"Hauling the Hulk"
We received this photo essay from Ron Jones. Here's his report:
Greetings!
While at an airshow in Muscle Shoals, Alabama I heard on a handhead radio a position
report of a Guppy that was inbound to the Muscle Shoals (Alabama) airport. Since
the airshow was over the airport had just reopened and so my brother-in-law and
I questioned each other about the transmission that we had just heard. We were
surprised when in fact the Mini Guppy owned by Erickson landed in much the same
way as in the video clip that you have on your web
site.
(21K & 26K JPG images)
After
taxiing to the ramp where we hangared our airplane we were invited to a self guided
tour of this plane after the engines had shut down. I can't remember the exact
date but it was in 90 or 91. The Guppy was at Muscle Shoals for several days as
a crew dismantled a Skycrane and mounted it in a cradle which was then loaded
in the Guppy for a flight to South America.
(29K, 39K & 93K JPG images)
Since
the fuel hose wasn't long enough they had the ramp tug pull them closer to the
fuel pumps. I don't recall how much fuel they took but when it was time to pull
it back the tug didn't have the traction to move it. A bunch of us airport bums
had to stand on the back of the tug to finally get the Guppy moving. The final
shot is of the Skycrane with the logo "Incredible Hulk" on the nose, Several years
later I was driving from Lake Tahoe, Ca. to San Francisco and stopped to watch
a Skycrane hauling logs out of the mountains, clearly visible on the nose was
the logo "Incredible Hulk".
(44K & 53K JPG images)
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Copyright © 2006 Daren Savage
All Rights Reserved
Greetings!
While at an airshow in Muscle Shoals, Alabama I heard on a handhead radio a position
report of a Guppy that was inbound to the Muscle Shoals (Alabama) airport. Since
the airshow was over the airport had just reopened and so my brother-in-law and
I questioned each other about the transmission that we had just heard. We were
surprised when in fact the Mini Guppy owned by Erickson landed in much the same
way as in the video clip that you have on your web
site.
After
taxiing to the ramp where we hangared our airplane we were invited to a self guided
tour of this plane after the engines had shut down. I can't remember the exact
date but it was in 90 or 91. The Guppy was at Muscle Shoals for several days as
a crew dismantled a Skycrane and mounted it in a cradle which was then loaded
in the Guppy for a flight to South America.
Since
the fuel hose wasn't long enough they had the ramp tug pull them closer to the
fuel pumps. I don't recall how much fuel they took but when it was time to pull
it back the tug didn't have the traction to move it. A bunch of us airport bums
had to stand on the back of the tug to finally get the Guppy moving. The final
shot is of the Skycrane with the logo "Incredible Hulk" on the nose, Several years
later I was driving from Lake Tahoe, Ca. to San Francisco and stopped to watch
a Skycrane hauling logs out of the mountains, clearly visible on the nose was
the logo "Incredible Hulk".