I vividly remember seeing the Super Guppy on the tarmac at the Santa Barabara airport when I was a kid. It was a truly amazing aircraft, and seeing it lift off was just short of miraculous (before I understood anything about aerodynamics).
I just came back from there and had to Google this plane. It is amazingly huge! More like a whale then a guppy. Lol. That museum is really amazing. Best air museum I've ever been to hands down
Thank You so much, this brings back childhood memories of seeing the Pregnant Guppies as they were bring built at the Santa Barbara Airport back in 1967. The Hangers are still in use today as the hub for FedEx.
The Guppies are nowhere near the "world's ugliest aircraft". Not even close. Take a look at the Blackburn designs of the 1920/30s, the French bombers just prior to WWII, and a few Russian and Italian designs.
When you look like a caricature but everyone needs you. An amazing plane, going where others couldn´t, doing what is needed. Looking ugly is a job requirement for them, and they wear it with pride.
I live about 10 minutes south of NASA in Houston and I’ll regularly see the Guppy flying around when I’m walking my dogs. It’s really cool, I got a video the other day.
I live about 3.5 miles from Ellington Air Field and about 5 miles from NASA Houston. Ellington is NASA's preferred Air Field. I regularly get to see the Super Guppy flying loads in and out of Ellington for NASA. It always brings a smile to my face when I see it.
Born and raised in Santa Barbara CA., when I was a kid my dad would always take us to the airport(which is located in Goleta) to see this plane, it was an amazing thing to see it take off, until this video I never knew there was one still flying
I watched the Guppys in the early 60's from about midway between Bigg's Field and Carswell AFB. You could hear one coming 10 minutes before it went from west of the house to the east side. Thanks to Popular Mechanics we knew what they were. What a sound they made and what a rare sound it is. I miss those sounds.
The Super Guppy's home base is still the NASA hangers at the El Paso International; Airport . I watch it take off and land from time to time even hear it on the scanner too
The sound comment triggered a bit of memory. As a kid, I lived right under the flight path of P3s heading from NAS Brunswick to the north Atlantic. They could be seen most days, even in cloudy weather I knew when they were going over.
I flew on a NASA Super Guppy flight from Texas to Cali in the late 80s. Took off from Fort Worth and landed at Abilene, El Paso, and Phoenix for fuel before reaching LAX. Landing nose gear first was not for the weak of heart! I flew on a lot of different cargo AC, but nothing like the guppy.
When I was a child, we used to drive past the airfield where the Guppies were based. They always fascinated me. My mother worked on the design of the C-133.
I used to see these fly over Albuquerque NM all the time in the early 70's when I lived there as a kid. They always flew at a low altitude what I can remember. It was always a thrill seeing them!
The ribs for both the Super Guppy and its predecessor, the Pregnant Guppy, were machined from 14' long aluminum castings at a machine shop, Hydro-Mill in (at the time) Santa Monica, California. My father worked there since it opened in 1955 until he retired in 1980. (I also worked there with him after I finished my three year enlistment [Ex-GI 06/'59-06/'62] for about 8 months, during which time we made the Pregnant Guppy's ribs. They were shaped on a giant horizontal milling machine that was "Numerically Controlled" by IBM punch cards. It was God-awful loud when it took long 2" deep cuts all at at one time.)
The Boeing 377, which was the basis for the Super Guppy, was derived from the B-29, the same plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. So, Nasa is using a plane that was first specified by the government by competition in December, 1939.
I get to see the Super Guppy from time to time being from El Paso which is the home station for it. I'll pass by the airport and sometimes I can see it parked by its hangar.
I’m lucky. I live right across the street from KEFD which is where the super guppy turbine spends most of its time. In fact. I just saw it on final approach into the airfield
As a young boy of 6 years my family and I flew across the Atlantic on the airliner version of this, a BOAC Boeing Stratocruiser, in July 1958. It was a redesigned WW2 bomber with a second deck, and a downstairs bar and had a unique double, underslung fuselage, developed from the Boeing Stratofortress, B29, for the air war against Japan. We flew at 300 mph and 30,000 ft over the Atlantic from Montreal, Canada, to Prestwick, Scotland, with my new Canadian brother sleeping above in the overhead luggage in a wire-framed airlines baby basket. My Canadian brother claimed his citizenship and flew back to Canada in 2000, never to return to the U.K.
