So ..... will Speaker Boner sell that big jet they whined about when Pelosi flew home on it?

I thought the Air Force suggested upgrading her because of the distance...

Ohio's a short flight from DC. The whole purpose of the big plane for Pelosi was so she could get home without refueling, for security reasons. It was the Chimp/Chertoff Homeland Security department who made that rule, and unlike most of the crap they came up with, it actually made some sense (at least to those who are paranoid about that kind of thing.)

And the military has lots of King Airs...they are called the C-12 in military service. But you rarely ever see a Congressman/woman, Senator or even their staff aboard a C-12...those are viewed as worthy of only carrying low-level military leaders, like Colonels and 2-3 star generals/admirals.

I flew for an agency called JOSAC (Joint Operational Support Airlift Command), and their job was basically the US government's VIP transport, other than the 89th Airlift Wing (which owns AF1, and the other smaller aircraft like the C-32, C-40, C-37 and C-20). The 89th AW, in addition to flying the President, also flies members of the Cabinet, Congress, Senate and senior DoD leaders and the staff of those aforementioned people.

Occassionally if the 89th's aircraft were in high demand, some members of Congress or other US government officials would "get stuck" having to fly on a JOSAC asset. JOSAC primarily schedules the military's other (smaller) VIP aircraft, like the C-21 (what I flew), the C-12 and the UC-35. These are typically small 8-10 passenger business aircraft, either jet or turboprop. JOSAC also scheduled missions for a few other aircraft like the AF Reserve's fleet of C-40s (Boeing 737s) and the Navy's C-9s (Douglas DC-9 airliners) that are primarily used to shuttle personnel around.

From my own experience, when we'd roll up in our C-21 (Learjet 35) to pick up Congressional staffers or even members of Congress/Senate themselves, we were met with derision and the all-to-common attitude of "why did I get stuck with this small jet".

Range is rarely an issue unless you're going overseas. There's no excuse to say " I need to avoid stopping for fuel because of security" within the United States, because there are military airfields within easy reach to refuel at that are quite secure. It comes down to ego (ie, I don't want the small airplane) and convenience (ie, I don't want to spend an hour on the ground while the jet refuels). That's the only reason why anyone would care whether they got a C-20 or a C-32.

The C-37 (Gulfstream V) can easily fly coast to coast...it's got the range of the C-32 and then some...and it's much smaller (a little larger than the C-20s that Pelosi's office claimed couldn't make the flight). As for not stopping for security reasons, that's a crock because there are many USAF installations across the country they can stop at to get gas (ie, McConnell AFB, Offutt AFB, etc).

I used to fly VIP flights aboard the C-21, which is the very small cousin to the C-20s (Gulfstream III and IV), C-37s (Gulfstream V) and the C-32 (Boeing 757, airplane in question). We often flew DoD brass and members of Congress (and their staff), and we'd stop at military bases to refuel. Security was never a concern. However, I did often hear our elected officials and their staff complain about the size of the airplane (the C-21 is a Learjet 35) and they did not like having to "waste" an hour on the ground to refuel. So the "it won't get to our destination" and the "security concerns" are basically politicians coming up with excuses to get a bigger airplane...and make no mistake, in those circles the size of your airplane seems to be important...hence why the C-37 (Gulfstream V), with range equal to or greater than the C-32 (Boeing 757), wasn't even mentioned as an option because if the Speaker was only worried about range and not size, that airplane would make more sense (and cost far less).

If you ask me, it's a free fucking ride on a corporate jet. Enjoy it rather than bitch about it...you could be stuck in the middle seat on a Southwest 737 and change airplanes in Houston.

All for the better execution of the people's business, of course.

Whiskey Train?

Snoman

It's primarily the overseas hauler when government leaders other than the President fly abroad. That's the primary reason those aircraft were bought. It also routinely serves as Air Force 2.

Speaker of the House, I am going to be doing this :puke: such bs putting these asses in charge again

We'll probably hear nothing about it from the media. I'm afraid these next 2 years Boehner amd his ilk will have the attitude towards the electorate of "You gave us ours, screw you now....until election season 2012, that is". Any of these new congressmen that go to Washington think they're going to shake DC up, they're crazy. Once they see how the GOP's game is played, they'll be right in bed with them.