A SCHOOLBOY from Dorchester enjoyed the experience of a lifetime when he was invited to a prestigious royal event to commemorate the life of the Royal Navy's most decorated pilot.

Eachan Hardie, 11, was a special guest at the event at RNAS Yeovilton to celebrate the efforts of Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown.

The invitation only event was attended by a select group of Captain Brown’s family, friends and military top brass including the Duke of York, Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm.

The Echo reported earlier this year how Eachan, who wants to be a test pilot for the Fleet Air Arm, had written to Capt Brown two years ago to ask for any advice about how he could follow in his hero's footsteps.

In reply he received a hand-written letter and a signed compilation photograph showing some of Capt Brown’s achievements.

The letter told Eachan that to achieve his goals he needed motivation and to focus his education on maths and physics and that he also needed to stay physically fit.

The Dorchester Middle School pupil continued to have regular written contact with Capt Brown until the pilot's death in February and one of the letters was even read out at his funeral.

The commemoration event featured a spectacular air display featuring dozens of the nearly 500 planes Capt Brown flew during his career, including a Sea Vixen, Hurricane, Tiger Moth, MiG and Lancaster, and Eachan also enjoyed getting amongst the large collection of static aircraft on the ground.

The day was made even more special for Eachan when he was given honorary membership of Navy Wings, an organisation that brings together historic naval aircraft, people and the stories associated with flying from warships at sea, with a special presentation from retired Concord pilot Terrence Henderson.

The youngster also met a number of pilots and senior naval officers, including Admiral Sir George Zambellas, who served as First Sea Lord from 2013 to 2016.

At the end of the day Eachan was invited, along with Captain Brown’s son Glen, to the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton for the launch of a special exhibition about the life of the pilot.

He was delighted to be given the special honour of being able to sit in the cockpit of the very Vampire in which Captain Brown made the first ever deck landing of a jet plane on an aircraft carrier.

Eachan said: “It was the best day ever!”

The event has strengthened Eachan’s determination to follow in the footsteps of his hero and become a test pilot for the Fleet Air Arm.