Wow, it even had sleeping berths! According to Wikipedia: "Boeing set never-exceed speed at 351 mph (305 kn; 565 km/h) IAS but in testing, the 377 reached 409 mph (355 kn; 658 km/h) IAS (about 500 mph (430 kn; 800 km/h) TAS) in a 15-20 degree dive at 13,500 ft (4,100 m);[25] another report[26] said it reached 498 mph true air speed while diving from 21000 feet altitude to 12000 feet in 50 seconds using "full rated power". "Problems included catastrophic failures of propellers, failures of propeller pitch control leading to overspeed incidents, problems related to the poor thermal design of the engine, and aerodynamic problems arising from design constraints imposed by the engine's thermal problems.[10][19] Its service record was marred by a high incidence of in-flight emergencies and hull-loss accidents related to those issues." "Its design was advanced for its day; its innovative features included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin. It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers." (Wikipedia) Wow, those were different times.
@@bsadewitz Thanks for your enthusiastic appreciation. It felt like a slower paced world then. Canada was stunning (even though my parents got homesick for Belfast, N Ireland and after 10 months emigration we were flying back to the U.K.)
I grew up in Hamburg, Germany and the Airbus Super Guppies could be seen in the sky every day. Everybody loved them. Airbus has their German plant in Hamburg.
Today, Airbus has typically five starts and landings each of their current large-diameter transporters. These shuttle between Toulouse (France) and Hamburg. They own 5 such planes based on Airbus A300s, and one newer unit, the Beluga (also shown in this video). Eventually, all will be replaced with Belugas. So if NASA wanted, they could just go and buy one rather than fly a museum aircraft. Don't get me wrong though - I love museum aircraft!
@@macstone9719 yes absolutely, quite amazing sound too, always a bit on the dramatic side. I see them on the northern approach from my Lokstedt office window.
@@sparky4878 should you come to Hamburg, there is a company where you can book tours of the Airbus plant, highly recommended. You get to see the A32x assy lines and a lot more.
I remember back when I was a kid in the 60s and early 70s hearing it described as a "pregnant guppy", but nowadays I'd say it was a KC-97 possessed by a Xenomorph :) And on the subject of the KC-97, that aircraft was typically used as a tanker plane; I remember seeing them fly to Lockbourne AFB (now Rickenbacker Airport) along with a variety of other aircraft back in the late 60s-early 70s. I recall the KC-97 was retired and replaced by the KC-135 (tanker version of the Boeing 707).
I saw the Super Guppy at Seymour Johnson AFB in 2004-2005. It was there to delivery 2 weather (hail) damaged T-38's back to Cape Canaveral. I think they should get a more up to date cargo aircraft similar to the guppy. Although I'd hate to see this one retire from operation.
I just watched the Super Guppy fly low overhead on her way to land at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma..........(She's a beautiful aircraft!)
That's a goofy looking plane, but I believe the Northrop Tacit Blue is more deserving of he "World's Ugliest Airplane" title. Look it up. It looks like it was made as a joke.
Oh, yes... I saw that at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. When I was there, looking at all of the aircraft in the experimental and space exhibit, I honestly thought it was a cockpit simulator or something, from the outside. I really didn't think it looked like a functioning plane that could fly, but I suppose I was wrong. I'll have to do a little more research on that aircraft, as I don't really know anything about it.
@@CaseyCollier I live in Dayton, so I end up at the NMUSAF every time friends visit from out of town. They always look at that thing in dismay. But apparently it was extremely successful.
Used to be a Guppy at Bruntingthorpe Air Field in the UK don’t know if it’s still there was about 10yr ago I last seen it ! And I quite often see Belugas flying over my place when they come from Hamburg
Seems short sighted to have only one plane that is ours and can support the space program's needs. Everything doesn't come out of California any more, but a back up plan is always a good idea. Either buying our own new platforms from someone else or getting them made by a US company is a necessary part of maintaining an ongoing NASA venture, unless we are going to farm everything out to the private sector, which we are seeing some of currently.
Seen the Super Guppy many times here in Houston Texas at Ellington Field a lot of the footage in this video is at Ellington actually. deff the weirdest plane i have seen lol
There was the mini guppy that is neglected here. A prototype crashed in testing at Edward's, killing a classmates dad. There were also plans for a Colossal Guppy based on a B-52. Conroy came close to getting an airframe at Vandenberg AFB to start on it, but a scared congressman got the deal torpedoed.
The guppy and super guppy were made from C-97s,but the C-97 was not from a B-29,they were developed from the B-50. Which itself was a development from the B-29. There were so many differences from the 29, they called it the 50.
