Behemoth Supper Guppy to Land in Long Beach

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a Guppy!?!

Actually, it’s NASA’s Super Guppy Turbine, and it’s floating into the Long Beach Airport at noon Monday.

The B-377-SGT, which is used to transport large cargo to the International Space

Station will stay in Long Beach for about 24 hours. Just one of five ever built, the plane is the only one still in operation, and it’s one of the largest aircraft to ever land in Long Beach.

According to the airport’s blog, “The enormous Super Guppy is famous for its massive cargo area with a diameter of 25 feet, an overall cargo volume of 49,750 cubic feet and a whopping total height of 48 ft. and 6 inches – over ten feet taller than the Boeing 377 on which the Super Guppy is based.”

The last time it landed in Long Beach, it had delivered parts for the Apollo moon mission.

The aeronautic beast comes with quite an entourage including a Discovery Channel film crew, which is documenting the Guppy’s journey.

Airport officials are encouraging onlookers to tweet their observations and photos using the hashtag #SuperGuppyLGB.

Photo: Supper Guppy Turbine. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons