Tonight, on Prince Charles's 27th birthday, a remarkable film of his flying career in the Royal Navy.
In a candid and delightfully informal atmosphere the Heir to the Throne is seen on his first solo flight in a helicopter; his first parachute drop; learning to escape from a crashed helicopter submerged in a tank of water and-in the middle of it all - returning from a tour of duty under canvas in a remote part of Canada, for his investiture as Great Master of the Order of the Bath. ' I'm one of those hopeless characters who likes trying all sorts of things.' jo DOUGLAS who produced Pilot Royal with her husband Christopher Doll directing writes:
' Because both of us fly, we were interested in the number of ' Pilots Royal' there are around the world. Prince Bernhardt of the Netherlands has flown over 100 different types of aircraft, King Hussein of Jordan flies fighters, the Shah of Iran's ambition is to handle Concorde personally.
'They all spend so much time in the air on official business that it's only one step to taking the controls. I think that it has the added attraction of being a situation in which they are uniquely in control.
' They also all have so much to do in so little time. Prince Charles has had to push himself through some of the training courses in a fraction of the normal time-because of his other official duties -by dint of sheer hard work.
It seemed to us that his fellow-officers were determined not to be seen giving him any special treatment and that he is determined not to ask for it.
' He's obviously a very skilful pilot; he came top of his class of 75 in 707 Training Squadron and there's a sequence when you see him land a helicopter on the top of Snowdon that would be a test of any pilot's skills.
' We followed him for over a year during which he graduated into a qualified helicopter pilot, theoretically ready for a front-line posting. It took us from Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey to Miami Beach and northern Canada.'
Narrated by RAY MOORE
Producer JOSEPHINE douglas Director CHRISTOPHER DOLL
