Welcome back to Daily Aviation for a feature on NASA’s response to replacing the old Boeing 377 Stratocruiser and moving its major components from manufacturers on the west coast to launch sites on the east coast. today known as Super Guppy. Image Credit: NASA, Ohio Air National Guard / U.S. Air Force / U.S. Navy, Derivative Study of The Daily Aviation Thumbnail Credit: Nasa, Derivative Study of The Daily Aviation
Comments: – – I was lucky enough to be stationed at Kadena AFB in Okinawa when the USAF switched from F-4 to F-15 and F-16. I worked right next to the flight line and watched these two large planes go through open sea dogfights with the F-5 as enemy players. I still love to watch jets and old WWII planes whenever I get the chance.
I worked for Sandy Friezner for 12 years as an Electronics technician. During initial development and flight testing of the Super Guppy Sandy, he was watching the instrumentation in the upper cargo hold when it exploded during a high-speed dive. This is documented and available. Thanks, Joe G.
I saw Super Gulpy once when I was in California, and it’s an extraordinary plane and like it must have been very powerful to fly. When DOD doesn’t use C-5 transport aircraft for these types of missions, they do use it to transport heavy equipment across the country and around the world. The plane was modified from a C-97 and probably has parts of that plane other than the engines and fuselage.
Thank you SpaceX. Look at that stupid 50’s tech. Think about it, NASA planes that can’t fly cross country; go figure