U.K.’s Prince William flies solo for first time

‘Please don't mess this up,’ heir to throne tells self during Air Force training

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updated 11:52 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2008

LONDON - Prince William was surprised, a bit nervous and finally elated by his first solo flight.

William, 25, the elder son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is having flight training with the Royal Air Force. He flew alone for the first time Wednesday.

“God knows how somebody trusted me with an aircraft and my own life,” he said of his flight in a propeller-driven trainer.

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“I was doing a few circuits going round and round then Roger (Bousfield), my instructor, basically turned round and said, ‘Right, I’m going to jump out now’ and I said, ‘What, where are you going?”’

“He said, ‘You’re going on your own ...”’

No problem
Once airborne, the prince said, “it was fine.”

“You just remember your checks and do all the things you’ve got to do and fly the circuit,” he said.

“Then I was watching the runway getting closer and closer and thinking, please, please don’t mess this up,” William said Thursday.