Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy
| Pregnant Guppy | |
|---|---|
| |
| The Pregnant Guppy at the Dryden Flight Research Center for testing and evaluation (October 1962) | |
| Role | Outsize cargo freight aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Aero Spacelines |
| First flight | September 19, 1962[1] |
| Retired | 1979 |
| Status | Scrapped at Van Nuys in 1979 |
| Primary users | Aero Spacelines NASA |
| Produced | 1 |
| Developed from | Boeing 377 Stratocruiser |
| Developed into | Aero Spacelines Super Guppy |
The Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy was a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft built in the United States and used for ferrying outsized cargo items, most notably components of NASA's Apollo program.[1] The Pregnant Guppy was the first of the Guppy line of aircraft produced by Aero Spacelines.[1] The design inspired later designs, such as the jet-powered Airbus Beluga and Boeing Dreamlifter.
Development
In 1960, NASA was using barges to transport increasingly large rocket components from manufacturers on the West Coast to test and launch sites on the East Coast, a method that was slow and expensive. Meanwhile, U.S. airlines were disposing of their obsolete piston-engined Boeing 377 Stratocruisers in favor of the newer jet-engined airliners. Aircraft broker Leo Mansdorf was stockpiling surplus Stratocruisers at Van Nuys for resale.
Ex-USAF pilot John M. Conroy realized that these aircraft could be modified to transport the large but relatively light rocket components.[1] Conroy presented his plans for an extensively modified Stratocruiser to NASA, where an official commented that the bloated aircraft resembled a pregnant guppy. Although NASA was lukewarm on the concept, Conroy mortgaged his house and founded Aero Spacelines International to build and operate the concept aircraft.[1]
Conversion work was undertaken by On Mark Engineering. The Pregnant Guppy (registered N1024V)[2] was built from an ex-Pan Am airframe; a 5 meter section from an ex-British Overseas Airways Corporation aircraft (G-AKGJ) was added immediately behind the wing. A new upper fuselage of 6 meter diameter was added, giving the aircraft a "triple-bubble" appearance when viewed from the front. The entire rear section (including tail surfaces) was detachable to allow cargo to be loaded directly into the fuselage. The wing, engines, tail, nose, and cockpit were unchanged.
The aircraft first flew on September 19, 1962, piloted by Conroy and co-pilot Clay Lacy.[3] When Van Nuys traffic control realized that Conroy intended to take off, they notified police and fire departments to be on alert. However, the huge aircraft performed flawlessly, the only difference in handling being a slight decrease in speed caused by extra drag of the larger fuselage.
Carrying the S-IV Saturn I rocket stage, the Guppy saved three weeks' transit time versus barge,[4] for a cost of $16.00 (equivalent to $157.18 today) per mile (1.6 km).[5]
Operational history
In the summer of 1963, the Pregnant Guppy began flying NASA cargo. Among its early duties was transporting the first and second stages of the Gemini program's Titan II from the Martin Co. in Baltimore, Maryland, to Cape Canaveral. As the space program grew through the late 1960s, it became apparent that the one original aircraft clearly could not handle the whole transport load, so 25 more Stratocruisers and ex-USAF C-97s were purchased to construct four Super Guppy aircraft, which were even longer and larger than the original.
The various Guppy aircraft served throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and beyond, initially transporting space components, and later, as NASA scaled down its operations after the success of the Apollo program, transporting airliner sections.[1]
The Pregnant Guppy was sold to American Jet Industries and registered N126AJ for scrap and it was finally scrapped at Van Nuys in 1979.
Specifications (B337PG Pregnant Guppy)
Data from Jane's All The Worlds Aircraft 1965–66,[6] Jane's All The Worlds Aircraft 1971–72[7]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Capacity: 34,000 lb (15,422 kg) +
- Length: 127 ft 0 in (38.71 m)
- Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.05 m)
- Diameter: 20 ft 4 in (6.20 m) cabin height
- Height: 31 ft 3 in (9.53 m) to top of fuselage; 38 ft 3 in (12 m) overall
- Wing area: 1,769 sq ft (164.3 m2) [citation needed]
- Cargo compartment : volume: 29,187 cu ft (826 m3)
- Cargo compartment : total length: 80 ft (24 m)
- Cargo compartment : constant-section length: 30 ft (9 m)
- Cargo compartment : max height: 19 ft 9 in (6 m)
- Cargo compartment : max width: 19 ft 9 in (6 m)
- Cargo compartment : max width: 8 ft 7 in (3 m)
- Airfoil: root: Boeing 117 (22%); tip: Boeing 117 (9%)[8]
- Empty weight: 91,000 lb (41,277 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 133,000 lb (60,328 kg) (later increased)
- Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-B6 Wasp Major 28-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) each
- Powerplant: 4 × Aerojet-General 15KS-1000-A1 solid-fuel assisted take-off rocket engines, 1,000 lbf (4.4 kN) thrust each for 15 seconds
- Propellers: 4-bladed Hamilton-Standard Model 34E60-387 constant-speed fully-feathering propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 320 kn (370 mph, 590 km/h) [citation needed]
- Cruise speed: 195 kn (224 mph, 361 km/h) normal operating speed
See also
Related development
- Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy
- Aero Spacelines Super Guppy
- Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress
References
- ^ a b c d e f Taylor, Michael J.H. . “ Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Studio Editions. London. 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8
- ^ B-377 PREGNANT GUPPY AIRPLANE, NASA/Glenn Research Center, 1965-09-15, retrieved 2020-02-21
- ^ "All About Guppys".
- ^ Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. The NASA History Series. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA History Office. pp. 313–319. SP-4206. Archived from the original on 2004-10-15. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ "Saturn Transportation Equipment". Stages to Saturn. NASA. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
- ^ Taylor, John W. R., ed. (1965). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965–66. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
- ^ Taylor, John W. R., ed. (1971). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1971–72 (62nd ed.). London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company. p. 218. ISBN 9780354000949.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Works cited
- Taylor, H. A. "Tony" (April–July 1982). "Stratocruiser... Ending an Airline Era". Air Enthusiast. No. 18. pp. 37–53. ISSN 0143-5450.
External links
- "Model 377 Stratocruiser Commercial Transport" by Boeing. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
- "All About Guppys", by Daren Savage. Updated September 17, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
- It's a Plane: One man's obsession, it helped get us to the moon Tripp, Robert S. Spring 2002, American Heritage of Invention and Technology
- "Boeing 377 Pregnant Guppy" by Kenneth W. Shanaberger. Updated August 31, 2004. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
- "The Plane That Won The Space Race" by Margy Bloom. Retrieved May/June 2010.
- "The Pregnant Guppy" Historic Wings: Daily Stories. Retrieved September 19, 2012