All of the aircraft used by the USAF for VIP travel can fly transcon non-stop so I wonder where this stopping for fuel nonsense came from.

Hmmmm, you don’t guess it might’ve come from here

…the plane used by Speaker Hastert was too small for Pelosi since it “needs to refuel every 2,000 miles and could not make the nonstop haul to California. ‘The Air Force determined that [Pelosi’s] safety would be best ensured by using a plane that has the fuel capacity to go coast-to-coast,’” a Pelosi spokesperson said.

do you?

G-V (C-37A USAF designation)

Seats 12, burns 365 gals per flt hour or 30 gals per passenger per hour. The avarage cost to fly a non-stop 5 hr trip $9,175 or $765 per passenger.

Boeing 737-700 (Known as Boeing business Jet USAF designation C-40B)

Seats 32, burns 709 gals per flt hour or 22 gals per passenger per hour. The cost to fly a non-stop 5 hr trip is $11,160 or $349 per passenger.

Boeing 757-200 (USAF Designation C-43)

Seats 45, burns 1063 gals per flt hour or 24 gals per passenger per hour.
The average cost to fly a non-stop 5 hour trip is $21,180 or $471 per passenger.

The data for the 737 and 757 is taken from actual airline operating numbers and thus reflects crew costs insurance etc. but not any lease or debt service costs which the USAF would not have. The G-V numbers were taken from an industry web-site. Based on the data availble, it seems that if every seat in the 737 (C-40B) is full, it is the cheapest to use with the 757 (C-43) not to far behind.

If Pelosi can fill the aircraft up with California Members of Congress or staff who would otherwise pay for an airline seat, it is not a waste of taxpayer money to fly the larger USAF aircraft. All of the aircraft used by the USAF for VIP travel can fly transcon non-stop so I wonder where this stopping for fuel nonsense came from. You can find the operational and performance data for these USAF models at the following link below. Look on the right hand side of the page.

http://www.af.mil/factsheets/

As for the C-37A vs C-40: The C-40 is powered by two GE engines while the C-37A is powered by Rolls-Royce/BMW. The C-40 is all-American and a plane for true patriots relying on the “Made in the USA” moniker. Why would Rightards want the speaker of the house to not support America’s working men and women? Why do you hate America?

The jets are not for Mil use in the classic “Ready for combat” sense. They can’t even use drop tanks. They might as well have an “N” number painted on. They’re for transporting Generals and other VP’s. Pelosi is a VP and third in line to be president. If you don’t think she’s a VP, then your even dumber then your comment’s demonstrated idiocy.

The bottom line is she was not the originator of the request as the Right-wing “Liberal media” claims.

The C-32A (the aircraft Pelosi is demanding use of), configured for 45 passengers (does she have that many staffers???) and 16 crew, is designed for a 4,150 nautical mile mission, roughly the distance from Andrews [AFB] to Frankfurt, Germany.

The C-37A is a military version of the Gulfstream V business jet. The Gulfstream V can fly non-stop 6,500 nautical miles. On long flights, it can carry eight passengers and a crew of four at Mach 0.80 while cruising at 51,000 feet.

So, the one she’s wanting has a shorter range by nearly 2,400 miles than the smaller plane.

Fact: The Air Force has a fleet of modified Gulfstream G4s, the C-37A, which are plenty large enough for Pelosi and her staff and they are quite capable of flying non-stop to California; after all, they have a range of 6,500 nautical miles without refueling. Instead, according to the Washington Post (which is anything but a right wing publication), Pelosi is wanting access to a C-32, the Air Force’s version of the Boeing 757-200, which is hardly a small step up from a G4.

Fact: Unlike the claim by Pelosi’s spokesperson that “The Air Force determined that [Pelosi’s] safety would be best ensured by using a plane that has the fuel capacity to go coast-to-coast,” no such determination was made by the Air Force. Instead, again according to the Washington Post, Navy Cmdr. Jefrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, said Wednesday that Pelosi would be offered “shuttle service for no more than 10 passengers between Washington and San Francisco only based on aircraft availability.” “This does not guarantee nonstop transport,” Gordon said.

With all this talk coming from the Dumbocratic Party about how we need to do all we can to halt global warming, I guess their leaders are above such a need. It certainly doesn’t seem to bother them to want an aircraft that puts out more greenhouse gasses on a flight from DC to California than a smaller aircraft that’s also capable of a non-stop flight between the two locations. No big surprise there since Pelosi is all for labor unions…unless they try to unionize the workers at the restaurant owned by the Pelosi’s. Typical liberal BS that reminds me of a line James Woods’ character on Shark said, to wit, “We’re all liberals until someone blocks our view of the ocean.”

1. The open ended questions regarding 9/11 being an inside job,

2. Speaker Pelosi’s fearless assessment of and agenda for the Bush regime,

3. The Speaker’s necessary trips going coast to coast routinely and weekly.

If YOU were Madame Speaker, weilded the power she does, had the clear mind to recognize the facist agenda of the Bu$hevics and their unholy drive for unitary power and made an open point about it, and had to fly from Washington DC to San Francisco on a weekly basis, WOULDN’T YOU INSIST UPON military protection for yourself and your staff?

She is ENTIRELY ENTITLED to this plane and all of the protection provided therein, and all the whiners who are crying and objecting and stomping their feet and throwing their tantrums would do the exact same thing if they were in her position and were as fearlessly vocal about that position as she is.

THINK ABOUT IT! I don’t blame her a bit, and I hope she UPS the security wherever she goes, and for whatever length of time it takes her to do WHATEVER she decides to do. The woman has some very evil and very powerful enemies!

I AM TOTALLY SUPPORTIVE!

Impeach
Investigate
Indict
Imprison!
PELOSI IN ‘07!

siri
Cortez, CO

Such as how many family members and friends can I take on this bigger plane?

Talk about enlarging your carbon footprint. I would think Madame Pelosi would take the Jimmy Carter model and turn down the thermostat in the Capitol and take the smallest plane possible to set a good example for the rest of us.

But I’m not surprised. She’s writing rules for the rest of us while exempting herself.

Business as usual on Capitol Hill.

And her friends, family and “colleagues” CERTAINLY DON’T either.

The military has more important things to worry about than pelosi’s whiney, foul ass.