. I'd like to know the accidents/miles covered statistics in comparison to fixed-wing aircraft. I bet it doesn't compare well, although I suspect that may have something to do with the number of amateur pilots who fancy themselves in a helicopter; businessmen, sportsmen etc. It's higher - but its mainly due to the fact that landing and taking off is done in much tighter spaces than with fixed wing and if sommat DOES go wrong its a lot easier to glide a plane than autorotate a helicopter back to earth Yeah, its obviously higher. Massively higher I expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fop 1 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I wouldn't be keen on getting in a helicopter. I'd like to know the accidents/miles covered statistics in comparison to fixed-wing aircraft. I bet it doesn't compare well, although I suspect that may have something to do with the number of amateur pilots who fancy themselves in a helicopter; businessmen, sportsmen etc. It's higher - but its mainly due to the fact that landing and taking off is done in much tighter spaces than with fixed wing and if sommat DOES go wrong its a lot easier to glide a plane than autorotate a helicopter back to earth Yeah, its obviously higher. Massively higher I expect. It's also down to maintenance and number of parts. Helicopters need a massive amount of maintenance per flying time compare to planes, and are much more complex craft with much more that can potentially go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RlCO 0 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I was amused by the fact that if Harry and Wills were in the same chopper, if it had gone down, as far as I can tell we would have ended up with Beatrice or Eugine as Queenie. Party on dudes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14078 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I was amused by the fact that if Harry and Wills were in the same chopper, if it had gone down, as far as I can tell we would have ended up with Beatrice or Eugine as Queenie. Party on dudes. Nah, Andrew's ahead of them, being their dad and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RlCO 0 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I was amused by the fact that if Harry and Wills were in the same chopper, if it had gone down, as far as I can tell we would have ended up with Beatrice or Eugine as Queenie. Party on dudes. Nah, Andrew's ahead of them, being their dad and all. I didn't really count him because, y'know, he doesn't really count. c.f. Magma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6308 Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Tell you what... Anne must be fucking pissed off, oldest of the lot of them and gets overlooked for being a woman! Now who said we lived in a politically correct country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RlCO 0 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Suffice to say, the accession is secure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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