{"id":64581,"date":"2026-04-09T19:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=64581"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:12:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:12:36","slug":"an-inside-look-at-nasas-super-guppy-at-sun-n-fun-in-lakeland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/04\/09\/an-inside-look-at-nasas-super-guppy-at-sun-n-fun-in-lakeland\/","title":{"rendered":"An inside look at NASA\u2019s Super Guppy at SUN \u2018n FUN in Lakeland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The NASA Super Guppy is one of the most striking sights at the 2026 SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo<\/strong> in Lakeland. Known for its massive, bulbous fuselage, this aircraft is more than just an engineering oddity; it is a critical workhorse for the Artemis moon missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are visiting the expo between April 14\u201319<\/strong>, here is what you can expect from an “inside look” at this rare bird.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Iconic Swing-Nose<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most unique feature of the Super Guppy is its hinged nose. To load cargo, the entire front section of the aircraft unhinges and swings open to a 110-degree angle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Engineering Marvel:<\/strong> The nose gear is actually a modified Boeing 747 gear that has been turned backward to facilitate this unique opening mechanism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Public Viewing:<\/strong> At SUN ‘n FUN, the crew typically opens the nose (weather and wind permitting) on the Warbird Ramp<\/strong>, allowing attendees to look directly into the cavernous cargo bay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Inside the Cargo Hold<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The interior dimensions are staggering, designed specifically for cargo that is too tall or wide for traditional transport planes, trains, or tunnels.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    • Dimensions:<\/strong> The cargo bay measures 111 feet long<\/strong> and 25 feet in diameter<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Capacity:<\/strong> It is large enough to carry entire fuselages or two T-38 Talon supersonic trainers at once. Most recently, it has been used to transport the Orion crew capsule<\/strong> and heat shields for the Artemis missions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Loading System:<\/strong> The floor features a specialized rail and roller system. An electric winch beneath the floor moves heavy pallets, which are then secured with automatic hydraulic lock pins for flight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Cockpit and Performance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      While the cargo area is the star, the front of the plane is a “Frankenstein” of aviation history:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      • Hybrid Parts:<\/strong> The engines are from a P-3 Orion, and the propeller blades are sourced from a C-130 Hercules.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Cockpit:<\/strong> Unlike the unpressurized cargo hold, the cockpit is pressurized, allowing the crew of four to operate at a service ceiling of 25,000 feet<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Speed:<\/strong> It cruises at approximately 250 mph<\/strong>, prioritizing volume over velocity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Special Presentation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        For those who want a deeper dive, David Elliott<\/strong> (Super Guppy Program Manager and Lead Flight Engineer) is scheduled to give a presentation on Tuesday, April 14th, at 10:00 AM<\/strong> at The Hangar. He will discuss the specific challenges of flying and loading this one-of-a-kind aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The NASA Super Guppy is one of the most striking sights at the 2026 SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland. Known for its massive, bulbous fuselage, this aircraft is… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"7254","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDRcL3N1cGVyX2d1cHB5X2NlYl82MjMxLndlYnA_Zml0PTEwMjQlMkM2ODMmc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJBbiBpbnNpZGUgbG9vayBhdCBOQVNBXHUyMDE5cyBTdXBlciBHdXBweSBhdCBTVU4gXHUyMDE4biBGVU4gaW4gTGFrZWxhbmQiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImRvaXMiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.3kjqZ6-IP7XSImbDVPXgyxcZCz48VZyPH-BI-oO0HLMMQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzA0XC9zdXBlcl9ndXBweV9jZWJfNjIzMS0xMDI0eDY4My53ZWJwIiwidHh0IjoiQW4gaW5zaWRlIGxvb2sgYXQgTkFTQVx1MjAxOXMgU3VwZXIgR3VwcHkgYXQgU1VOIFx1MjAxOG4gRlVOIGluIExha2VsYW5kIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJkb2lzIiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.kYEKT2J2JUpOOXlJt3sq6bKJ-wXe76Yj-waKSvxieV4MQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[7254],"tags":[14335],"class_list":["post-64581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sun-n-fun","tag-an-inside-look-at-nasas-super-guppy-at-sun-n-fun-in-lakeland"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64581"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64585,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64581\/revisions\/64585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}