Didn't Air Bus build a new version of this plane and isn't it in service right now- the cockpit was under slung below the cargo hold- looked like the chin would drag the ground
NASA should keep the old bird flying. And maybe acquire a couple more from AirBus. She’s a workaholic flying workhorse and deserves to be cared for and in the air.
I won’t say Ugly I always thought this was a cool aircraft as a kid and even now. Then again the main reason I liked the 747 was it could piggyback the Shuttle so it might be a NASA thing.
I saw the Super Guppy turbine parked at an airshow once, bizarrely it feels smaller and yet larger than you’d guess. Amazing aircraft thanks for the video. One question I always had was why were they turbo-prop powered and not jets? Was there a reason or just apart of the carryover design?
The Super Guppy was a regular at my home airport of Manchester in the 70s and 80s, an amazing sight on take off.
I was at Tinker AFB in 2008(ish?) when NASA brought the Guppy in for an overhaul and repaint. It was an expressive sight to see.
I vividly remember seeing the Super Guppy on the tarmac at the Santa Barabara airport when I was a kid. It was a truly amazing aircraft, and seeing it lift off was just short of miraculous (before I understood anything about aerodynamics).
Just came back from Pima Air Museum in Tucson. This size of this plane will make you question how tall you really are.
As did I. The photo at 7:36 is it.
I just came back from there and had to Google this plane. It is amazingly huge! More like a whale then a guppy. Lol. That museum is really amazing. Best air museum I've ever been to hands down
I was just at an airshow earlier this month where they had flown in the current Nasa Super Guppy. What an amazing plane.
Thank You so much, this brings back childhood memories of seeing the Pregnant Guppies as they were bring built at the Santa Barbara Airport back in 1967. The Hangers are still in use today as the hub for FedEx.
The Guppies are nowhere near the "world's ugliest aircraft". Not even close. Take a look at the Blackburn designs of the 1920/30s, the French bombers just prior to WWII, and a few Russian and Italian designs.
I don't think it's ugly at all. Yeah, it's bulbous, but so what? That's the point!
British designs of the interwar period were hella cursed
i google that...
... why does it taste like vomit in my mouth?
PZL M-15 Belphegor has my vote for ugliest aircraft ever made...
@@boristhebarbarian When you don´t know if you want to make a WWI fighter or a jet Airliner.. so you do both.
When you look like a caricature but everyone needs you.
An amazing plane, going where others couldn´t, doing what is needed.
Looking ugly is a job requirement for them, and they wear it with pride.
My grandpa was the first one to taxi the guppy at Van Nuys airport! He has so many stories about building and developing that plane.
I live about 10 minutes south of NASA in Houston and I’ll regularly see the Guppy flying around when I’m walking my dogs. It’s really cool, I got a video the other day.
I live near Houston and see it all the time. It always catches my attention
I live about 3.5 miles from Ellington Air Field and about 5 miles from NASA Houston. Ellington is NASA's preferred Air Field. I regularly get to see the Super Guppy flying loads in and out of Ellington for NASA. It always brings a smile to my face when I see it.
Born and raised in Santa Barbara CA., when I was a kid my dad would always take us to the airport(which is located in Goleta) to see this plane, it was an amazing thing to see it take off, until this video I never knew there was one still flying
I watched the Guppys in the early 60's from about midway between Bigg's Field and Carswell AFB. You could hear one coming 10 minutes before it went from west of the house to the east side. Thanks to Popular Mechanics we knew what they were. What a sound they made and what a rare sound it is. I miss those sounds.
The Super Guppy's home base is still the NASA hangers at the El Paso International; Airport . I watch it take off and land from time to time even hear it on the scanner too
@@kg4tri I got in it at Ellington during the WOH airshow. its impressive to say the least.
@@kg4tri Are you going to be at Holloman next weekend?
@@bruceday6799 No. I wasn't planing on it
The sound comment triggered a bit of memory. As a kid, I lived right under the flight path of P3s heading from NAS Brunswick to the north Atlantic. They could be seen most days, even in cloudy weather I knew when they were going over.
Saw it in person when it was delivering parts to my company last year. Its so goofy I absolutely love it!
I flew on a NASA Super Guppy flight from Texas to Cali in the late 80s. Took off from Fort Worth and landed at Abilene, El Paso, and Phoenix for fuel before reaching LAX. Landing nose gear first was not for the weak of heart! I flew on a lot of different cargo AC, but nothing like the guppy.
