You won’t Believe the Story of the Amazing Super Guppy!!
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- čas přidán 2. 09. 2023
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Do you know what THIS is? Even if you do, the Super Guppy is one of the most fascinating and wonderfully weird aircraft ever, with so many surprises in its origins, development, and use.
For example, did you know that Airbus kind of made two of them? Using BOEING parts? Could we go as far as to say that Airbus MADE two Boeings?!
Stay tuned!
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Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode.
• Giant NASA Super Guppy...
• Get a tour of NASA's S...
• Crowd Views Super Gupp...
• Orion Backstage: NASA'...
• BAHF Boeing C-97 Start...
• Crowd Views Super Gupp...
• First flight of Airbus...
• Engines for Superbombers
• United Boeing 377 Stra...
• KC-97 Stratofreighter ...
• Boeing 707 Prototype "...
• 1960's US Air Force KC...
• Space Race, 1958: Laun...
• NASA Manned Spacecraft...
• The Amazing See-Thru G...
• Dr. Wernher von Braun’...
• NASA - T- 38 Chase of ...
• Super Guppy Landing
• Apollo 11: Neil Armstr...
• Mini Guppy
• A320 production: from ...
• 50th Anniversary of A3...
• L'histoire du Guppy, r...
• UTA French Airlines
• Airbus Beluga ST - Zábava
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Thanks for the meetup
how to sign up for the Boeing session?
Fucking *No!*
@@737Garrus Really? 3 seconds of a sponsor message brings out that reaction?
I currently employ 5 people to help me with research, editing, graphics and script-writing for both channels.
I pay these people their salaries and to do that, I need sponsorships, hence the 3 seconds that you needed to endure.
I know free is always good but the truth is that the money to produce has to come from somewhere so unless you want to start paying for content, I’m afraid you will have to endure this from me and basically every other channel out there.
@@MentourNow don't worry about that guy!
I live near an Airbus site and regularly get to see the Belugas. It's great to spot one.
Very cool!
I would love to see one in the wild ❤😮🎉
In the late 1960s my dad (a draftsman) worked on the Super Guppy for Aero Spacelines in Santa Barbara, California. We attended the rollout ceremony for a newly-built Super Guppy. I was 9 or 10, and have never forgotten the excitement at the ceremony or how proud my dad was to have been part of the project. I've already sent the link for this video to my sisters. One is old enough to remember the event, for the other two this will be glimpse into a part of my dad's life they didn't know about.
I’m in SB right now. Does you or part of your family still live there?
@@The_ZeroLine We're from SLO county, and I still have a ton of relatives there. My dad used to make the commute every day.
@@bossytuba Pretty drive. If you still lived there, you’d get to see Falcon Heavies and other rockers lifting off nearly weekly.
I live in Houston, Texas and have seen the super guppy on final into Ellington Field several times and each time I’m reminded of the Douglas Adams quote:
“The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.”
42
I knew about the Guppy and Super Guppy, but not it's fantastic history. Thanks for the video Petter!
My pleasure!
Happy to see a video on these aircraft, so unique.
I remember reading books in the 60ies about the Guppies as a kid! Thanks a lot for bringing my knowledge of those flying fish up to date
I'm amazed at how there really is a lineage between the Guppies and the Belugas -- and in an ironic way how Boeing helped Airbus succeed!
Yep! It’s really fascinating
Helped and helped. Boeing produced some aircraft, who others later bought to use their parts and build their own aircraft.
@@todortodorov940 Indeed.
@ 5:03. You refer to a man “called” John Michael Conroy.
“Called” and “Named” are two different concepts. I can “CALL” John a liar. John is “NAMED” John. Incorrect to say John is “called” John unless your are “calling” him something other that the name he was given at birth.
Airbus returned the favour by offering help to solve the 737 max issue too
9:55 Honestly Clay Lacy deserves a video just on him given his honestly crazy career (he’s still alive btw). Filmed the XB-70 crash, 29 world speed records, flew a group of students around the world on a dc-8, around the world speed record (just over 36 hours) with a Boeing SP (Neil Armstrong was aboard), technically time traveled, flew a dc-7 in a pylon air race (6th out of 20th), helped develop Aerial cinematography and more! en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Lacy
my favourite plane is super guppy and your video is so cool!!!😃😃
It's so great one of the Guppys is still flying. And for NASA no less.
