Word: basler
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Sure enough, last week Christine Toomey of the Sunday Times of London wailed, "America has flung itself again into one of the spasms of passionate moral debate that nations more tolerant of human frailty find so hard to understand." In Switzerland the Basler Zeitung concluded that "the most American aspect of the affair" was that "behind the thin dam of wordy morality, puritanical shyness and 'ethics' swirls a sea of corruption, madness and wickedness...
...propeller-driven DC-3s made by Douglas Aircraft transported troops to victory in World War II and then re-entered civilian life to lure an entire generation to the skies. More than half a century after its debut in 1935, the Gooney Bird now has a second wind: Warren Basler, an air-freight operator and pilot in Oshkosh, Wis., has started outfitting refurbished DC-3s with turboprop-jet engines that will enable the planes to compete with modern aircraft...
...Basler's business has more to do with economics than nostalgia. A modern small cargo jet or a commuter plane, like the Fokker F-27, commands $5 million to $8 million. But Basler can deliver his converted DC-3s for less than $3 million. Furthermore, a DC-3 averages 18 minutes of maintenance for every hour of flying time, less than the 55 minutes of work needed to keep an F-27 aloft for an hour...
About 1,500 Gooney Birds still fly -- primarily on military and scientific missions. When Basler gets his hands on one that has been well maintained, he first lengthens the fuselage by 40 inches, replaces the original transverse spar supporting the wings with a newer, stronger one and adds NASA-designed wing tips to improve the craft's aerodynamics. Next come modern instruments, radar and communications equipment for the cockpit and then two 1,420-h.p. Pratt & Whitney turboprop-jet engines. Since January, Basler has filled orders for four jet-style DC-3s from air-freight companies. Demand has been...
...Basler, an area resident and one of the signers of the petition, said "Lesley has been known to move very fast. We just wanted to make sure we had protection between now and the time a permanent ordinance is adopted...