Your probably one of very few! kind of guy that over a few beers you could tell some great stories!
Fantastic and interesting video. Makes me think it's a real life version of Gerry Andersons Thunderbirds.
Awesome nose wheel landing at 6:25!
When I was a child, we used to drive past the airfield where the Guppies were based. They always fascinated me.
My mother worked on the design of the C-133.
I used to see these fly over Albuquerque NM all the time in the early 70's when I lived there as a kid. They always flew at a low altitude what I can remember. It was always a thrill seeing them!
The ribs for both the Super Guppy and its predecessor, the Pregnant Guppy, were machined from 14' long aluminum castings at a machine shop, Hydro-Mill in (at the time) Santa Monica, California. My father worked there since it opened in 1955 until he retired in 1980. (I also worked there with him after I finished my three year enlistment [Ex-GI 06/'59-06/'62] for about 8 months, during which time we made the Pregnant Guppy's ribs. They were shaped on a giant horizontal milling machine that was "Numerically Controlled" by IBM punch cards. It was God-awful loud when it took long 2" deep cuts all at at one time.)
The Boeing 377, which was the basis for the Super Guppy, was derived from the B-29, the same plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. So, Nasa is using a plane that was first specified by the government by competition in December, 1939.
See? These are the historical timeline connections I'm here for.
The one in El Paso still flies around from time to time and it’s always a site to behold
I remember seeing the original Guppy flying into Memphis for some reason or other when I was a kid. Quite an impressive sight back in the late 70's.
I see a super guppy occasionally fly Into Moffett Field.
Why develop a replacement? Airbus already did the work with the Beluga XL.
I see the NASA Super Guppy flying out of Ellington Airport near JSC/Mission Control in Houston often including just two days ago.
I get to see the Super Guppy from time to time being from El Paso which is the home station for it. I'll pass by the airport and sometimes I can see it parked by its hangar.
I’m lucky. I live right across the street from KEFD which is where the super guppy turbine spends most of its time. In fact. I just saw it on final approach into the airfield
As a young boy of 6 years my family and I flew across the Atlantic on the airliner version of this, a BOAC Boeing Stratocruiser, in July 1958. It was a redesigned WW2 bomber with a second deck, and a downstairs bar and had a unique double, underslung fuselage, developed from the Boeing Stratofortress, B29, for the air war against Japan. We flew at 300 mph and 30,000 ft over the Atlantic from Montreal, Canada, to Prestwick, Scotland, with my new Canadian brother sleeping above in the overhead luggage in a wire-framed airlines baby basket. My Canadian brother claimed his citizenship and flew back to Canada in 2000, never to return to the U.K.
Wow, it even had sleeping berths!
According to Wikipedia:
"Boeing set never-exceed speed at 351 mph (305 kn; 565 km/h) IAS but in testing, the 377 reached 409 mph (355 kn; 658 km/h) IAS (about 500 mph (430 kn; 800 km/h) TAS) in a 15-20 degree dive at 13,500 ft (4,100 m);[25] another report[26] said it reached 498 mph true air speed while diving from 21000 feet altitude to 12000 feet in 50 seconds using "full rated power".
"Problems included catastrophic failures of propellers, failures of propeller pitch control leading to overspeed incidents, problems related to the poor thermal design of the engine, and aerodynamic problems arising from design constraints imposed by the engine's thermal problems.[10][19] Its service record was marred by a high incidence of in-flight emergencies and hull-loss accidents related to those issues."
"Its design was advanced for its day; its innovative features included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin. It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers."
(Wikipedia)
Wow, those were different times.
@@bsadewitz Thanks for your enthusiastic appreciation. It felt like a slower paced world then. Canada was stunning (even though my parents got homesick for Belfast, N Ireland and after 10 months emigration we were flying back to the U.K.)
Did see one of these at Dryden at Edwards about 10 years ago.
Been looking for a good video on the Guppies. Good job 👍
There is a Guppy on display in Tillamook, Oregon air museum. Was previously owned by Erikson skycrane. There is plans to restore the Plane.
I grew up in Hamburg, Germany and the Airbus Super Guppies could be seen in the sky every day. Everybody loved them. Airbus has their German plant in Hamburg.
Today, Airbus has typically five starts and landings each of their current large-diameter transporters. These shuttle between Toulouse (France) and Hamburg. They own 5 such planes based on Airbus A300s, and one newer unit, the Beluga (also shown in this video). Eventually, all will be replaced with Belugas. So if NASA wanted, they could just go and buy one rather than fly a museum aircraft.