It's home based on El Paso, Texas, and I see it regularly from where I work, which is just east of El Paso International Airport.
Sometimes I feel like NASA is where legends go before retirement. The Guppy is not the only aircraft that got a last career at NASA, there have been others like the Tu-144.
@@stefanlaskowski6660 that's cool
N941NA in El Paso!
When Mentour Pilot and Mentour Now both upload, it’s a good weekend
Can you imagine the awesomeness if they collaborated? ;)
@@buidelrat132Before someone says "bUt it's tHe sAmE PeRsOn!" Have you ever seen Mentour Pilot and Mentour Now in the same room?
@@heidirabenau511ah yes that is one way to confuse half of the internet. Well played
@buidelrat132 I was wondering about some sort of disgruntled rivalry...
And 74 gear as well!
"every Airbus is delivered on the wings of a Boeing”
yep !!
There is one preserved in Toulouse, just outside the airbus facilities. The hinging front door / cockpit was also a problem during windy days. At (at least) one point the hinge broke from a gust of wind. They fixed the plane but never reinforced the mechanism: the hinge was used as a fuse not to break or bend the main structure of the fuselage if extreme forces were to be applied
Awesome extra info! Thanks!
@@MentourNow One Super Guppy, which was preserved at the Airport of Bruntingthorpe in England, was unfortunately broken up and scrapped in December 2020 during the Pandemic. The remaining Super Guppy is preserved at the Airport of Hamburg-Finkenwerder, the Airbus Company Airport in Hamburg (Germany).
2 time.
That plane in Toulouse is part of the museum exhibition there, right? At least it was when I was visiting.
@@pizzablender Yes.
My Dad was a truck driver most of my life. Back in the late 60s he used to haul Rocketdyne J-2 engines used on the upper stages of the Saturn V. The J-2s were just small enough to be hauled by truck. The 1st stage F-1s had to go by barge or Guppy.
The day is great when a new mentour video comes out!
My Parents flew to Nigeria for years in the Stratocruiser, operated by BOAC.
Downstairs bar and freedom to wander about... how cool is that?
I love the passion you have for aviation, and for sharing your knowledge with all of us. It’s awesome when you love your work.
Thank you very much, it really is!
Thanks for labouring on two great episodes for us this weekend Mentour Pilot/Now! Really enjoyed the Tulsa landing recap and the Super Guppy tales! It’s been a whale of a great set of stories!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I like how aircraft is like puzzle ... getting all the parts from different aircraft XD
I've had the pleasure of seeing the 4th Super Guppy fly and land at the Mesa Gateway airport here in AZ. Quite surreal to see something like that in the air!
It is amazing how aviation evolved from the wright's brothers plane to WWI biplanes to huge piston engine planes and turboprops to finaly the planes we fly and love. Love the concept of reviewing a few commercial planes that marked history. Really makes me wonder what we will develope in the future.
It really is amazing, both world wars seem to have been big drivers of the leaps in aviation technology.
@@Wintermute909 Yes, probably and also in a way unfortunately.
As a space nerd who's going to school for A&P license right now, the Guppy holds a special place in my heart! Fantastic video, loving the classic aircraft series
Glad you enjoyed it!
I was a student at Northrup University 1979-1980. It was an amazing experience, and I enjoyed every moment I was there. I wish you all the best in school, and in your career as an A&P Mechanic, not many people get to do what they love, and get paid for it during their lifetime!
This is by far one of my favorite mentor (now or pilot) videos. Please keep them coming!
Thank you! I really loved this one as well
There is one at Toulouse. You can actually go insinde and I recommend the visit of the museum where you can also see two concorde
When I travelled to the US in 2022 I went inside a superguppy and it was all so exciting.
Nice to learn more about the Supper guppy and the stratocrusier.
It’s a rather unique aircraft.
The Guppy used to fly from Long Beach, California quite frequently and passed right over my house. I saw it many times and thought it was the most bizarre plane I'd ever seen! LOL. With Douglas Aircraft Co. based in Long Beach, I saw plenty of flights of Douglas aircraft being tested and flown, along with scheduled airline flights like PSA, Western and others.
Thanks for sharing!
