William copter training cost over £50,000

Five helicopter flights by Prince William during his training in the Royal Air Force cost more than £50,000.



During his training, William was allowed to fly Chinook helicopters to the stag party of his cousin Peter Philips on the Isle of Wight and to his girlfriend Kate Middleton’s family home. He also used the military aircraft to fly over Highgrove, the Gloucestershire home of his father Prince Charles, and over Sandringham, his grandmother’s residence in Norfolk. Another trip on Chinook was to Hexham, Northumberland, where William joined a wedding party.



The Guardian, which obtained the figures from the ministry of defence under a freedom of information re-quest, said William’s the Isle of Wight trip cost £8,716. The RAF, at the time, had defended the legitimate decision for the 250-mile flight to Isle of Wight, claiming it completed Prince William’s training by flying over London and across water.



The 25-year-old prince had landed the helicopter, which costs £15,000 an hour to operate, in the paddock of the Middletons’ farm in southern England during a 100-mile, two-hour training exercise. "There was a degree of naively in the planning of the training sorties that allowed Flying Officer Wales to attend private functions," the defence ministry said.

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