Kansas has a plane? Brownstain needed a plane to fly from Topeka to Wichita? Unbelievable

[demtenjeep]

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says that a crack in the front windshield of his state plane forced the plane to return to Topeka for repairs but did not cause any major problems.

Brownback says his Beechcraft King Air was flying at 3,500 feet on a trip to Wichita Tuesday the outer layer of the windshield cracked. He says once the plane landed in Topeka it couldn't be flown again until it is repaired.

The governor took a smaller Cessna plane and sat in the co-pilot's seat for the flight to Wichita, where he announced incentives for the expansion of the Bombardier Aerospace's Learjet plant.

"Steve was glad to see that this was not a Learjet plane that I was in today," Brownback said.

The governor also joked that he has been trying to get the highway patrol to let him learn how to fly.



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http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Planes_Cracked_Windshield_Delays_Brownbacks_Wichita_Visit_137029088.html

[demtenjeep]

1. school funding is in dire need

and this asswipe takes a plane for a 2 hour drive

He is pathetic

[KansDem]

2. It's less than 150 miles

I-35 would have gotten him there in a little over two hours.

I've driven it many times.

Of course, he's have to drive through Emporia, but hey...times are hard!

[demtenjeep]

3. I know!

I have driven it. Many times

[whistler162]

17. Given the mountain roads he would have had to travel

it would have taken longer<SARCASM>.

[brooklynite]

4. You can't really rely on tonadoes...

...you don't know when they'll show up, and you're not sure where they'll drop your house.

[Capitalocracy]

5. But there's no scenery on that route!

It's sooo flat!

[demtenjeep]

6. a huge waste of money

!

[Capitalocracy]

7. But you don't expect the governor of Kansas

to have to drive through the plains and the Flint Hills, do you?

From the quotes in the article, it really seems like he's just flying for fun. Maybe they should let him learn to fly... maybe he'll become a pilot and leave us the hell alone!

[Sgent]

8. Just wanted to point out

that this is a king air that probably costs 300-400 per hour to operate, not a jet that starts at $5,000.

For trips of less than 500 miles or so, a prop plane can be a good investment depending on the value of your time. Four hours of driving vs 1 1/2 hour of flying means that the person is making / charging at least $160 an hour (assuming .54 / mile driving and $350 / hr flying). I think its reasonable to assume that a governor's time is worth as much as a mid level attorney.

[Major Nikon]

20. It's probably more like about $1,000 per hour to operate

Kansas has a King Air 350 which burns over 100 gals of Jet-A per hour. The fuel costs alone would be over $500 per hour.

Still this is much cheaper to operate than a jet and I think a plane like this makes a lot of sense for a state like Kansas. The governor is also not the only person who is going to be using it.

[ddeclue]

9. Umm why not? They actually build a lot of general aviation aircraft there and KS is a fairly large

state.

from Hiawatha KS to Liberal KS is 421 miles or 6 hours in a car.

[demtenjeep]

10. because a car is fine especially when we are cutting schools

thats why

[ddeclue]

11. no it's not when you are in charge of a whole state.

you don't make the governor drive 6 hours each way across the state.

Two wrongs don't make a right - raise taxes to keep the schools open.

[demtenjeep]

12. bullshit

and it is a 2 hour drive to Wichita


He doesn't need a plane


Hell if Sarah Palin can sell the one in Alaska, Kansas sure the hell doesn't need one

[ddeclue]

15. thanks for engaging in a rational debate.

Sarah Palin sold a very expensive JET. This is a little prop plane - big difference and Governor's are busy people and two hours is a big deal. I don't like Brownbeck but this kind of whining over the use of a prop plane is like Republicans whining over Obama using AF1 to take a trip somewhere.

[jmowreader]

19. King Airs aren't exactly little prop planes

Especially the one the Kansas governor has...

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N350KS.html will tell you all about it.

Fun fact: King Airs are made in Wichita, Kansas. Call it buying local.

[Major Nikon]

21. It's on par with what most states have

And some states have jets (which really is excessive).

[jmowreader]

23. And it's not really an extravagance

Kansas, contrary to popular belief, is not a small state. It takes several hours to cross it, and the people who live there are not paying good money so their governor can ride in a car for hours on end.

[Major Nikon]

25. I don't see it as an extravagance

If they had a jet, then yes it would be very extravagant because the costs would be much higher yet the value would be about the same. A King Air allows the governor(and other government officials) to be anywhere in the state several times faster than going by any other mode of transportation. This simply enhances the capabilities of that office.

[demtenjeep]

14. are you on the right forum

Obama Not?

[demtenjeep]

18. I don't care about anyone else's planes, I do NOT think Ks needs one

especially when his budget is causing my district to close schools and make our staff the bare-bones minimum where teachers have 40+ students in the classroom.


He can drive anywhere he needs to get to in KS. IT is not that big or wide. He wants us to tighten our belts, he needs to do the same

[sylveste]

22. why a car then?

why not a horse and buggy,or a bicycle? that would really save money.

[Saving Hawaii]

24. Give him a backpack and a towel and tell him to stick his thumb in the air.

If the people of Kansas like what he's doing as Governor, I'm certain he'll get wherever he needs to be pretty quickly. If not, then the people of Kansas can quite literally tell him to take a hike.

Seriously, I don't see any real problem with the state having an aircraft like this. Particularly when aviation is a pretty significant industry over there.