Prince William Takes His First Solo Flight

Prince William has taken his first solo flight Wednesday â€“ only eight-and-a-half hours into his training to be a pilot.

Not just anyone can do that… you have to be royalty.

The prince, 25, described the moment above the skies of Lincolnshire, England, as “an amazing feeling, I couldn’t believe it”.

In fact, he “is still grinning about it today,” his tutor, Squadron Leader Roger Bousfield, said Thursday.

William’s tutor kept him in the dark about the planned solo flight, stepping out of the plane just before takeoff. That left the prince alone to taxi onto the runway at the Cranwell base.

“I was sitting there saying, ‘Oh my, this is a bit odd. There’s no one in here,’” he recalled. “Once I’d taken off, it was fine, you just remember your checks and do all the things you have to do.”

Still, the prince admitted it was often nerve-wracking: “I was watching the runway getting closer and closer and thinking, ‘Please don’t mess this up’.”

Clearly, he didn’t. The head of the flying training school at the base, Group Capt. Andy Naismith, said William’s achievement ranks him up there with the best beginners. “He is definitely at the front end of the scale, most do [their first solo flights] after between nine and 11 hours [of training].”

And don’t think Naismith is simply kissing up to the future King. “It would be very easy for that [praise] to sound sycophantic,” he said, “but [William] has learned very quickly. And that, allied with hard work and natural feeling and ability, has meant that he has been able to do this.”

source: Prince William’s First Solo Flight: ‘Amazing!’ [people]

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Prince William Takes His First Solo Flight

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