Basler BT-67

The Basler BT-67 is a utility aircraft produced by Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is a remanufactured and modified airframe of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain or the Douglas DC-3; the modifications are designed to significantly extend the DC-3's serviceable lifetime.

Development The design was based upon a single airframe that United States Aircraft had begun converting. After the company closed, it was moved the aircraft to Oshkosh, where work was completed. It was then tested in Alaska and contracted to the U.S. Forest Service.

By March 1989, production of eight airframes had begun at a plant in Van Nuys, California. An additional production line opened in a purpose-built facility on the east side of Wittman Regional Airport by February 1990. United Technologies, owner of the manufacturer of the PT6, became a distributor for the BT-67 that October. At the same time, it agreed to oversee a subcontractor performing conversion work using kits in Taiwan. Early in production, four airplanes were seized by the federal government as part of an investigation into drug trafficking, but released after Basler was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Design Basler Turbo Conversions was founded in 1990 solely to convert existing C-47 and DC-3 airframes into BT-67s. Basler configures each conversion to a client's specifications. Industries served include cargo, military, cloudseeding, and scientific research. The conversion includes fitting the airframe with new Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67R turboprop engines, lengthening the fuselage, strengthening the airframe, upgrading the avionics, and making modifications to the wings' leading edges and wingtips.

Due to the higher fuel consumption of the turbine engines of the BT-67, compared to the original piston designs fitted to the standard DC-3, range on the standard fuel tank, with a 45 minute reserve, is reduced from . Basler provides a long-range fuel tank which increases the aircraft range to .

Gunship version The Basler BT-67 has a gunship version used by the Colombian Aerospace Force for counterinsurgency operations. The Colombian gunships are equipped with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) ball, enabling the aircraft to conduct effective nighttime missions.

Operators

Military

Colombian Aerospace Force National Police of Colombia Rivas 2015, p. 120.

Salvadoran Air ForceHoyle 2015, p. 37.

Guatemalan Air Force

Malian Air Force

Islamic Air Force of Mauritania

Royal Thai Air Force

Civilian

Australian Antarctic Division

ALCI AviationCharter flights page for Enterprise Aviation Group operated by ALCI Aviation North Star Air Kenn Borek Air

Polar Research Institute of China

Alfred Wegener InstituteEhemalige Flugzeuge Alfred Wegener Institute – Former airplanes, accessed: 18 April 2009

Bell Geospace

United States Forest Service

Accidents and incidents

As of 2019, a total of 15 BT-67 aircraft have been involved in crashes or other incidents since the 1990s.

Specifications (BT-67)

Basler BT-67

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