I first saw a picture of a Guppy in a book about different airplanes. This was about 1974-75 when I was 9-10. I remember thinking that it was a really strange airplane. We lived on the island of Guam at the time, and our house was on a hill very close to the approach to GUM, Guam International Airport. One day I heard an airplane, I looked up and there was a Guppy coming in for a landing. It was very strange to see an airplane, which seemed to have miniature wings, able to fly. I don't know if it was a Guppy or Super Guppy, I was just excited to see it.
Thanks for the history of it.
I was thrilled to see this video. Was stationed at Mather AFB in Sacramento, CA, for navigator training in 1965 and 1966. I can remember seeing the Pregnant Guppy flying nearby, possibly coming into or out of JPL. 9:55
One of the strangest and most fascinating planes ever built!!!
Absolutely!
Indeed, exactly.
I always enjoy hearing about these planes. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it! 💕✈️
I can almost park my car next to it at the El Paso International Airport but I've only seen it flying around the city a couple times.
I've been in the mini-guppy, it's currently on display at the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook Oregon. That museum is the site of an old US Navy blimp patrol station and hangar.
Thank you very much for this information!🙂👍
11:40 Wonderful look back at the birth of the "Guppy" type logistics aircraft. Great job, as usual. Also, "disensemble" may be a new favorite word of the week. Keep coining those Petter-isms, and we'll keep watching! :)
i used to live about 2 miles from Nasa in Clear Lake TX and we used to see the guppy flying at times landing at Ellington Field. i remember the first time i saw it and did a double take and thought , “What the hell is that!” after finding out i looked up all the documentaries on this funny little plane and enjoyed watching it for years until i moved out of Houston. it really stands out while flying!
I'm sure it does!
Good grief what a superb video - awesome - thanks to all who helped put this together
Petter, thank you! I've always loved these aircraft, but hadn't heard their full history. Everytime I see one, I smile as widely as does Airbus' Beluga XL!
I had no idea how essential the Guppies were to NASA. I'll have to ask my grandfather about this!
Dad knew one of the flight test engineers who was killed in the crash of the Mini Guppy. The thing became unstable and went into a roll on takeoff. I don't know the reason. I would guess that low airspeed was involved.
The Super Guppy 4 sounds like the Airplane of Theseus
You can see a Super-Guppy at the Aeroscopia museum in Toulouse, France next to the Airbus factory, you need at least half a day to visit the museum and if the factory is open to visitors, I'd say you'd need another half to visit it. We only had 2 hours to visit the Aeroscopia museum where we also saw a Concorde and an A380.
Another one is preserved at the Airbus Company Airport in Hamburg-Finkenwerder in Germany. A third one, which was preserved at the Airport of Bruntingthorpe in England, was unfortunately broken up and scrapped in December 2020 during the Pandemic. Number Four is still flying, now for the NASA.
Mentour Pilot and Mentour now are goats
💕💕💕😎
Was a fan of the Guppy as a young fella in the mid 70s. A few aircraft library books had a right side view of this aircraft. Looks so graceful despite its massive size
19:30 hey wow, an amiga 1000. i had one of those, back in the 80s. yes, i'm old :-(
And it apears to be still running? That's super cool!
@@arasb3258it's just a visual affect...
But there are vintage PC collectors, you can still find amigas.
I had the 1200!
If there's one thing I miss about living in Houston, it was seeing the guppy fly numerous times in and out of KEFD. Well that, and all the other cool NASA stuff
It never gets old seeing it parked at Ellington. She's a beauty.
@@makingbiscuits24-7 I moved to California last year, and thought it was awesome that I drove by Edwards and Mojave. Then I realized it was the day before SOFIA's retirement flight 🤦🏼♂️
@@The_Angry_Medic Bummer. It was sad news when I heard she was being retired. Such a neat design.
I'm feeling nostalgic now. I need to take a drive by Ellington, Space Center Houston, and JSC soon.
I went to Oshkosh to attend AirVenture 2023 end of July and there’s a super Guppy showed up in that big square right there. That one must be the fourth one still flying you said so. There’s a lead engineer also told me there’re four of them. He looks like Maxican by the way🤔, should be Maxican American.
That Super Guppy also flew up around Wittman airport afterwards, and I took some shots.
Thanks Petter for more stories about these Super Guppy.
I would have loved to see it!
