The plane truth: Is sharing a hangar with Highway Patrol a good deal for county? | Opinion
We might see aerial combat at the Sedgwick County Commission meeting on Wednesday.
At issue is whether the county should team up with the state to build a law-enforcement aircraft hangar at Jabara Airport to house the county’s plane and a Kansas Highway Patrol plane and helicopter.
There’s no doubt that the plan would cost the county more than on rental hangar space for its plane, a Beechcraft King Air 350 used primarily to pick up criminal suspects who flee the county and get arrested in other states outside practical driving distance.
The county has to do that about 80 times a year for suspect transport. The plane was also pressed into service two other times, once to carry Fire District personnel to a conference in Wisconsin where they were buying fire engines, and another to pick up a pair of orphaned bear cubs for the Sedgwick County Zoo, according to Sheriff Jeff Easter.
Under the plan before county commissioners Wednesday, the county would build the proposed $8.5 million hangar. The state would move its air operations from the small Cook Airfield near Derby, and would pay 78% of the cost of debt payments, the ground lease to the city of Wichita, insurance and operating expenses.
The county currently spends $30,000 a year to rent hangar space at Jabara. The combined project would result in annual county cost of $102,000 a year, estimates show. The state and county may be able to get grant funds to bring the aggregate cost to the county down to $75,000.
I talked to Jim Howell, who is generally the most fiscally conservative of the commissioners. When I called him, he had just spent a day researching the situation.
His overall conclusion: “It’s a great deal for the state of Kansas. It’s not a good deal for us.”
Howell, a former legislator, tracked down the budget proviso for the state’s share of the project, which was passed in 2025 over a veto by Gov. Laura Kelly.
“I’ve actually talked to some legislators about their depth of knowledge about this whole thing,” he said. “Some of them know a little bit about it, but they don’t know the details at all. They certainly didn’t know it’s going to cost more money.”
At least two KHP aircraft — an Airbus H125 helicopter and a Cessna 206 single-engine plane — are based at Cook Airfield, although sometimes there are more depending on department operations.
“They (legislators) didn’t know there was a cheaper solution already available today,” Howell said. “We need a place to put these airplanes. I don’t think they realize there’s already a hangar (at Cook Airfield) to put these airplanes.”
Howell also questions a key component of the deal. The county contracts for all its aircraft maintenance at about $120,000 last year, according to the sheriff. The Highway Patrol has its own mechanic.
The KHP mechanic is certified to work on the county plane — which the county bought from the Patrol about two years ago. If they do the shared hangar, the KHP’s mechanic will perform the routine maintenance of the county plane, a savings estimated at about $84,000 a year, which is baked into the financial projections.
Howell, however questions what would happen if the current mechanic leaves.
“Is there some obligation in this somewhere that they’re committed to hiring a mechanic that can handle the sheriff’s plane as well as Highway Patrol planes?” Howell said. “There’s been no agreement on that at all.”
Easter acknowledges that the owned hangar will cost the county $50,000-$80,000 more than the rent it currently pays.
But it would bind the state to keep a helicopter here, he said, which is a big deal. Since Wichita ended its helicopter program, the KHP picks up the slack when there’s a serious crime and eyes in the sky are needed.
While Wichita is investing in drones for air coverage in parts of town, they don’t have the range to replace a helicopter for chasing fleeing suspects, he said.
This is one of the rare instances where I’m withholding judgment.
The plan isn’t fully baked yet, and it will be telling to see what the sheriff, the commissioner and the KHP have to say at Wednesday’s meeting.
I’ll be watching.
