William to fly Sea King in Charlottetown drill
CBC News
Posted: Jul 1, 2011 1:08 PM AT
Last Updated: Jul 1, 2011 1:08 PM AT
Alex Matteau says his crew is excited to work with Prince William. CBCA Sea King helicopter crew in Nova Scotia is preparing to have Prince William fly one of its aircraft Monday.
William, who is visiting Canada with his wife Kate, will be at the controls of the CFB Shearwater Sea King to perform a rescue drill at a lake near Charlottetown during the couple's visit to P.E.I. Monday.
The Shearwater crew will be in the helicopter with William. Maj. Alex Matteau, a Sea King pilot, said his crew was looking forward to it.
"I'm very excited about it. We already have a pretty good relationship with the Royal Air Force, but this obviously takes it to the next level," he said.
Prince will land on water
Nothing has been altered on the helicopter for William's flight, other than tape put in place to keep water out during the training exercise.
William will hover the helicopter directly over Dalvay Lake and then land on top of the water, a common rescue training exercise for Canadian pilots.
It's a mission William has not done before as a pilot with the Royal Air Force in the U.K. He will perform the drill with a technician and pilot from Shearwater on board.
William's co-pilot will be Col. Sam Michaud, the commander at Shearwater and a veteran pilot.
"Col. Michaud, from my understanding, will be in the right seat ... and the prince will be in the left seat, and we'll have one more crew member in the back to help co-ordinate from that angle," Matteau said.
William's helicopter exercise will be broadcast live from coast to coast in Canada and other international broadcasters are expected to follow suit.
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