Surviving C-97s/KC-97s/Guppys

JohnB · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2015 1:52 pm

I just bought the new book The 377 Stratocruiser & KC-97 Stratofreighter by Bill Yenne.

I haven't gotten very far into it but one glaring error I did notice was its list of survivors.
It lists only 14: Dover(ex-Beale), Charlotte, Castle, Dyess, Grissom, March, Spain, Robins, W-P, Pima (only says they have one, not two), Medford, SAC Museum, Whiteman, Volk Field.
Even cutting and pasting from Wiki would give you a better list.

Others I know of but not mentioned in the book:
Berlin Airlift Organization's aircraft (soon to fly)
Clay Lcey's potential flier (Still at Graybull?)
Colorado Springs restaurant
Wisconsin Motel
Lancaster, CA
Barksdale,LA
Chanute (any idea on its future...probably not looking good).
Minn ANG museum
Great Falls, MT (still there?)
Israel
Wiki also has:"52-2694– Located at Grant County International Airport, Moses Lake, Washington. Seen wearing civil registration N31338". It's not there, unless it's in a big hangar. Anyone know what happened to it?

Also, where are the surviving Guppys? Oregon, NASA, Airbus (?)

Please feel free to comment or add to the list. I thought there were a few more than that.

Elwyn · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2015 2:11 pm

Pima has one Guppy.

67N20 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2015 3:15 pm

NASA has a Guppy, see it at EFD every so often. According to a posting in the Chanute Air Museum topic here, the C97 at there will have some parts removed and the rest scrapped.

blurrkup · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2015 4:04 pm

There is a Super Guppy at Bruntingthorpe in the UK.

JohnB · **Posted:** Mon Aug 17, 2015 5:30 pm

Bump

Anyone care to confirm ships on my list?

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1657

JohnB wrote:

Bump

Anyone care to confirm ships on my list?

I can confirm sightings of Airbus SG's at Hamburg, Toulouse (in the new Aeroscopia museum) and at Bruntingthorpe, UK. The former two are in good shape and indoors too!

There was talk of an ex-Israeli C-97 being recovered recently (it was described as a Stratocruiser) ex-South/Central America too, but I suspect it has little substance. I may be wrong.

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1657

JohnB wrote:

I just bought the new book The 377 Stratocruiser & KC-97 Stratofreighter by Bill Yenne.

I haven't gotten very far into it but one glaring error I did notice was its list of survivors.
It lists only 14: Dover(ex-Beale), Charlotte, Castle, Dyess, Grissom, March, Spain, Robins, W-P, Pima (only says they have one, not two), Medford, SAC Museum, Whiteman, Volk Field.
Even cutting and pasting from Wiki would give you a better list.

Others I know of but not mentioned in the book:
Berlin Airlift Organization's aircraft (soon to fly)
Clay Lcey's potential flier (Still at Graybull?)
Colorado Springs restaurant
Wisconsin Motel
Lancaster, CA
Barksdale,LA
Chanute (any idea on its future...probably not looking good).
Minn ANG museum
Great Falls, MT (still there?)
Israel
Wiki also has:"52-2694– Located at Grant County International Airport, Moses Lake, Washington. Seen wearing civil registration N31338". It's not there, unless it's in a big hangar. Anyone know what happened to it?

Also, where are the surviving Guppys? Oregon, NASA, Airbus (?)

Please feel free to comment or add to the list. I thought there were a few more than that.

Been to Great Falls a couple times and can't recall seeing a C-97 there. Nice ANG collection though.

rwdfresno · **Posted:** Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:40 am

Erickson Air Crane has a Mini Guppy in Tillamook, OR

sandiego89 · **Joined:** Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm **Posts:** 1208

JohnB wrote:

Bump

Anyone care to confirm ships on my list?

I can confirm the Colorado Spring restaurant with my own eyes recently.

Recent Google/Bing images seem to show 5 at Greybull.

I also nominate the "wind deck machine" at China Lake NAS. 52-2669 KC-97G-26-BO

p51 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 18, 2015 5:51 pm

JohnB wrote:

Also, where are the surviving Guppys? Oregon, NASA, Airbus (?)

NASA 941 is based out of Ellington Field, Texas, right down the road from Johnson Space Center and it does get flown more than some people think: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA941

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:35 pm

RE: the NASA Guppy....

A guy tells his new neighbor he flies for NASA.
"Astronaut?, Test Pilot?" the neighbor asks.
"No, " he says, "I fly a 60 year-old Boeing".

Oh well, we all can't be famous.

Still, I'm rather envious.

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1657

sandiego89 wrote:

JohnB wrote:

Bump

[b]
I also nominate the "wind deck machine" at China Lake NAS. 52-2669 KC-97G-26-BO

Not still there surely? It looked on its last legs in the '80s!

sandiego89 · **Joined:** Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm **Posts:** 1208

quemerford wrote:

sandiego89 wrote:

JohnB wrote:

Bump

[b]
I also nominate the "wind deck machine" at China Lake NAS. 52-2669 KC-97G-26-BO

Not still there surely? It looked on its last legs in the '80s!

She looks to still be there, along with some other gems...

Google maps

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6777364 ... a=!3m1!1e3

lat/long: 35.67770, -117.6769

sandiego89 · **Joined:** Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm **Posts:** 1208

67N20 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 19, 2015 4:14 pm

p51 wrote:

JohnB wrote:

Also, where are the surviving Guppys? Oregon, NASA, Airbus (?)

NASA 941 is based out of Ellington Field, Texas, right down the road from Johnson Space Center and it does get flown more than some people think: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA941

The NASA one has not been kept at EFD for several years now, I think it is based at El Paso. I assume they want to keep it further from the gulf coast.

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