Letter: Royal carriers

Whether it was a visit to the seductive halls of the London Boat Show or just something to fill a quiet news day, Michael Gove’s suggestion of a new royal yacht would seem a non-starter (your report, 17 January). However, there might be another solution.

A recent US Department of Defence report on the JSF35 aircraft, set to stock the new carriers being built at Rosyth, suggests several problems with the planes.

Leaving aside buffeting levels, which make it impossible for the pilot to use the headset aiming mechanism or some engine components failing after a mean time of 12 hours and taking two days to replace, there are issues with the Arresting Hook System.

In eight trials not once did the aircraft manage to hook the arrester cable needed to stop on a carrier. Due to the hook being too close to the rear wheels unless there is a redesign or each aircraft is equipped with a grappling hook on 30ft of chain, any carrier landing is going to last less than a second as the plane does a “bolter” and has to take off again.

Since we are now going to have two carriers with no suitable aircraft, why not convert the Queen Elizabeth into a royal yacht? With a bit of sand, the flight deck would be ideal for horse riding and carriage driving and there would be plenty of space for the grandsons to land their helicopters when visiting.

The hangar would be ideal for banquets and the vast number of cabins perfect for family, flunkies, hangers on and minor celebs. The number of deck levels would be ideal for establishing precedence.

When the second carrier, the Prince of Wales, was ready it would give the heir to the throne his own yacht.

Of course, the coalition would have to get over the embarrassment of having more royal yachts than Scottish Tory MPs.

Bruce D Skivington

Strath

Gairloch, Wester Ross