Prince goes solo
Prince William has made his first solo flight as part of his training at RAF Cranwell.
The prince completed about eight hours and 45 minutes of flying with an instructor before going it alone.
Most students take their first solo flight after between nine and 11 hours of flying.
Group Captain Nick Seward, Commandant Central Flying School, said: “He has done well. The weather has not been brilliant so he has done doubly well.
“He is very enthusiastic and obviously has natural talent, which is good for him and his instructor. He has done lots of study in his own time which is important because it is a fairly hectic two weeks.
“Everybody here has been impressed by the effort he has put in and how well he has done. But saying that nobody expected anything else.”
Group Captain Seward said Prince William, known as Flying-officer Wales, got on well with fellow students and had played football with them most nights.
“Around the station you would not know there was a Royal in the room. He is just a member of the RAF,” Group Captain Seward said.
On Thursday last week, the prince took to the skies above Cranwell with his instructor, Squadron-leader Roger Bousfield, in front of about 75 photographers and camera crews.
Group Captain Seward said he doubted Prince William would have noticed the media as he walked to the Grob 115E, known by the RAF as the Tutor.
The prince walked to the aeroplane looking relaxed and laughing and joking with Squadron-leader Bousfield, before checking the plane and climbing into the cockpit.
He wiped clear the inside of the window with the back of his hand and made final checks before starting the engine.
He taxied to the runway and waited for a plane to land before taking off and disappearing into thick cloud.
About 40 minutes later he landed, and as he walked back to the building pointed to his watch and jokingly shouted he had work to do as photographers called his name.
Group Captain Seward said during the flight Prince William would have been consolidating what he had learned so far and, because of the cloudy weather, would have relied on the instruments as he would have been unable to see the horizon.
Prince William has now completed his training at 1 Elementary Flying Training School at the Lincolnshire base and moved to RAF Linton-on-Ouse, near York, for the next stage.
Flight-lieutenant Robbie Lees, now teaching the prince to fly the Tucano, a faster more capable aircraft, said among the next things he would learn would be low-level flying at 250ft and flying in formation with a second plane.
Flight-lieutenant Lees said: “He is very professional, level-headed, approachable and very interested. He is a nice chap and it is a pleasure to fly with him.”
Prince William will also learn to fly a Squirrel HT1 helicopter at RAF Shawbury, Shropshire.
If successful, Prince William will gain his RAF wings and graduate in April. Later this year he will train with the Royal Navy.
Prince Charles completed flying training at RAF Cranwell in 1971 and graduated as a Flight Lieutenant in August that year.
He returned in 1972 and 1977 for refresher training.
