It was almost as interesting listening to what people said about the Super Guppy as listening to NASA’s Jack Roberts speak of it. Visitors to the Super Guppy at the Vectren Dayton Air Show were overheard saying things like, “I bet astronauts practice their anti-gravity jumps in there” and “I heard that they move the Space Shuttle around in that thing” and even from a little boy “I could play football in there, Dad”. And of course Daytonian’s still stinging from not receiving one of the decommissioned Space Shuttles from NASA shared “So this is what we get instead of a Space Shuttle”.
Massive by Design
Apparently the last of such aircraft, the Super Guppy on display is indeed massive by design. It’s height from the top of the fuselage is 36’8″, it’s length is a massive 143’10” and sports a wingspan of just 156 feet. While the airship isn’t designed for ultra-heavy military transport like tanks, the Guppy can travel up to 2,500 nautical miles unburdened or 500 nautical miles fully loaded down with 45,000 lbs of cargo. The unique size allows the Super Guppy to carry cargo that is too large for either the C-17 Globemaster or C-5 Galaxy to handle.
So what does this airship carry?
Answer: Other aircraft. The Super Guppy has a unique hinged nose that can open 110 degrees permitting full frontal cargo loading. A control lock and disconnect system at the fuselage break allows the nose to be opened and closed without disrupting the flight or engine control rigging. Cargo is moved on Super Guppy pallets, specially designed to slip directly into the aircraft making loading and unloading easy. Examples of aircraft being moved across the country in the Super Guppy? Navy T-38’s, V-22 Osprey’s, the NASA X-38 experimental space return vehicle as well as components of the Saturn rockets.
NASA’s Jack Roberts was out on the elevated platform on Saturday afternoon sharing stories of piloting the Super Guppy, it’s flight characteristics as well as to explain the unique way that the ship’s LoadMasters bring cargo into and out of the massive aircraft.
Come on out today for the final day of the 2011 Vectren Dayton Air Show sponsored by Kroger. While the airshow can indeed be seen from the backyards of many in the Northern Miami Valley, static displays of such massive proportion must be seen up close and personal.
