Man's replica airplanes flying all over the globe including on big screen in 'Amelia'
Here's something movie buffs might not know.
Before two of the airplanes flew in "Amelia," the Amelia Earhart biopic opening Oct. 23, they first flew over Kansas City.
That's because the planes were handmade made by Robert Baslee, owner of Airdrome Aeroplanes in Holden, Mo., the world leader in making replica vintage World War 1 aircraft.
Producers paid handsomely to have Baslee (pronounced Bosley) make a Morane Saulnier L and a Bleriot XI for the movie. (He's too modest to say how much.)
Why Baslee?
Simple. No one else makes World War I replica airplanes.
The planes were used in flashback scenes in the movie. Now they're in Baslee's backyard.
Baslee, 44, has made about 60 planes. He built four for the 2006 movie "Flyboys" and has sold 500 kits to enthusiasts around the globe, ranging in price from $4,000 to $14,000.
Healways loved to take things apart to see how they work. At 2, when other toddlers were defeated by child safety locks, little Robert figured out how to take the pins out of hinges and remove entire cabinet doors. Later, he disassembled radios, toasters, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, anything he could find. The world of switches, belts and pulleys just made sense to him.
And when he was in high school, he didn't have a car, but he did own an airplane.
It was a KR-2, a small, two-seat sport plane he built in his garage out of wood, fiberglass and an 1800-cc Volkswagen engine. He used it to give friends at Lee's Summit High School rides and have fun flying around the city.
Wait a minute. How did a high school kid from a dirt poor family with below average grades and little help build a real, working airplane from scratch in his spare time?
He shrugged his shoulders.
"No one told me I couldn't," he said.
After an aunt and uncle co-signed a loan, he paid it off with old-fashioned hard work. He had fast-food jobs. He shoveled snow in the winter, raked leaves in the fall. He wanted to cut grass, too, but his family didn't own a lawnmower. No problem. He found a broken one in the trash and fixed it up.
He built that first airplane from plans, working on it with a friend after school, evenings and weekends. In many ways, it was what he lived for. He says the day he got to fly it was one of the happiest days of his life.
After high school, Baslee studied mechanical engineering at several colleges, stopping just short of his degree. This time, he got good grades, because he was doing something he loved. Later, he became a certified air-frame and power-plant mechanic and a certified welder. He has put those skills to good use.
Comments
Harvey Cleveland, who test flies the planes Robert Baslee, owner of Airdrome Aeroplanes, builds at his shop near Holden, Missouri, eases the Morane Model L parasol down for a soft landing during a recent "fly-in'' at Baslee's home and aerodrome near Holden, Missouri The plane was used in the making of the movie "Amelia."
- Possible ban on sex business 10:40 p.m.
- Softball complex renamed for Miller 10:38 p.m.
- Beyonce, Keys filming video 10:37 p.m.
- Foxx changes song for students 10:35 p.m.
- Gossett recovering from cancer 10:34 p.m.
- City plans dance to raise funds 10:31 p.m.
- Utah County sets position salaries 10:31 p.m.
- More rain threatens L.A. area 10:30 p.m.
- Snow shuts down federal gov't 10:29 p.m.
- Immortality in a test tube 10:28 p.m.
- High school players commit to BYU
- Utah Jazz Ironmen
- 15-month-old Rachel Toone dies
- LDS veggie program helps Bolivians
- Teacher merit pay debated
- SLC's City Creek moves ahead
- Utahn's 'Caveman Diet' catching on
- MWC race shaping 'Survivor' style
- Kaman, not Boozer, on All-Star team
- 'Faces of America' recommends LDS
- Teacher merit pay debated
192 - UNLV bombs BYU into loss
185 - Countering attacks on LDS scholarship
160 - Why do they hate us? Try asking
155 - Letters: Tea Party hypocrites
119 - White House mocks Sarah Palin
97 - Rally in opposition to benefit cuts
90 - High school players commit to BYU
88 - Let's talk college hoops
78 - BYU's prime postseason position?
77
When did all men become sad, broken creatures and all women become...
Visit the Deseret News Facebook page for this sweet Valentine! Ends Friday
The Kepler probe, launched 11 months ago to hunt for Earthlike worlds...
I think they may have referred to it as a blow-out based on the 29-point lead...
Tomorrow.. May the lord Christ give you some comfort to heal over death...
is the best we can come up with I`ll vote for Obama
Can the company prove that it will be financially solvent and in business to...
Research to benefit humanity? Come on you really believe that? It's all about...
re:Anonymous | 9:40 p.m. Feb. 9, 2010 To Teacher and Proud Of It: "Now,...
"When you are doing the right things on and off the field magic happens."...
@7:36 Actually, a small community or town or state or federal government is...
Palin-hating mockers on this string: Palin would be comfortable competitively...
This constant obstructionism continues to concretize the public perception...


You can be the first to comment on this story.