@@MentourNow you’ll absolutely see it at least once in your career.🙂
I worked and lived in Charleston county, SC for seven years. The plant that builds the 787 dream liners in located there. I never got tired of seeing the Dreamlifter flying in an out of the adjacent airport. Kind of a spiritual successor I feel.
4:56 That overlay is hilarious. Eek-eek EEEEEK!
Boeing used to needle Airbus by saying, “Every Airbus was delivered on the wings of a Boeing.”
Its such a shame the one that was at bruntingtorpe England was broken up and only the cockpit survived. I remember being amazed by it as a kid and climbing on board.
👍
The English are barbarians.
It's impressive that this was a b-29 derivative and flought productively to our days.
The b-29 spawn a suprising variety of aircraft. Its offsprings even include a chinese AWACS (KJ-1)
Wow, I had no idea all these flying fish existed. Very interesting, informative, and as always, well written and narrated. Thank you.
Before the Belugas, the old joke was that 'every Airbus flew it's first flight on Boeing wings', as the fuselage and wing assemblies were flown to the factory in Toulouse/Hamburg for final assembly using Boeing Stratocruiser-based Super-Guppy turbines.
The passenger Stratocruiser version had to be used as the basis, because the Stratofreighter (KC-97 Military Version) had a rear cargo door cut out, and as a result had insufficient strength to support the required Guppy structural modifications.
i don't work in the aviation industry, i don't even fly that much but i loooove nerding about planes on this channel
That's what we do!
This is so fascinating. Besides for the still operational guppy including a major component that flew parts for previous space programs, that part has got to be at least close to 70 years old.
The last superguppy's registration, N941NA is a 2001 reference; the dimensions of the Monolith are 9-4-1 (the squares of 3, 2, 1).
Was fun to see them flying over Santa Barbara back in the day.
THEY LOOK SO GOOFY I LOVE THEM
I have been a big fan of the Super Guppy and Airbus Beluga for quite a while now. I even have a model of the 2nd Beluga XL sitting on my flight simulator. But thanks to you, I have even more respect for the two fleets.
Wow. I’m extremely happy you have finally made a mini documentary about it. I have the 1st Super Guppy Turbine (SGT1 for Airbus) in my local aviation museum in Wales. I have been in her over 35 times now and I always discover something new. The second one in Aeroscopia is a perfect condition one and felt like a time capsule! Truly an outstanding aircraft and I’m so glad to see someone’s made a video on it!
Where's that museum in Wales? I'd like to visit someday.
@@h.dejong2531 Hi it’s called South Wales Aviation Museum (SWAM) in St Athan near Cardiff Airport!
I got the opportunity to see and touch that last guppy at an air show a year or two ago. They've always been one of my favorites since I was a kid.
That mini guppy with the name "Erickson" is sitting at the Tillamook, OR air museum. And there is public access to the interior of it.
We had a house near Ellington Field in Houston when I was a kid. I remember seeing the Super Guppy flew over the house on several occasions!
When I was a kid growing up in Southern California, Van Nuys National guard and airport was just south of us, and were under the landing path for anything that landed there. In addition to all the cool military planes we saw, the Guppy would fly over us at times. It was an incredable thing to see.
When I saw the photo of that Erickson Air Crane plane, it occurred to me that you might want to someday go off on a tangent, and investigate that company's operations. Not only did they use their helicopters for cranes in very specialized jobs, but they also used those helicopters for precision logging. They used to be a customer of mine. It was an impressive operation to see in full swing.
I've been inside it for full tour.
The space inside is just jawdropping.
Excellent, and rivetting, story, Petter. I really enjoyed that, and some connection to family history, too!
Glad you enjoyed it! 💕💕✈️
They are the weirdest looking things ever & I love it.
MENTOUR,an encyclopedia of knowledge not just aviation but a lot about human behaviour. Thanks for your hard work. It has/is very useful in my daily life. Changed my approaches to safety and team management.
Aside from the Super Guppy, the Antonov with 6 engines and the 747 with the space shuttle attached are the weirdest planes I’ve ever seen in person.
I lived in Toulouse as a student and the sight of the Belugas going down to or out from Blagnac Airport where the main Airbus assembly factory is was always amazing. I didn't know Airbus first used the Guppies, that was an interesting video.