Don't get me wrong though - I love museum aircraft!
@@RCake I still work in Hamburg and I see the Beluga quite often now. Very funny aircraft.
@@macstone9719 I see them flying in and out of Broughton in Wales. I think the Airbus wings are made there
@@macstone9719 yes absolutely, quite amazing sound too, always a bit on the dramatic side. I see them on the northern approach from my Lokstedt office window.
@@sparky4878 should you come to Hamburg, there is a company where you can book tours of the Airbus plant, highly recommended. You get to see the A32x assy lines and a lot more.
I remember back when I was a kid in the 60s and early 70s hearing it described as a "pregnant guppy", but nowadays I'd say it was a KC-97 possessed by a Xenomorph :) And on the subject of the KC-97, that aircraft was typically used as a tanker plane; I remember seeing them fly to Lockbourne AFB (now Rickenbacker Airport) along with a variety of other aircraft back in the late 60s-early 70s. I recall the KC-97 was retired and replaced by the KC-135 (tanker version of the Boeing 707).
Funny how some of the strangest looking planes worked extremely well.
I saw the Super Guppy at Seymour Johnson AFB in 2004-2005. It was there to delivery 2 weather (hail) damaged T-38's back to Cape Canaveral. I think they should get a more up to date cargo aircraft similar to the guppy. Although I'd hate to see this one retire from operation.
It's amazing that it actually got off the ground with such outdated power plants and being so old
Worked next to Van Nuys airport Calif. where they built the early smaller version of the guppie but never seen one fly
I just watched the Super Guppy fly low overhead on her way to land at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma..........(She's a beautiful aircraft!)
It looks like they could flood the cargo bay full of helium to help it fly.
I love when planes like this just keep on doing their job it's a great example of if it aint broke don't fix it
Saw the guppy at fort Campbell once in the early 20 teens or just before 2010. It was near the northern airfield.
I'm from El Paso, the super guppy is always a great sight when you drive by the NASA hangar here in town. Also when it's taking off 👍🏻 great video!
Got some great photos and videos last week right next to the runway.
I remember seeing a Guppy in El Paso mid to late 80's.
I am amazed that an old turbo prop cargo plane is still flying today.
Saro Princess Flying boat was also being looked at in the early 60s there were three cocooned at Calshot.
That's a goofy looking plane, but I believe the Northrop Tacit Blue is more deserving of he "World's Ugliest Airplane" title. Look it up. It looks like it was made as a joke.
Oh, yes... I saw that at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. When I was there, looking at all of the aircraft in the experimental and space exhibit, I honestly thought it was a cockpit simulator or something, from the outside. I really didn't think it looked like a functioning plane that could fly, but I suppose I was wrong. I'll have to do a little more research on that aircraft, as I don't really know anything about it.
@@CaseyCollier I live in Dayton, so I end up at the NMUSAF every time friends visit from out of town. They always look at that thing in dismay. But apparently it was extremely successful.
@@jerrysstories711
Hmm... I'll have to look into it.
This used to freak me out when I was little. I thought every time I saw one an alien invasion was getting closer to happen.
When I was a kid my favourite vehicles were the super guppy, the shuttle and the tyrrell six wheeler race car :~)
Used to be a Guppy at Bruntingthorpe Air Field in the UK don’t know if it’s still there was about 10yr ago I last seen it ! And I quite often see Belugas flying over my place when they come from Hamburg
I live near Houston next to Ellington Field and often see the flying Guppy. Take off and land .
There was an Airbus Skylink version at Bruntingthorpe aviation museum in the UK, I believe the museum has now closed? So no idea what happened to it?
I remember seeing this in an aircraft encyclopedia as a kid and thinking that it can't be real...
Seems short sighted to have only one plane that is ours and can support the space program's needs. Everything doesn't come out of California any more, but a back up plan is always a good idea. Either buying our own new platforms from someone else or getting them made by a US company is a necessary part of maintaining an ongoing NASA venture, unless we are going to farm everything out to the private sector, which we are seeing some of currently.
There are two. The other is parked at Davis-Monthan... or it was.
Everytime I see this thumbnail, I hear Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice saying; "IT'S NOT A TUMOR!"
I think that that prize should go to almost anything designed by Scaled Composites!
