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| Founded by John M. Conroy, who had been responsible for development of the outsize Pregnant Guppy and its successor for Aero Spacelines Inc., the Conroy Aircraft Corporation intended to specialise in the development and conversion of existing aircraft. Its work has included the Conroy/Douglas Turbo Three, a convertion of the remarkable DC-3 to turboprop powerplant. This involved the installation of two 1193kW Rolls-Royce RDa.6 Dart Mk 510 turbo-props in new nacelles, each driving a Rotol four-blade propeller. The initial Turbo Three conversion was flown for the first time on 13 May 1969.
Work on the DC-3 was followed by a new large-capacity conversion of a Canadair CL-44 long-range freighter. To achieve this the upper half of the standard fuselage was removed, being replaced by a new pressurised structure
that provided a maximum internal height of 4.24m, almost doubling the volume of the cargo compartment. Designated Conroy/Canadair
CL-44-0, the original conversion was flown for the first time on 26 November 1969 and since October 1982 has been operated by HeavyLift Cargo Airlines from their base at Stansted.
| Malcolm Porter, e-mail, 28.06.2017 22:34 During the past few weeks, I have taken several telephone
calls from former Association mem reply | | Tim O'Bryan, e-mail, 24.04.2017 22:18 I helped design, and worked on, the Turbo-3, Stolifter, and the CL-44. Jack and I were good friends, and I worked for him for a couple of years. Built, with help, about 1 /4 of the CL-44,s fuselage top. Fire guard for first flight.
Lots of memories. reply | | Peter van Leeuwen, e-mail, 05.02.2009 19:23 For a complete history and Photographs of this great airliner please go to www.swingtail.com, see s /n 16. and survivors page. reply | | cl44 association, e-mail, 02.02.2009 18:15 Would George Warner or Bob Kirby PLEASE get in touch witht he Association-love to hear from them prior to the release of the Summer Edition of the Newsletter. reply | |
| | CL44 Association, e-mail, 24.11.2008 13:44 The Guppy is still in one piece George (19.7.08)-If you would like to know the latest 44 news, do get in touch with us-we have lots of Flying Tiger /Slick members in the USA (including Bob 'The Stick' above).
Next newsletter due in Jan 09 with a report on the 08 re union in London. reply | | Robert Stickler, e-mail, 10.08.2008 01:00 I flew this aircraft when it was leased to TransMeridian Airlines out of Stansted in the early 70's. I was a furloughed pilot for Flying Tigers at the time. It flew quite well with the enlarged fuselage. The actual speeds of the original CL-44 were about the same. Biggest problem was trying to stay warm. it seems the heating system was a little inadequate for the size of the cargo section.. great times flying with those Englishmen. Party party... there was a web site for transmeridian. www.cl44.org. not sure its still up... reply | | George Warner, e-mail, 19.07.2008 17:43 Bob Kirby and I have written a book detailing our 4 year experience working with Jack Conroy. We built the thing. Bob was the Director of Research and Development, and I was the Purchasing Agent....beginning to end. reply |
| Aero-Fox, 20.03.2008 05:46 It has turboprops. Jets with external props out on the end. They're widely used in large aircraft in which speed is not paramount. reply | | nathan, e-mail, 22.07.2007 06:38 why does the airplane have propellers insted of jet engines????? reply |
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All the World's Rotorcraft |
George I was a young airframe worker when I went work for Aero Spacelines building the Guppy. My father, Jack Yeager who had worked for Douglas and Boeing was working for Jack and brought me on. When Jack left Aero Spacelines we went with him along with a few others. When the Stolifter splashed in I when out of the helicopter to help secure things. Lots of great memories. Thanks for keeping this Era in aeronautics alive.
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