Aero Spacelines Super Guppy Turbine
Aéromaritime / Aero Spacelines · United States · first flew 1970 · transport aircraft
The Super Guppy Turbine is the turboprop-powered development of the original Super Guppy, featuring a massive enlarged upper fuselage and swinging nose to transport entire aircraft fuselage sections and other outsized aerospace components. It became the primary inter-factory transport for Airbus aircraft components.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, swept |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 4 × turboprop, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Even larger upper fuselage bulge than the Mini Guppy — Super Guppy family |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Even larger upper fuselage bulge than the Mini Guppy — Super Guppy family
- Four Allison 501-D22C turboprops on swept wing
- Outsized cargo door via swinging nose; Airbus white livery in later life
The Super Guppy Turbine is larger than the Mini Guppy Turbine with a proportionally more extreme upper fuselage bulge; in Airbus service it wore a distinctive white fuselage with blue trim, replaced later by the Airbus Beluga.
Specifications
- The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy Turbine has a length of 43.84 m (144 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 47.625 m (156 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 463 km/h (288 mph).
- Typical crew: 4.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Four Super Guppy Turbines were built — the first flying in 1970 — and they took over from NASA's earlier piston Super Guppies. After NASA's needs diminished, Airbus acquired the fleet for transporting fuselage sections, wings, and other large structures between its European production sites. The last example was retired by NASA in 2021.
Variants
The Super Guppy Turbine was the definitive production form; the earlier Super Guppy used Pratt & Whitney T34 turboprops on an extended C-97J airframe.
Where you'll see it
Operated by NASA for Apollo-era and Shuttle hardware transport, and by Airbus for European component logistics until the Beluga fleet took over; one NASA example retired in 2021.
Related aircraft
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