  We prove a structure theorem for topologically recurrent real skew product
extensions of distal minimal compact metric flows with a compactly generated
Abelian acting group (e.g. $\Z^d$-flows and $\R^d$-flows). The main result
states that every such extension apart from a coboundary can be represented by
a perturbation of a so-called Rokhlin skew product. We obtain as a corollary
that the topological ergodic decomposition of the skew product extension into
prolongations is continuous and compact with respect to the Fell topology on
the hyperspace. The right translation acts minimally on this decomposition,
therefore providing a minimal compact metric analogue to the Mackey action.
This topological Mackey action is a distal (possibly trivial) extension of a
weakly mixing factor (possibly trivial), and it is distal if and only if
perturbation of the Rokhlin skew product is defined by a topological
coboundary.
