In this June 2011 photo provided by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the state's 1960 Cessna single-engine airplane used to transport the governor taxis on a runway at the Caledonia County Airport in Lyndonville, Vt. Gov. Peter Shumlin regularly flies in the 56-year-old plane after he moved in 2016, his last year in office, from East Montpelier back to his home area in southern Vermont. (Dan Freeto/Vermont Agency of Transportation via AP)
Republished October 03, 2016 - 10:25 AM
Original Publication Date October 03, 2016 - 9:40 AM
BERLIN, Vt. - Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin doesn't mind flying in the state's half-century-old single engine-plane, even though two of his predecessors refused to use it.
Shumlin acknowledged the 1960 single-engine Cessna is his "security team's nightmare and a lieutenant governor's dream."
The four-seater plane has been getting more use and attention this year now that Shumlin has moved from East Montpelier, not far from the Statehouse, back to his home area in southern Vermont, about two hours away by car.
The plane is quicker, and the Democratic governor says it saves money because it involves less overtime for his security detail than making the trip by car.
Aviation director Guy Rouelle says neither Republican Gov. Jim Douglas nor Democratic Gov. Howard Dean used the plane.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016