As Kate and about 2,500 invited guest watched on from the grounds of Dalvay-By-The-Sea - a historic hotel on Prince Edward Island, William, a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot, took part in a “waterbirding” training exercise, learning to land a Sea King helicopter on the waters of Dalai Lake.
The controlled landing procedure called “waterbirding” was developed in Canada - the only country to train its pilots for the drill - in the event of engine failure while military helicopters scout for enemy submarines or during search and rescue operations.
William took the controls of the helicopter and dove it into a small lake, skimmed along the water before taking off vertically, Canadian media reported.William performed the procedure a dozen times and also tried a few blind landings, using only the helicopters on-board instruments.
Maj Patrick MacNamara, the navigator on William’s training exercise said it was William’s idea to tackle progressively more difficult manoeuvres.
“I would suggest that he was having quite a bit of fun,” MacNamara added. He described the duke’s demeanour as “very casual but also very professional.”
Several of William’s squadron-mates have come to Canada for water-bird training and five more will do so later this summer, MacNamara said.
Watch Prince William "Waterbirding"
The yellow duct tape on the helicopter is to stop water leaking into the aircraft. Flying with a VIP the Air Force did not want any wet shoe incidents. In real action there would be no duct tape.
CTCV News
Gravity always wins!
Actually, the OT Squadron based at Shearwater always keeps at least one Waterbird on hand with the yellow tape, for water training. The concern is wet electronics, not wet shoes.