Dronningen bruger forsvarets fly som taxa - Ekstra Bladet
It's a quiet day so Ekstra Bladet are having a go at the DRF again.
With their journalist Jan Körner as author, who time and time again have been caught with his pants down in regards to getting the fects right in his articles about the DRF not to mention putting a slant on the article that are often downright silly. As a consequence even EB's readers don't take him serious.
Anyway, Jan Körner has dug up that the military last year transported members of the DRF around for a total of 3.4 million DKK, of that amount the military should in any case pay 2.7 million DKK. (Jan Körner does not specify exactly what he means with that, so presumably it's expenses for material and crews.
Anyway, our reporter lists two examples of what in his mind clearly must be superflous use of military vehicles:
1. June she attended an inauguration of a new bishop in the town of Ribe. Ribe is located on the west coast of Jutland. That cost: 82.959 DKK.
She flew there and back presumably. - (Ribe is located some 250 km from Copenhagen, so the trip must have taken some four hours back and forth).
23. She flew to the town of Viborg in central Jutland, also for the inauguration of a new bishop (QMII is head of the state church). That again is a distance of some 250 km and she flew to the nearby air station Karup (Where the EH101 helicopters are stationed) and was flown back later. The price for that was 78.899 DKK.
On top of that she hitched a ride from the same air station, Karup, back to Copenhagen on 26. January. She had no official business that day.
The price for that was 18.734 DKK. (That was probably a small Fennec, judging from the cost).
And again 10. October she hitched a ride back to Copenhagen from Aarhus, where she opened a museum, at the price of 40.535 DKK.
In 2011 QMII went by helicopter to the wedding of Princess Nathalie in Berleburg. Berleburg is pretty far down in Germany and the trip costed 460.000 DKK (All expences included we may presume and not just fuel and pay).
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Right, let's have a closer look at some details the Jan Körner tend to... miss.
Helicopter daily ferry officers from the Defence Command in Copenhagen to the Navy Operational Command in Aarhus - and then on to their base in Karup.
So the trip to Viborg and back would make no difference, they were going that direction anyway.
The same thing with the trip back from Aarhus, the helipcopter was going that way anyway.
Ribe is outside the normal route though, but the town is also a bit out of the way in regards to the main high ways and the drive would have taken some 3-3½ hours one way, not counting rushhour traffic.
Berleburg is a bit far, but then I'm not even sure there are regular flights to the nearest airport from Copenhagen and QMII would have had to drive a bit anyway. Which means that at least two vehicles would have had to be rented and for at least two days.
Another thing, which many of the comments points out, is that the pilots need flight hours anyway, so what is better? That they fly empty or with a passenger?
En101 costs IIRC around 30.000 DKK an hour to keep in the air, depending on the number of crew and task. That covers fuel, salary for the crew and maintenance afterwards. In contrast to the old Sikorsky's that could fly with a patch of gaffa-tape extra, the larger and more complicated EH101 demand more thorough maintenance.
Top government members are also eager users of the air force materiel, which Jan Körner omits to point out. But at leasts he admits that M&F don't seem to use the helicopters that often, they usually drive even if it' to the other end of the country. But then they are not turning 75, are they?
Thanks. 
