Now Alaska's Governor Wants A New Plane | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.06.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.07.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.08.24 Airborne-FlightTraining-05.09.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.10.24

Sat, Jun 11, 2005

Now Alaska's Governor Wants A New Plane

State Asks For Bids Despite Protests

Just days after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was able to order his new Cessna Citation Bravo, another US governor is in the market for new wings. This time, it's Alaska's Frank Murkowski.

As with Richardson, Murkowski's bid for a new aircraft has met with stiff resistance from both citizens and lawmakers. But just as Richardson was determined to get his wings, so is Alaska's governor.

"I think it's been clear that we're interested in the performance a jet can get us," Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Bill Tandeske told reporters.

Tandeske's DPS is taking bids for the aircraft, hoping to award a sales contract by July 19th.

Murkowski last year tried to use Homeland Security funds -- about $1.4 million altogether, to purchase a new jet. Earlier this year, according to the Empire, the Legislature excised a line in the budget for $1.4 million intended to purchase a new aircraft.

But Murkowski is undeterred.

"The governor has been pretty clear that this is the right decision," spokeswoman Becky Hultberg said Thursday.

Turboprop owners are welcome to reply to the request for proposal -- but the bid specifies it must have been built after 1990. It must also have a flush toilet -- a private flush toilet (something the state's current fleet of King Airs currently don't have).

In the case of a jet or turboprop, the bid calls for an aircraft with a wingspan of 55 feet, total length of 60 feet and a range of 1,500 nautical miles. Jets to be considered must have built after 1980.

But some lawmakers, like Rep. Eric Croft (D-Anchorage), say a jet is an unwieldy luxury in these austere times -- especially given the number of Alaska runways that are unpaved or too short to handle a bizjet. Earlier this year, Croft actually tried to write a line in the budget that would prohibit the state from buying a jet aircraft.

But the governor is pressing onward and upward. DPS plans to completely evaluate all proposals by July 7th and announce its intent to award a contract the next day.

FMI: www.dps.state.ak.us

Advertisement

More News

Airborne-Flight Training 05.09.24: ERAU at AIAA, LIFT Diamond Buy, Epic A&P

Also: Vertical Flight Society, NBAA Maintenance Conference, GA Honored, AMT Scholarship For the first time, students from Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus took t>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.07.24): Hazardous Weather Information

Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.07.24)

"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Cessna 150

(FAA) Inspector Observed That Both Fuel Tanks Were Intact And That Only A Minimal Amount Of Fuel Remained In Each Analysis: According to the pilot, approximately 8 miles from the d>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.08.24)

“Pyka’s Pelican Cargo is unlike any other UAS solution on the market for contested logistics. We assessed a number of leading capabilities and concluded that the Pelica>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC