Wonder if this Super Guppy is the same aircraft thst flew Titan missile parts thru Stapleton airport in the 60s, that aircraft was noted for being grossly underpowered, i believe it was a converted DC7

Super Guppy Swallows T-38s; Heads for El Paso. Two NASA T-38 aircraft were swallowed whole by NASA's Super Guppy recently on Dryden Flight Research Center's back ramp. The Guppy then airlifted the two retired T-38s to El Paso, Texas, where they will be dismantled for parts to keep other T-38s flown by NASA's Johnson Space Center flyable. Only the T-38s' wingtips were removed to enable them to fit in the Guppy's 25-foot-wide cargo bay.

I used to see these planes come in for a landing when I was growing up in San Diego. I had no idea that they were still flying. It seems strange that the whole front of the plane hinges open. All the flight controls and cables must be on the hinged side.

How SEXY were the post-WW2 years known as the 1950s and 1960s? Just look at the following from any and all angles: T-38 Talon, SR-71 Blackbird, A-4 Skyhawk, Concorde SST, English Electric Lightning, Saab 35 Draken... and... Saturn V! SCHWING!

I like the way NASA left one of their Gulfstream IIIs there, but forgot to e-mail me with the news that Fed.gov was going to cover all expenses in getting me type-rated in both the G3 and the T-38... they owe me.

Because the T-38's aren't air worthy anymore meaning they have stress fractures in the wings or aircraft body. They can't fly them there. The 747 that carried the shuttle was only meant to carry the shuttle, not these. The T-38's haven't flown for several years and have already been decommissioned. Ellington probably doesn't have the necessary resources to dismantle planes like this. It was cheaper to do it this way, trust me, NASA already went through the costs and this was the cheapest.