fall2022 - 10

COVER STORY
" We literally cut the airplane in half, and
we stretch it 40 inches forward of the center
wing. So our BT-67s are 40 inches longer
than the C-47s were, and because those C-47s
are 85 years old, now we gut it and replace
literally everything inside the airplane, to the
point that 90% of the aircraft is replaced in
our conversion process, " Varkoly said.
Varkoly compared the process to taking
apart an old jigsaw puzzle and replacing it
with new puzzle pieces. As each year the
aircraft Basler converts are older and older,
the QA requirements continue to ramp up.
There are only some components within
the center wing that they're able to retain,
along with the landing gear sometimes.
" When those come in, we'll take them off,
we'll mag particle inspect them. We tend to be
able to reuse those in most cases, same with
the tail wheel, but for the most part everything
else gets thrown away and rebuilt, "
Varkoly continued. " And when it leaves our
facility, you would never guess that airplane
first flew in 1943, because it's a brand spanking
new thing, which everything on it is new, "
Varkoly said.
The entire process takes 50,000 manhours.
The resulting BT-67 is non-pressurized
and has the advantage of flying low and
slow for a long time.
" So for the right customer in the right
niche, there is really not a competitive aircraft
out there at the price point that can do what
it can do for the size, the payload, the power,
the range, the ease of operation, the low cost
of maintaining and flying the aircraft, and the
overall versatility of it. But it's very much a
unique niche aircraft, " said Varkoly.
Filling Niches
Three main markets utilize the BT-67s: military,
science and cargo. Varkoly said a lot of
foreign militaries operate the aircraft, along
with contractors for the U.S. government.
One the largest growth sectors for the
BT-67 has been in what Varkoly calls Information,
Surveillance and Reconnaissance
(ISR).
" Because the airplanes are large on the
inside, from a cubic foot perspective, and
because they fly and because we're not pres10
e-Military Product News For Aviation * FALL 2022
surized, it's easy for us to put a hole in the
bottom of the airplane, and our customers
can put all sorts of sensors, measuring equipment,
cameras, LIDAR equipment, " Varkoly
said, adding operations such as border patrols
and search and rescue operations are possible
uses.
On the scientific side, the BT-67s are often
used for geophysical research. The planes
have been used for mapping and looking for
precious metals, for example.
" When they had the hurricane down in
fall2022

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