It’s great to see and learn the history of the Super Guppy that we see fly around Kennedy Space Center. Keep up the amazing work!
I got to tour an Airbus assembly plant in Germany in '96, and got to see a super guppy up close! They're amazing!
I remember as a child back in the late 60s hearing a prop plane above, it was the Guppy. I thought that was one weird looking airplane. I lived in San Diego Ca. Which I believe at the time was still a major aerospace manufacturing center.
Thanks Petter. Nothing like a bit of aviation history to understand how we got to where we are now.
Truly, “The Flying Barn Door”.
Absolutely love aviation 👍🙏
Would love a deep dive on Jack Conroy
Yes!👍
If you’re ever near Tucson, Arizona, USA; head over to the boneyard to see a Guppy. Pima Air & Space Museum
I see the super guppy fly on occasion when it comes to Ellington airfield!! its such a sight to see, I love it!! love learning its history too!!
Once again you came through with an awesome video
Thank you so much! 😀
Aero Spacelines still had an 377 cockpit and nose section on site in the Mid 80s, when they were converting PanAm DC-10s to United configuration. The cockpit even had its sealed toilet with the sign "You use it, you clean it!"
I have seen a super-guppy at NASA in FL and there is also a museum Fantasy of Flight, they have a Lockheed Constellation in static display. Both really cool aircraft.
I've been fascinated by the Guppy ever since i first saw it in my '72 'Jane's...'. (and the Russian 'Bear' with counter-rotating props, which i still dont 'get') TY, Mentour. Big XO
Another fascinating story and epic story telling. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it! This was really fun to research
Super interesting history and it answered my biggest question. How they maintained the continuity of the flight controls with the door. Its true what they say, sometimes the simplest solution is the right one.
...🤤 and a Universal Soldier reference ? I don't know what my own diagram looks like, but apparently it connects right here 😎👍
Another great video!
I’m a big fan if the Super Guppy and own a small piece of skin of the #1 airplane that was made into an aviation tag. It is also the first model I bought for my 1:400 airplane collection.
The Super Guppy aircraft were always so fascinating to look at and see fly. This was a great tutorial and I always look forward to another one since you started this series on the aircraft themselves. Thanks for sharing this neat story.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I lived in Long Beach in the late 60s when I was a child. I remember seeing a Guppy several times. My Dad told me it was a 'pregnant guppy.'
A fascinating aircraft that also inspired the 747-400LCF "Dreamlifter."
One of the greatest aircraft documentaries of all time is "Flying through Time" and it speaks very highly of the Guppy and the Beluga. Shame we can't have a modern automated mating system on a plane like the guppy. With today's technology? the design is just pure weight saving.
Now Boeing operates "guppied" 747s to transport 787 parts worldwide. The 747LCF dreamlifter.
Indeed.
When I was a kid, *I watched a Guppy* take off out of San Diego regularly carrying DC-10 fuselage sections from Convair up to Douglas in Long Beach.
Dad worked for Convair and led a team to redesign the DC-10 forward wheel because Douglas screwed up the design.
Another deep dive that would be interesting would be BEA. Also my great uncle was the artist who designed the BOAC logo referred to as the BOAC arrow.
The BEA offices were in line with the runway at Northolt (then London) Airport and had tire tracks on the flat roof where pilots had come in a bit low. My mother worked there in the 1950s.
Did I see an Amiga 1000 in this vid @ 21:04 with its name plates ghosted out but? Very cool!!!!
IIRC, from a documentary I once saw, part of the impetus for the development of the Beluga was an ad bragging that "Every Airbus takes its first flight on a Boeing."
Hell of a story.
Takk så mycket Petter.😊😊😊
Glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorites
Thanks Mentour for a very informative piece! And I love how passionate you are
Thank you!
I actually saw one of the Super Guppy planes land at Manchester Airport in 2019. It was a very unusual sight to see that day, as I'd only seen pictures of them.
We had Super Guppy F-BTGV at Bruntingthrope Aerodrome near me and when I was a child I got to tour around the inside of the fuselage, it was gigantic. Unfortunately the airfield was purchased by a new company who didn’t want to foot the cost of relocation so the plane was scrapped.
So happy as a history nerd to have these great videos on commercial-aviation history and the evolution of these iconic aircraft.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop! ;)