Aero Spacelines
Encyclopedia
History
Aero Spacelines was formed with only one customer in mind - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA required a way to transport their out-sized cargo from their manufacturing plants to Cape Canaveral, FloridaCape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
. Their freight shipments were too large to be safely transported by rail or truck. Shipping by sea would be time consuming, expensive, and there was the ever present danger of damaging the shipments if on turbulent seas. The only viable means of transporting NASA's cargo was by air. However, due to the immense diameter of the componets, no existing aircraft was capable of accomplishing the task.
John M. Conroy
John M. Conroy
John "Jack" Michael Conroy developed the Pregnant Guppy cargo plane for Aero Spacelines and later founded Conroy Aircraft to build the Conroy Skymonster...
, aka Jack, an ex-United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
pilot, and Lee Mansdorf, an aircraft salesman and entrepreneur, formulated the Guppy concept one evening over dinner. It was decided a company needed to be established to manufacturer outsized aircraft. Conroy was successful in hiring Robert W. Lillibridge for the position of Vice President Manufacturing and Engineering. Jack continued assembling a team of talented and dedicated workers for the new project. Financing for the organization was provided by venture capitalist William Ballon, a WWII combat veteran from the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
. Once the company was established at Van Nuys Airport, California, Aero Spacelines began engineering the successful transformation of the B377 Stratocruiser into the Pregnant Guppy.
Wernher Von Braun toured the Van Nuys manufacturing facility during the construction of the Pregnant Guppy. He stated he was amazed by the immense size of the airplane. Von Braun said he was thoroughly convinced the aircraft would be able to transport the largest of NASA's cargo.
Among the earliest of NASA'S shipments utilizing the Pregnant Guppy were the first and second stages of the Gemini Program's Titan II GVL from the Martin Co. in Baltimore, Maryland, to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Subsequent versions of the Guppy series transported the S-IVB, the third stage of the Saturn booster from California to Florida. In addition to carrying NASA's varied componets for the space program, Conroy Aircraft personnel took great pride in having transported the Lunar Excursion Module to Cape Kennedy from Bethpage, New York.
For definitive detail and drawings of the Super Guppy, see Wikipedia article Italic text Aero Spacelines Super Guppy.Italic text
In 1967, Aero Spacelines encountered financial difficulties and was acquired by Unexcelled Inc. That corporation sold to Tracor Aviation.
Jack Conroy organized a new company, Conroy Aircraft
Conroy Aircraft
Conroy Aircraft was a US aircraft manufacturer founded by John M. Conroy in Goleta, California in 1965 on the sale of Aero Spacelines. The company imitated Aero Spacelines' success with its Guppy aircraft by converting a Canadair CL-44 to carry oversized cargo as the Conroy Skymonster...
, located at the Santa Barbara Airport, California. Bob Lillibridge once more assumed the responsibility of engineering and manufacturing. Conroy Aircraft produced additional aircraft conversions. One program provided another successful airplane for transporting over-sized cargo. It was the modification of the Canadian swingtail aircraft, the Canadair CL-44
Canadair CL-44
The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
. It resembled one of the Guppy series planes and became known as the Skymonster. The Skymonster became the property of Trans Meridian Air Cargo and was based at Stansted Airport, Southend on Sea, England.
By November 1968, NASA had paid Aero Spacelines $11,591,633 in contracts.
List of aircraft
Aero Spacelines produced three Guppy aircraft models while it was in business.- Pregnant GuppyAero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy|-See also:-External links:* by Boeing. Retrieved October 5, 2006.* , by Daren Savage. Updated September 17, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2006.* by Robert S. Tripp. Written Spring 2002. Retrieved October 5, 2006....
(1962) - Super GuppyAero Spacelines Super Guppy|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography*Taylor, Michael J.H. . Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Studio Editions. London. 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8-External links:* * *...
(1965) - Mini GuppyAero Spacelines Mini GuppyThe Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy is a large, wide-bodied US cargo aircraft used for aerial transport of outsized cargo components. The Mini Guppy is only one of the Guppy line of aircraft produced by Aero Spacelines, Inc..-Mini Guppy versions:...
(1967)