Edited Date/Time
2/19/2026 12:21pm
Steve Matthes just said on today’s Blaire Matthes show, that the Lawrence’s are buying a plane, to fly to and from the races. They plan on having Casey Cochrans father fly it for them.
…now that’s baller, and also smart.
Not exactly the same thing, but didn't Kevin Windham used to fly himself and his family to races in a smaller Cessna type prop plane?
Pretty sure I recall pics of him flying, maybe it was after he retired?
Planes aren't that out of reach, a private jet on the other hand!
Cooper Webb has a plane, deegs I believe has one, I think Ricky had and JS7 had them, Kdub has a plane and a small strip at his house and I think J Coop flies private a lot on his wife’s family plane
Oh got it. I knew all those guys flew private but I didn’t know they owned them. Makes sense
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He said once he spent a million dollars on jet fuel so I think he had a jet.
Those guys did not own the plane. They purchased flight hours from a private jet company.
I don’t understand how any of the top riders fly commercial. It’s such a hassle and a time suck. Factories would be smart to charter flights for the whole team, providing they’re all leaving from the same location which they are not.
A plane can cost from 60K to 60M+ and everything in between depending on what they get. And it's usually not a "smart" investment unless you use it very often and fly it yourself. But if Cochrane's Dad is sharing it with them and going to fly for free, then it could be worthwhile to go in on it. Otherwise, if you haven't heard the saying, "if it flies, floats, or fucks, rent it".
They were chartering jets.
Have always thought the same thing. Guys would get to sleep in their own bed more, save on hotels, have more control over schedules, avoid illness. With as many guys as there is flying out of Florida you'd think they'd be able to pool resources and charter something.
Believe me, the cost of an experienced, professional crew is by far the least expensive part of owning a jet.
And is by far the safest option.
Bob Hannah had a plane but it was a small personal plane but I don't know if he flew it to the races. Years ago he took Gene Ritchie and I to his hanger when we were staying at his house elk hunting.
He's still flying and selling planes as a Broker.
I know, thats's why I said if they are sharing it, it makes more sense. It's one of the fixed costs eliminated because you can't eliminate the private hangars, insurance, maintenance, etc. I've been flying TBM 850, PC12, and a Citation and my favorite choice for them would be a single turbo prop instead of a Jet. As you know, way more flexibility for a turbo prop compared to a jet, other than going slower. But I'm into landing on short runways or dirt runways in Baja, so I'll take the TBM or Pilatus over the jet any day.
There are a lot of very good charter companies out there. There are also a lot of shady ones. They are in it for the money, of course.
I think they would be better off to form a partnership and buy one.
There are a lot of options. Just need to be careful and not buy something you can’t afford to maintain.
Here's how you do it "PJ".. In case anyone didn't know the lead singer is the pilot!
kdub doesn’t have a strip current day. I’ve been to his house many times and all around his property. Maybe at one time he did. He does have plenty of flat land if grass landings are a thing.
I apologize, when I saw “fly it yourself “ I thought you meant owner flown.
I forgot you were a pilot.
A KingAir might be a good initial step, slow, but solid. Not as easy to fly as a jet, though ( I imagine the single turbo props you fly aren’t either )
Which Citation do you fly. I’ve got about 6k hrs between CJs and Encores. Another 5k or so split between Hawkers and Lears.
I was "this" close to getting Roger and team Suzuki into a fractional back in 2007...and then came 2008. Life is funny.
It’s so funny how so many are so certain they know things and how wrong they are.
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Was that when CitationShares was still going.
A friend of mine flew for them and flew Kdub a few times.
Maybe Honda hooked them up with a deal.
I hope this works.
There’s factory guys who fly economy to every race.
Yes it was CS. I was talking to Roger at the Texas national and he was saying how the commercial air travel was getting to be a drag and Ricky was traveling private and had told him how much less hassle it was. I told him about Citation Shares and that I'd get a decent boot being an employee for if he used me as the referral. Looked like it would work until the bottom fell out in 2008.
I coulda used that money.🙃
I'm not the pilot, just lucky to have friends (or relatives) who own these aircraft. I do not like the king airs either as I prefer a single over dual props. My favorite pick for the Lawrences would be a PC-12 but they will probably get a king air or older jet. You could load everyone in PC12 (and a couple bikes) and have plenty of room, plenty of speed, and very very efficient. As for the citation, it's a Cj3. This guy started with a phenom, had a Honda Jet, and got the citation a few years ago. It only gains us approx 1hr on a 4hr flight for the turboprops, but I like taking detours and flying low and slow to check surf spots in the turbo props which is something you can't do in the jet.
I wonder if Honda will give them the McGrath treatment if they are photographed on(in) a competing product? lol
Lol...a Sovereign is as small as I wanta travel in.
Hey guys, I’m thinking they might be able to get a deal on a certain New Jet that’s recently been given a decent range…and capacity…and, supposedly, is intended for owner-pilots…hence, supposedly…🤣
You would like to think that a group of riders that live in the same area could band together and organise this.
Seams simple and cost effective.
So not a pilot...just crazy.🙃
Wouldn’t be to hard to get the star guys to all fly together.
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