Prince Harry Performs in Royal Air Force Show (VIDEO)
Prince Harry thrilled the public with his performance in the annual Royal Air Force Cosford Air Show. The prince, known as Captain Wales, was selected to perform in an Apache Attack Helicopter Display due to his great experience with the machine.
"The display team, unlike some other display teams, is not a permanent assignment," Lt. Col. Tim de la Rue told the Daily Mail. "Rather, it is drawn from a pool of experienced, operationally ready, Apache aircrew and ground crew, and uses aircraft drawn from the operational Apache Squadrons."
Harry is a co-pilot gunner and served two terms in Afghanistan. Upon his return to the United Kingdom, the prince spoke about his experience and confirmed that he had, in fact, taken a life, which he said you have to sometimes do to "save a life."
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"Today's aerial display crew was Staff Sergeant Jamie Boakes as pilot, and Captain Phil Wilson and Captain Wales as the two front seat co-pilot gunners, all of whom are delighted to have been selected for their respective roles this summer," de la Rue said.
"This year the pool of display aircrew has been drawn from 662 Squadron AAC which has recently returned from a very successful operational tour of Afghanistan," he added.
The prince's team demonstrated the helicopter's maneuvers and abilities but did not perform any stunts, in comparison to the Red Arrows team. The Air Show drew a large crowd, as it always does, but with Prince Harry in attendance, the crowd was even larger.
Harry has spoken about his time in the Royal Air Force with fondness, and it's clear that the prince loves his work. He has also said that protecting his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, means a great deal to him.
"Our job out here is to make sure the guys are safe on the ground, and if that means shooting someone who is shooting at them, then we will do it," Harry told CNN.
"It's not the reason I decided to do this job. The reason to do this job was to get back out here and carry on with a job," he said in January.
"Once you're in the military, she [the Queen] means a lot more to you than just a grandmother. She is the queen. And then you suddenly, it's like you start realizing, you know, wow, this is quite a big deal. And then you get goose bumps and the rest of it," Harry told ABC News.
Watch video of Prince Harry's performance in the Air Show HERE:
