Mini Guppy
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Mini Guppy
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture
Description
The Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy is a large, wide-bodied US cargo aircraft used for aerial transport of over sized cargo components. Two versions of the Mini Guppy were produced. Both versions are colloquially referred to as the "Mini Guppy". Both Mini Guppies were built using parts salvaged from surplus Boeing 377/C-97Js, but with an all-new fuselage. This enabled Aero Spacelines to widen the Mini Guppy cargo bay floor to 13 feet, as opposed to the 8 feet restriction imposed when building directly onto a B-377 fuselage. Borrowed parts included the cockpit, wings, and tail.
The Mini Guppy, or "MG", was built with a swing-tail to facilitate cargo loading. It was powered by the original Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major piston engines, enabling it to carry a maximum load of 32,000 pounds, and cruise at 250 miles per hour. Its cargo bay was 18 feet in diameter, and a maximum of 91 feet 6 inches long, with a 73 foot 2 inch constant section.
The Mini Guppy first flew on May 24, 1967, and Aero Spacelines operated it for several years, ferrying contract cargo until in 1974 it was sold to American Jet Industries. American Jet Industries sold it to Aero Union in 1980, who sold it to Erickson Air Crane eight years later. Erickson Air Crane used the Mini Guppy to haul heavy equipment until 1995, when it was retired to the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon, where it resides today.
The second version was officially known as the Mini Guppy Turbine, or "MGT". It was the first Guppy aircraft to feature upgraded Allison 501-D22C turboprop engines. Like the MG, the MGT had a 73 foot 2 inch constant diameter section of the cargo hold, but the overall length had been increased to 103 feet 2 inches, and the diameter was slightly wider: 18 feet 4 inches. This, combined with the upgraded engines, enabled it to carry a maximum payload of 62,925 pounds -- almost twice the load the MG could handle. It was built with a swing-nose for easier cargo loading. The MGT first took to the air on March 13, 1970, but was tragically short-lived. On May 12, 1970 the Mini Guppy Turbine was lost, along with the entire crew, in an accident during flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Some digital effects were applied to the original image after the photograph was made. No electrons were harmed during the transition. Your finished photograph will not contain the Fine Art America watermark.
Image copyright 2013 Jon Burch Photography.
Uploaded
May 11th, 2013
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