New West pilot flies with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Dan Cummins has flown with "superheroes" and celebrities, but flying the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is without a doubt his most memorable flight to date.

The New Westminster native, a pilot with Harbour Air, was one of two pilots who flew Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, from Victoria to Vancouver on a seaplane on Sunday morning.

“It was awesome,” he told the Record.

A few weeks ago, Harbour Air learned of the plan to fly the royal couple from Victoria to Vancouver, and a few pilots went through the required security checks. On Saturday night, Cummins learned he would be one of two pilots flying the royal couple.

“Just after 10:15, we boarded them. There were 16 altogether. We boarded 14 initially and they came down, just the two of them,” he said. “I was on the plane already so they introduced themselves and I shook their hands - not that they had to introduce themselves to me.”

Cummins has flown celebrities like Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Connelly and actors from the X-Men films, but flying the royal couple was completely different.

“Even with the famous actors I have had, they don’t get noticed really. This was really nerve-racking,” he said. “With all the security, everybody is watching. Loading the plane, you hope nobody trips, a wave comes or anything like that. The cameras are everywhere in Victoria, there are people everywhere. They are all screaming and yelling.”

Shortly before the floatplane took off from Victoria, a Harbour Air executive told the royal couple to enjoy their flight and told them “there’s a lot of people” waiting for them in Vancouver.

“William goes, ‘No pressure.’ He looks at me, and I’m like, ‘I know how you feel,’” Cummins smiled. “I heard him chitchatting, saying he was a little tired - George was up a three in the morning. Regular dad stuff.”

On board the float plane, Cummins followed procedure and gave a security briefing to all of the passengers.

“They were pretty busy,” he said. “We gave him a headset in case he wanted to talk to us. He didn’t put it on. He was looking at his binder and the itinerary and all that. It was pretty cool.”

Cummins is accustomed to flying in high-pressure situations, but flying royalty is a different kind of stress.

“Landing in Vancouver, seeing about 80,000 people watching you, you want a good landing,” he laughed. “If you want a good landing in your entire life it’s that one.”