Prince Harry "counted them out and counted them back in" after giving up his seat in a Spitfire in the biggest gathering of Battle of Britain aircraft since the Second World War.
A total of 33 Spitfires, Hurricanes and Bristol Blenheim bombers flew from Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex before dispersing across wartime airfields over the South of England for the event to mark the conflict's 75th anniversary.
The prince, on his 31st birthday, was due to have a seat in one of four two-seater Spitfires taking part in the flypast but when one of the vintage aircraft developed mechanical problems he decided to step aside to ensure the event's special guests would still get to fly.
His spokesman said he wanted to make sure that 95-year-old Tom Neil, an ex-wing commander and Battle of Britain Hurricane and Spitfire pilot would still be able to take part.
And he wanted to ensure that a former para and an RAF corporal who won places on a Spitfire scholarship training programme were also still able to take part in the display.
Nathan Forster, a former private in the Parachute Regiment, from South Shields, Tyne and Wear, suffered severe damage to his left leg in an IED blast while on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2011.
And Corporal Alan Robinson, an RAF aircraft technician, from Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, lost a leg in a motorbike accident.
The prince's spokesman said: "Prince Harry wanted to make sure they could take part in the flypast. It's a case of counting them out and counting them in."
Harry took the chance to wish Mr Forster well as he took the prince's seat in the Spitfire PV202. After waving him off, Harry took a photograph of the plane on his mobile phone before it manoeuvred on to the runway.
As the prince, dressed in the green flying suit he would have worn in the aircraft, watched the Spitfire take off, a group of schoolchildren sang Happy Birthday to him and he waved back.
During the display, Harry took photographs and video on his mobile phone and clapped as the aircraft flew past in formation.
The scholarship was established by the Boultbee Flight Academy and is supported by the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry's Endeavour Fund - which donates money and offers practical help to sporting and adventure challenges for wounded ex-service personnel.
Harry had been due to fly in the Spitfire PV202 piloted by John Romain, managing director of the Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford, Cambridgeshire.
But the prince has previously been able to fly in a Spitfire when he met pilots in August last year who were training for the event and when he even had the chance to take the controls.
The display, which had been delayed by two hours because of poor weather, is a tribute to the Second World War pilots famously dubbed "The Few" by wartime prime minister Winston Churchill for their efforts defeating the Luftwaffe.
During the summer and autumn of 1940, 544 personnel from Fighter Command died as the RAF fought in the skies above southern England to force back the threat of any invasion by Hitler.
The 75th anniversary is likely to be the last major anniversary at which the surviving members of the pivotal conflict - who are now all aged well into their 90s - will be fit to take part.
The event has been organised by the Boultbee Flight Academy, based in Chichester, and two of the aircraft - a Spitfire and a Hurricane - fought in the famous battle.
After Mr Neil landed, he said from the cockpit: "It was delightful."
He added: "It was nice to be back in a Spitfire again." Describing the prince, he added: "He's a lovely, lovely man, he came and welcomed me back, we had been talking about it at dinner last night, he was so keen, he was so welcoming."
Mr Forster said: "Prince Harry was adamant I took part in the flypast, a real testament to his personality, a really genuine guy."
He added his favourite moment was seeing the silhouette of the aircraft on the white cliffs of The Needles on the Isle of Wight and said: "It was magnificent, an absolute privilege."
Prior to the display, Harry was stopped by a security vehicle as he attempted to cross the runway because of an incoming small aircraft. The security staff came speeding up to the prince and asked the group to stop and they duly moved aside and waited for the plane which arrived a couple of minutes later.
During the day, Harry met the aircrafts' owners, pilots and engineers at Goodwood Aerodrome, and had a chance to chat with some of the few remaining Battle of Britain veterans.
John Romain, who flew Mr Forster and would have flown the prince, said that Harry told him to do some aerobatics before coming back to land.
He said: "He said 'When you get back turn him upside down', so that's what we did. It was an amazing trip."