Crown Prince Haakon and Prince William to check out new helicopter

Prince William.Photo: (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

When helicopter pilot Prince William, and his wife come to Oslo next week, he will take a close look at one of the two new rescue helicopters in Norway.

 

Norway’s second model AW101 rescue helicopter arrived at Sola in Rogaland from the UK factory last Friday. With an NTB news team, it will fly over Oslo, so the Duke of Cambridge will take a good look.

Prince William and Duchess Kate arrive in Norway on Thursday this week. After a private lunch at the Palace, and tour of Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s outdoor sculpture park, the follow-up will be a visit to the office community MESH, for British start-ups, and entrepreneurs.

After this, the prince and crown prince Haakon have expressed a wish to swing down to Akershus fortress, where the new helicopter will be ready. They will get an introduction to the features, and the project itself, but there will be no trial on their own for the two.

The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Planning have ordered a total of 16 AW101 helicopters. From 2018 to 2021 they will gradually replace the 30 year old Sea King rescue helicopters. So far two have arrived, the first of which was Sola in November last year.

The other helicopter should have been delivered before Christmas, but arrived only last week because the Havarikommission overturned the first AW101 helicopter’s so-called ground-drive.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today