Aero Spacelines Super Guppy

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The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy Turbine is a large, wide-bodied four engine turboprop cargo aircraft used for hauling outsize cargo components. It was the successor to the Pregnant Guppy, the first of the Guppy aircraft produced by Aero Spacelines. Five were built in two variants, both of which were colloquially referred to as the "Super Guppy".

The Super Guppy is the only airplane to carry a complete S-IVB stage, the third stage of the Saturn V rocket.[1] It did so several times during the Apollo program.

Design and development

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File:Guppy 2 Sep 65.jpg
Super Guppy September 1965, Lancaster, CA, USA
File:1700 ATG Boeing YC-97J-26-BO Stratofreighter 52-2693.jpg
USAF Boeing YC-97J Stratofreighter 52-2693, seen in 1952, before conversion to the first Super Guppy
File:Apollo 11 CM loading into Super Guppy aircraft (S69-41985).jpg
Apollo 11 Command module Columbia being loaded aboard a Super Guppy at Ellington AFB, August 1969

The first Super Guppy, or "SG", was built directly from a retired USAF Boeing YC-97J Stratofreighter.[2] The fuselage was lengthened to Script error: No such module "convert"., and ballooned out to a maximum inside diameter of Script error: No such module "convert"., the length of the cargo compartment being Script error: No such module "convert".. The floor of the cargo compartment was still only Script error: No such module "convert". wide, as necessitated by the use of the Stratocruiser fuselage.[3]

In addition to the fuselage modifications, the Super Guppy used Pratt & Whitney T-34-P-7WA turboprop engines for increased power and range,[3] and modified wing and tail surfaces. It could carry a load of Script error: No such module "convert". and cruise at Script error: No such module "convert"..

After a month of tests, Super Guppy suffered fuselage collapse on September 25, 1965, when undergoing high speed dives during certification tests. After starting a dive at 10,000 feet the upper fuselage collapsed. The plane had been carrying 30,000 pounds of borate in 100-pound sacks, which were damaged and spilled powder that temporarily blinded the crew. With the help of a DC-9 chase plane, the crew was able to land on the dry bed of Rogers Dry Lake and save the aircraft. After that, Guppy's upper superstructure was redesigned and rebuilt at Edwards Air Force Base.[4]

File:SuperGuppy-F-BPPA.jpg
Super Guppy Turbine F-BPPA at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in 1981

The second version was officially known as the Super Guppy Turbine (SGT), although the first Super Guppy also used turboprop engines. However, this variant used Allison 501-D22C engines. Unlike the previous Guppy, the main portion of its fuselage was constructed from scratch. By building from scratch, Aero Spacelines was able to widen the floor of the cargo compartment to Script error: No such module "convert".. The overall cargo-compartment length was increased to Script error: No such module "convert"., and the improved fuselage and engines allowed for a maximum load of Script error: No such module "convert"..[5] These design improvements, combined with a pressurized crew cabin that allowed for higher-altitude cruising, allowed the SGT to transport more cargo than its predecessors.[3]

The SGT retained only the cockpit, wings, tail, and main landing gear of the 377. The nose gear was taken from a Boeing 707 and rotated 180 degrees. This dropped the front of the aircraft slightly, levelling the cargo-bay floor and simplifying loading operations.

In the early 1970s, two SGT aircraft were used by Airbus to transport airplane parts from production facilities to the final assembly plant in Toulouse. In 1982 and 1983, two additional Super Guppy Turbines were built by Union de Transports Aériens Industries in France after Airbus bought the right to produce the aircraft. The four Super Guppies were later replaced in this role by the Airbus Beluga, capable of carrying twice as much cargo by weight.

Variants

  • Aero Spacelines B-377-SG Super Guppy, prototype of a much enlarged version of the Guppy using C-97J components, powered by four Pratt & Whitney T-34-P-7WA turbo-prop engines.[3]
  • Aero Spacelines B-377-SGT Super Guppy Turbine (Guppy 201), production version powered by Allison 501-D22C turbo-prop engines,[3] using an enlarged cargo section built from scratch instead of being converted from original C-97J components.

Aircraft

File:N941NA.jpg
NASA Super Guppy N941NA in-flight, July 2022
File:Pima Air & Space Museum - Tucson, AZ - Flickr - hyku (79).jpg
Super Guppy on display at Pima Air & Space Museum
Picture from the rear of a Super Guppy Turbine airplane
NASA Super Guppy N941NA at its home base in El Paso

One Super Guppy remains in service with NASA. Three are on display, and one was scrapped.

  • Super Guppy N940NS (previously N1038V), serial number 52-2693, is on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum near Tucson, Arizona.[6]
  • Super Guppy Turbine F-BTGV (formerly N211AS), serial number 0001, was on static display at the former British Aviation Heritage Centre at the Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome. The aircraft was broken up in December 2020 with the cockpit preserved by the South Wales Aviation Museum.[7]
  • Super Guppy Turbine F-BPPA (formerly N212AS), serial number 0002, is on static display at Aeroscopia near the Airbus factory at Toulouse–Blagnac Airport in France.[8]
  • Super Guppy Turbine F-GDSG, serial number 0003, is on static display near the Airbus factory at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport in Germany.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
  • Super Guppy Turbine N941NA (formerly F-GEAI), serial number 0004, is still in service with NASA as a transport aircraft and is based at the El Paso International Airport.[9]

Operators

Current

Former

Specifications (Super Guppy Turbine)

File:Aero Spacelines 377SG Super Guppy 3-view.svg
Orthographic diagram of the 377-SGT

Data from Encyclopedia of The World's Commercial and Private Aircraft,[10] NASA.gov[5]

General characteristics

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See also

File:Aero Spacelines 377SGT Super Guppy Turbine, Airbus Skylink AN0592517.jpg
Super Guppy Turbine F-GDSG at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in 1984

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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Sources

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External links

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