HC Deb 28 January 1997 vol 289 cc198-9W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 452, on the flight path of the naval helicopter, if the head teacher and other senior staff at Cowarth Park school were informed beforehand of the visit of the naval helicopter. [12317]

Mr. Soames

Yes. The visit to Cowarth Park school had been prearranged with both school and local authority agencies, as is normal in such cases.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 452, on the flight plan of the helicopter, if there was a departure from the sortie plan. [12315]

Mr. Soames

No.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 452, on the cost of the training flight, what is the estimated cost of keeping the naval helicopter airborne for one hour. [12318]

Mr. Soames

The cost of operating a RN Lynx MK3 helicopter for one hour, excluding overhead costs, is approximately £1,300.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 452, on the flight plan of the helicopter, what type of helicopter was used in the training flight. [12314]

Mr. Soames

The helicopter used for this training flight was a RN Lynx MK 3.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 452 on the flight path of the naval helicopter, what was the training purpose of the visit to Cowarth Park school. [12316]

Mr. Soames

The overall purpose of the sortie was to provide navigation training.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times in 1996 a naval helicopter(a) on a training sortie and (b) for any other reason picked up HRH the Duke of York from his home in Sunningdale. [13226]

Mr. Soames

The only occasion in 1996 when HRH the Duke of York was picked up by a Royal Navy helicopter from his home in Sunningdale was on 13 November.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 452, what was the role of the Duke of York in the helicopter training sortie on 13 November 1996. [13244]

Mr. Soames

The training sortie on 13 November 1996 included a prearranged visit to Cowarth Park school. The Duke of York was conveyed as a passenger during this leg of the overall sortie.