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One of Gov. Kevin Stitt's first executive orders was to sell the state's airplane.

The 1990 Beech B300 King Air cost about $1 million a year to use and maintain, said Stitt, a pilot. It had been used by former Gov. Mary Fallin and previous governors. It was purchased in 1997 when Gov. Frank Keating was in office.

"If you're not flying 400 hours a year, it just doesn't make sense to own your own airplane," Stitt said at the press conference about his first executive orders. "You can be better off just leasing."

The governor said then that the plane could sell for $2 million to $3 million. It recently sold for $1.2 million.

In the budget deal announced Wednesday, the money will fund an upcoming academy class for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The plane's costs had been covered in the past by the Department of Public Safety.

When Stitt made the announcement about selling the plane, he said he can use other state helicopters or planes or have travel paid by outside entities, such as the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, which promotes new business investment in the state.