Footage Of Harry's Aerial Stunt In Spitfire

Video has been released of Prince Harry performing a dramatic roll in a Spitfire over the chalk cliffs of southern England.

The fourth in line to the throne whooped with delight as he flew upside down in the iconic aircraft, with the Isle of Wight below him.

Footage and pictures, shot in August and released to the media on Saturday, show Harry sat in the back of the two-seater Spitfire.

Phil O'Dell, Rolls-Royce's chief test pilot and head of flying, sits in front and gives instructions for the engine to be started.

The plane - which became the symbol of Britain's aerial fight against Hitler in the Second World War - is then seen taking off in formation with an identical aircraft.

After Harry's roll, Mr O'Dell takes over the controls and is about to perform a loop.

The royal, an Apache Helicopter commander who is known in the military as Captain Harry Wales, asks him: "What's the G (force) like on that?"

He then winces when he hears the words "about two-and-a-half, three".

But again the white-knuckle manoeuvre leaves Harry howling in appreciation.

As they land at Boultbee Flight Academy in Goodwood, West Sussex, Harry says "my first landing in a Spitfire feels quite good" and when they come to a stop adds "all good things must come to an end".

On the ground, he met two men who have won a place on a Spitfire scholarship training programme for wounded servicemen and women.

Nathan Forster, 27, a former private in the Parachute Regiment from South Shields, Tyne and Wear, and Corporal Alan Robinson, 36, an RAF aircraft technician from Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, hope to join a flypast to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain later this year.

They have begun training on Chipmunk aircraft and will move on to a Harvard and finally the Spitfire.

Harry launched the scholarship in February last year and it mirrors the training Second World War Spitfire pilots received.

It draws inspiration from Douglas Bader, who despite losing both his legs in a crash in 1931, claimed 20 individual aerial victories against the Nazis.

Mr Forster, whose left leg was severely damaged by an IED blast in Afghanistan, hopes to use the training to launch a career in aviation.

He said: "This is my Everest, to achieve a solo flight in an Spitfire. I never thought I would get close to the aircraft let alone fly it, it's every boys' dream to get into the cockpit.

"You cannot ask for anything better to fly as a pilot but the flipside is to experience, in a way, what the guys went through 70 years ago, training to fly for the Battle of Britain - it's mind blowing how these young guys did it."