LePage to fly fighter – without leaving the ground

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage is feeling the need for speed.

LePage will fly a fighter jet in an F-35 cockpit simulator Friday as part of an employee appreciation at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick. Joining him at the event are U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Maine House Speaker Mark Eves.

Pratt & Whitney employees manufacture parts for the jet engines that power the F-35 Lightning II, the new fighter jet that’s going to be used by the Navy, Marines and Air Force.

The company has three suppliers in Maine that have created 845 direct and indirect jobs with a total impact of $69.5 million in the state.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage will fly a fighter jet in an F-35 cockpit simulator Friday as part of an employee appreciation at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick. Joining him at the event are U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Maine House Speaker Mark Eves, D- North Berwick.

: This undated photo provided by Northrop Grumman Corp., shows a pre-production model of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Maine Gov. Paul LePage will fly a fighter jet in an F-35 cockpit simulator Friday as part of an employee appreciation at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick. Joining him at the event are U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Maine House Speaker Mark Eves, D- North Berwick.