Based on the Boeing C-97 cargo plane and the Boeing 377 airliner, the huge "Guppy" super-transports are some of the most unique aircraft ever built. Designed to carry very large, but relatively light cargos, the Guppies were built from parts of retired U.S. Air Force C-97 Stratofreighters and airline 377 Stratocruisers. The planes proved to be very useful for carrying segments of rockets and many of the Saturn rockets that powered the Apollo Program were transported in the Super Guppy. This is the second Guppy, the first "Super Guppy" built. Its parts came from at least two different aircraft. Most of the airframe came from a former Pan American Airways airliner. However, the wings, engines, and forward fuselage came from one of the Air Force's experimental turbo-prop powered YC-97J aircraft. The Super Guppy continued in use by NASA until 1991 when it was retired in favor of a younger Super Guppy.
Wingspan
156 ft 3 in.
Length
143 ft 10 in.
Height
46 ft 5 in.
Weight
170,000 lbs (loaded)
Cargo bay interior
108 ft 10 in. long, 25 ft wide, 25 ft 6 in. high
Maximum cargo weight
41,000 lbs
Cruising Speed
300 MPH
Range
505 miles
Engines
Four Pratt & Whitney T34-P-7WA turboprops with 7,000 horsepower
Crew
4
Manufacturer Aero Spacelines
Markings National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1991
Designation 377SG
Registration N1038V, N940NS
Serial Number 52-2693
Pima Air & Space Museum
Creating unlimited horizons in aerospace education through the preservation and presentation of the history of flight.