Gov. Tom Wolf likes to get out and about, but he doesn't always drive the Jeep that has given him a folksy appeal during his campaign and first year in office.

Pennsylvania is a large state - it's more than 283 miles long and up to 160 miles wide - so sometimes Wolf trades in his used 2006 Jeep Wrangler Golden Eagle for the state airplane, a Beechcraft twin-engine King Air.Compared to driving, the flights can be pricey - costing taxpayers about a grand per hour - but Wolf, a Democrat, so far isn't exactly a frequent flier compared with other recent governors. Through July, he had used the plane for nine trips, according to records from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Wolf is on pace for about 14 to 15 flights in his first year in office.By comparison, Wolf's predecessor, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, used the plane 48 times in 2014 and 27 times in 2013, after two modest years of use. And former Gov. Ed Rendell used it for 35 trips in 2010 and the first month of 2011, his final year in office. All told, the past three governors' use of the state plane has cost $357,331 since 2010.Wolf has placed an emphasis on visiting constituents around the state, said his press secretary, Jeffrey Sheridan.The governor has used the plane to travel to just a handful of the many stops on his statewide Schools That Teach and Jobs That Pay tours, both connected to the budget proposal he made in March.Some of those trips haven't been popular with Republicans in the General Assembly. Some lawmakers have criticized Wolf's budget campaign, but have hosted their own public events about the budget impasse, too.Wolf has used the plane on at least two trips since vetoing the spending plan Republicans sent to him June 30, the last day before the new fiscal year started. He skipped from Harrisburg to State College and on to Pittsburgh for two Schools that Teach tour events July 13 and followed that with a July 21 trip to Connellsville for another tour event.So far, Wolf's flights have cost just under $25,000, according to a review of PennDOT records. The most expensive came April 8, when Wolf took off from Harrisburg and headed to Pittsburgh for a stop on his Jobs That Pay Tour. The governor flew to Philadelphia the next day for more events. The trip cost $4,586.83.Out and aboutCorbett's 48 trips on the plane in 2014 cost taxpayers $108,459. That year marked his heaviest use of the plane, and it coincided with his re-election campaign against Wolf, as well as official efforts to make him more visible to the public.At the time, Corbett was promoting everything from the tangible benefits of a transportation funding package to his version of Medicaid expansion and grant programs. He was also waging a public relations battle that summer with legislative Republicans over the budget.By virtue of being a sitting governor running for re-election, Corbett often had to switch between his official and campaign modes. If the campaign believed any event posed a conflict, it reimbursed the state for plane use.Corbett's campaign made more than 20 reimbursements for unspecified items to the commonwealth in 2014. Two of the amounts exactly match the cost of two entries on the state plane's flight logs.State law allows Pennsylvania officials to use the aircraft in the course of their duties, but if a campaign event is involved, campaign funds should be used to pay for the plane, said Richard Kirkpatrick, press secretary for PennDOT.Corbett used the plane for 27 trips in 2013, up from the eight and six times he used it in 2012 and 2011, respectively. In total, the former governor spent $224,532 on the plane during his tenure.Governor has dibsPennDOT keeps flight logs dating back to 2010, the final year of Rendell's tenure, on its website. Rendell's trips cost $107,856 that year.The state has three planes, but only the King Air is used for passengers, Kirkpatrick said. PennDOT's Bureau of Aviation manages the aircraft, which has room for nine passengers, not including two pilots.As governor, Wolf has dibs on the plane. Cabinet members are next up, followed by state lawmakers, deputy secretaries and then other senior officials, Kirkpatrick said. A deputy secretary or higher-ranking official must approve use of the plane, he said.Logs of the aircraft's use are posted publicly on PennDOT's website.The logs also indicate how much it cost to use the plane. The pilot and upkeep are factored into an hourly rate of just more than $1,000, Kirkpatrick said, with charges divided among the departments whose employees use the aircraft.Lawmaker flies, but he doesn't charge the stateWolf still has four months left to fly in 2015, but he doesn't look likely to exceed the mark his predecessor set last year. That'd be good news for taxpayers who pay for the airfare, but don't receive any frequent flier miles.Lawmakers sometimes use the state plane, too, but state Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York, probably will not be found among them.Like Wolf, Wagner is an independently wealthy businessman, and one of his interests includes a stake in a charter company in Baltimore. The senator recently flew in a helicopter to a hearing in Erie, avoiding what would have been a more than five-hour car trip.Flying can be more efficient and allows the senator to attend events that might not be feasible under normal circumstances. Wagner doesn't request any reimbursement from the state.Others, such as Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, didn't realize the state even had a plane.Folmer is helping lead a joint effort of two Senate committees, which are teaming up to uncover waste, fraud and abuse in government. Perhaps the expensive use of the plane will come up, Folmer said.