Seen the Super Guppy many times here in Houston Texas at Ellington Field a lot of the footage in this video is at Ellington actually. deff the weirdest plane i have seen lol
I’ve seen the mini Guppy at the Tillamook Air Museum.
There was the mini guppy that is neglected here. A prototype crashed in testing at Edward's, killing a classmates dad. There were also plans for a Colossal Guppy based on a B-52. Conroy came close to getting an airframe at Vandenberg AFB to start on it, but a scared congressman got the deal torpedoed.
I still remember the first time I saw one in Wichita Ks
We are very lucky to have one still in service with NASA here in the states.
Pima Air and Space Museum has a Super Guppy as well as a long list of other unique aircraft.
At a glance, it looked like an Airbus Beluga.
No, the Beluga looks like a Super Guppy 😁
Frequently see the modern take on this, the Airbus Beluga, flying in and out of the Airbus factory in north Wales.
There is a Super Guppy at the Air Museum in Tillamook OR.
Dark
Great video as always. Hell yes they should continue to use it and of course they should build a new version as well.
The guppy and super guppy were made from C-97s,but the C-97 was not from a B-29,they were developed from the B-50. Which itself was a development from the B-29. There were so many differences from the 29, they called it the 50.
I have seen these for NASA but it houses equipment it was always fun to see flying around
This is one plane that I haven't ever seen. Even though I worked at airports on the east coast.
I think I may have seen one of these at DFW in the early 1980s.
If a 747, Airbus A380 or a giant descendent of the Antonov An-225 was built into a pregnant guppy, can you imagine the volume of such a craft?
The Boeing Dreamlifter is such an aircraft, a 747 with an extended fuselage.
I think a report on the Beluga would be nice.
The propellers on this thing look as out of place as baby donut tires on a '74 Mercury station wagon. Cool plane though!
Supper Guppie; make mote and fly the wings off ‘em. Thank you for the video 👍🏼.
I love that it's family tree leads to the b-29.
Amazing what can be made to fly.
The irony of Airbus having a Boeing plane help them to take off early in their history is never lost on me.
Build a new Guppy ….that is an incredible aircraft ! Should be saved !
The KC-97, was a tanker version of the C-97 stratocruiser, not a guppy. The guppy's were built from civilian Boeing stratocruisers.
Interesting. @ 4:26 you see one of NASA’s WW2 M-26 Dragon Wagons tank haulers.
Still see the super guppy from time to time in the Tularosa Valley 😉
Didn't Air Bus build a new version of this plane and isn't it in service right now- the cockpit was under slung below the cargo hold- looked like the chin would drag the ground
From a Guppy, to a Super Guppy, to a Beluga, to a Dreamlifter, to a Beluga XL. The progression of ugly pregnant aircraft.
one of my fave planes
Didn't the C-133 cargo master also transport parts of the saturn 5 because I think it did..
NASA should keep the old bird flying. And maybe acquire a couple more from AirBus. She’s a workaholic flying workhorse and deserves to be cared for and in the air.
We all know guppie’s are live bearers.
I won’t say Ugly I always thought this was a cool aircraft as a kid and even now. Then again the main reason I liked the 747 was it could piggyback the Shuttle so it might be a NASA thing.
This plane joined the mile high club too many times.
Great video.
NASA keep the super guppy a little bit longer and then retire and like for a new aircraft
Ooooo. Build "The MEGA Guppy!"
I wonder how it handles in flight when loaded?
I think NASA should look into Boeing 767-300 or 777-200 development into "guppy" replacement.
Was having a guppy rave at the Start
there
Now Boeing uses the guppy's grandchild the 747 dreamlifter to haul 787 fuselage sections.
I saw the Super Guppy turbine parked at an airshow once, bizarrely it feels smaller and yet larger than you’d guess. Amazing aircraft thanks for the video. One question I always had was why were they turbo-prop powered and not jets? Was there a reason or just apart of the carryover design?
They were built out of highly modified Boeing Trans Pacific airliners.
@@johnbesharian9965 oh thanks that’s crazy to think about
I have been inside a Super Guppy. The thing is unreal.
Probably makes the interior of a C5 look like a closet. I've flown in the C5, it's huge, but that Super Guppy has to be in a league of its own.
True. The C5 is its own level of unreal, but the Super Guppy is just a bit more unreal.
I see the last one flying at least once a week.
Great idea 💡
Now let's see the VTOL version
They probably should retire it and pay for a new aircraft. The upkeep costs will eventually render it too expensive to maintain if not already.