How silly did the Pelosi-airplane story get today in the CNN retelling? Some choice squibs.
Chatting it up with Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room Carol Costello noted that protestations to the contrary, “both planes are capable of flying coast to coast without refueling under optimal conditions.”
Blitzer also noted that “In theory, [both plane] could fly coast to coast without refueling, but that would also depend on multiple factors, including winds, payloads and reserve fuel requirements.”
Note, the plane the GOP says Pelosi must fly on “in theory” could make it to her district. That is, assuming good prevailing winds. Adverse wind conditions or a back up on the runway in San Francisco and it might fall out of the sky. But under “optimal conditions” it could well make it all the way there.
Go see the rest of the transcript to see if CNN asked any of Pelosi’s accusers any adverse questions.
Late Update: TPM Reader JT from the airline industry writes in to say: “I work with aircraft logistics situations all the time. Having a plane that can make it to a destination non-stop (but only if conditions are right) is a nightmare for planning. It means you don’t know if you need to plan for another hour on the ground for the fuelstop until a few hours before the flight. And the weather looked good yesterday but doesn’t look good today. And (as you noted), if there’s a lengthy ground hold before the flight, you’ll make the stop regardless of weather. You would almost rather have a plane that definitely needed a fuel stop so you could at least plan around it.”
Later Update: TPM Reader JT checks in again …
In reading further about the planesâ¦
Hastert had a âC-20â⦠another name for a Gulfstream business jet. Assuming Hastert has the C-20A version, this would be like a Gulfstream II (able to make Illinois non-stop⦠but sometimes may not make it nonstop to California.
Pelosi wants a non-stop to California plane. Terrific⦠upgrade her to the C-20H. This is the Gulfstream IV equivalent. Itâs basically the same size plane but has the range she wants.
Republicans are accusing her (per ABC article) that she wants the C-32. This is equivalent to a Boeing 757 which holds as many as 200+ passengers in all coach configuration. If this is what she truly requested, this is indeed a giant step up from what Hastert had been using.
Point #3 is the kicker. If she wants to go from Gulfstream to Boeing 757, that is quite a leap. If she just wants nonstop, give her the Gulfstream IV equivalent and be done with it.
