AviationGeeks.com - Oversize Cargo Aircrafts

There are quite a few oversize cargo aircrafts that are, or have been, operating, although few of us ever get the chance of seeing them. The most famous oversize aircraft is the Aero Spacelines “Guppy”, but both Airbus and Boeing use their own modified oversize aircrafts to transport fuselages and other components.

Aero Spacelines Guppy

In the late early 1960s John M. Conroy began buying surplus Boeing 377 Stratocruisers as he believed that NASA would be in need of a better transport between test facilities and launch sites. He teamed up with an engineering firm to create the Guppy. Aero Spacelines made three versions of the oversized aircraft, Pregnant Guppy, Super Guppy and Mini Guppy.

The Pregnant Guppy first flew in 1962 and was the first aircraft in the Guppy series. Only one Pregnant Guppy was built and spent majority of its life serving NASA for the Apollo Program. The Pregnant Guppy was scrapped in California in 1979.

The Super Guppy went into production 5 years after the Pregnant Guppy was produced. The Super Guppy was built from the military version of the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, C-97 Stratofreighter. The Super Guppy was considerably larger and more powerful than the Pregnant Guppy. Airbus operated two of the Super Guppy´s and later bought the right to produce the Guppy. Airbus produced two additional Super Guppy´s bringing the total produced up to five aircrafts. Other operators of the Super Guppy were Aeromaritime and NASA. Apparently one Super Guppy is still operating for NASA.