What if we...

Drawings

Pregnant Guppy?!!
This is the original concept for envisioned for what would become the Pregnant Guppy. The drawing on the left depicts the removal/ replacement procedure of the upper fuselage.

The artist's concept on the right is a composite of a Stratocruiser in flight with the new upper fuselage "retouched" into the picture that was comissioned as a part of the presentation given to Werner Von Braun to sell him on the Guppy concept for transporting Saturn rocket stages.
(37K & 63K JPG images)

Guppys on Ice!
These artist's conception drawings are just that; "artist's conceptions" and are presented for your entertainment. Typically when artwork was needed for a promotion, an artist was called in on perhaps say Tuesday, with instructions that such and such was needed by that Friday resulting in the finished drawings presented on this page. This does not detract from the quality of the artist's work, all of which are quite detailed and clearly drawn. Enjoy!
(37K JPG image)

Swing-Tail C-97!
We don't know the story behind this one, but we thought it was entertaining enough to be featured on this page (where would you put it?). Look closely at the name on the fuselage!
(21K JPG image)

377MG Mini Guppy!
Many different cargos were envisioned for the Mini Guppy from industrial machinery seen in the drawing on the left, to a load of UH-1 Huey helicopters as depicted in the drawing on the right.
(30K & 33K JPG images)

377MGT Mini Guppy Turbine!
(35K JPG image)

377SGT Super Guppy Turbine!
(23K JPG image)

Heavy-Lift SGT!
If four turboprops are good, six must be better, right? Note in the drawing on the left the relocated nose-gear for simplified loading.
(36K & 52K JPG images)

707 Jet Guppy!
Kind of looks like a Beluga, huh? About 30 years before!
(23K JPG image)

B-52 Strato-Guppy!
How about using the famous lifting capability of the B-52 Stratofortress for a base airframe? What if an extra 4 engines were added?
(44K JPG image)

B-747 Jumbo-Guppy!
This proposed Guppy looks even more like a Beluga than the 707 Guppy! Notice the top loading fuselage and the dropped cockpit (Which incidently is from a Stratocruiser. A definite ASI touch!) and the size of the payload bay. A whopping 330 inches (27.5 feet) wide deck which was proposed to be 157 feet long with a maximum diameter of approximately 36 feet!
(97K JPG image)

Conroy Colossus!
The world's largest commercial cargo aircraft will be constructed by Conroy Aircraft of Santa Barbara, Calif. Capable of carrying a payload of 65,000 lbs., the aircraft will have a cargo compsrtment 25 ft. 6 in. high, 25 ft. 2 in. wide and 113 ft. 2 in. long. A larger version of the company's previous modification of a Canadair CL-44, the Colossus is designed to transport airbus components and space hardware.
(55K & 77K JPG images)

Conroy Heli-Guppy !
A modification of the Sikorsky Skycrane, capable of transporting fuselage sections of the new generation of large aircraft, is undergoing evaluation. Design criteria include a payload capability of approximately 18,000 pounds and diameters up to 20 feet. The Skycrane has great versatility and may be readily converted to many uses. It is expected to play a major role in specialized air transportation for the aerospace industry as well as for the construction, petroleum and other industries.
(59K JPG image)

Super-big Guppys!
These concepts were envisioned for lifting the massive loads such as the first and second stages of the Saturn 1B and Saturn V lunar rockets! This is obviously an early design as it only calls out for what appears to be a paltry 6 radial engines.
(47K JPG image)

Super Guppy follow up
It was to be built up from surplus DC-7s with a total of 10 engines and a gap of 40 feet between wings. An engineering model was built and tested at LTV and it flew well but the project was scrapped.
(37K JPG image)

Un-named Transport
This conception appears to have the Stratocruiser wing with B-52 engine and nacelles and a purpose built fuselage!
(26K JPG image)

TIFS! (Total In-Flight Simulator)
Not really a Guppy, but it is another first for Aero Spacelines! This design was actually built with the Allison turboprops replacing the orignal radial engines. This idea has been adopted by many other manufacturers for safe in-flight training for both airplanes and helicopters.
(23K JPG image)

TIFS looking inside!
Mating a Convair 340 with a Boeing 707 nose. The details in this drawing are amazing. Note that the artist even included details of the controls surfaces' actuators.
(35K JPG image)

Long Nose TIFS!
Same idea, but for SST/Concorde type training
(28K JPG image)