Conroy Tri-Turbo-Three
Encyclopedia
The Conroy Tri-Turbo-Three was a Douglas DC-3
fitted with three Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6
engines by Conroy Aircraft
; the third engine was mounted on the nose of the aircraft. It first flew on November 2, 1977. The cruise speed of the aircraft was increased to 230 miles per hour (102.8 m/s). The engine mounted on the nose could be shut off, decreasing the speed to 180 miles per hour (80.5 m/s) and increasing the range of the aircraft. It was used by Polair and Maritime Patrol And Rescue. It was fitted with skis for use in Polar regions and flew in the North Pole region out of Resolute Bay Canada. It was uniquely suited for flying long distances and landing on rough, unprepared snow runways.
It provided support to the first non-government expeditions to Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and was instrumental in opening up the interior of Antarctica to private expeditions and tourism*. In early May 1986 workers at the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport accidentally started a fire in the cockpit of the aircraft, which destroyed the cockpit. A second Tri-Turbo-Three was then manufactured out of the wreckage of the old plane and a different airframe.
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
fitted with three Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is one of the most popular turboprop aircraft engines in history, and is produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. The PT6 family is particularly well known for its extremely high reliability, with MTBO's on the order of 9000 hours in some models. In US military use, they...
engines by 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...
; the third engine was mounted on the nose of the aircraft. It first flew on November 2, 1977. The cruise speed of the aircraft was increased to 230 miles per hour (102.8 m/s). The engine mounted on the nose could be shut off, decreasing the speed to 180 miles per hour (80.5 m/s) and increasing the range of the aircraft. It was used by Polair and Maritime Patrol And Rescue. It was fitted with skis for use in Polar regions and flew in the North Pole region out of Resolute Bay Canada. It was uniquely suited for flying long distances and landing on rough, unprepared snow runways.
It provided support to the first non-government expeditions to Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and was instrumental in opening up the interior of Antarctica to private expeditions and tourism*. In early May 1986 workers at the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport accidentally started a fire in the cockpit of the aircraft, which destroyed the cockpit. A second Tri-Turbo-Three was then manufactured out of the wreckage of the old plane and a different airframe.