A photo gallery has been released after the Prince of Wales visited an Oxfordshire RAF base.
The Prince of Wales attended RAF Benson near Wallingford today (Wednesday, October 15) with the Crown Prince of Jordan, Al Hussein bin Abdullah II.
While there the eldest son of King Charles III said that flying is his “happy place” as he spoke with old air force colleagues about the “glory days” of serving with the RAF Search and Rescue Force.
READ MORE: Prince William reminisces about ‘glory days’ in Oxfordshire
RAF Benson is home to a number of squadrons including 28 (Army Cooperation) Squadron, a unit training aircrew to fly Chinook helicopters.
Prince William and Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II – who are both trained helicopter pilots – were pictured helping the crews make repairs during their visit.
The Prince of Wales (right) helps out(Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Specifically the future monarchs tightened a nut on an oil reserve for a rotorhead – the large assembly a Chinook’s rotor blades are connected to on top of the aircraft – using a torque wrench.
After the wrench made a satisfying click, William joked: “You will check before it goes back (into service), I don’t want to be responsible.”
Later on, the two princes had a briefing about undisclosed matters.
Flight Lieutenant Steve Wilders, a Chinook instructor, served alongside the prince in search and rescue at RAF Valley and later once piloted a royal helicopter carrying William.
After speaking to William in the mess, he said: “It was really nice to hear that he has carried on flying – he’s still a pilot.
“He made it sound as though he still enjoys it and it’s a nice break from the everyday pressures I suppose, getting up and flying away from everything.”