Now United looking at CSeries & E2
04-23-2018, 01:37 PM
#121
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There was an early 737 that got modified to have a big bulge to fly NASA rocket sections. A NASA engineer at Huntsville seeing it land for the first time shook his head. He said he did not see how it could fly. It looked like a pregnant guppy to him. The name stuck. 
That is the story I was told.
That is the story I was told.
04-24-2018, 05:34 AM
#122
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Posts: 264
There was an early 737 that got modified to have a big bulge to fly NASA rocket sections. A NASA engineer at Huntsville seeing it land for the first time shook his head. He said he did not see how it could fly. It looked like a pregnant guppy to him. The name stuck.
That is the story I was told.
That is the story I was told.
Close, but no cigar. The original aircraft was a Boeing 377.
https://interestingengineering.com/m...t-in-the-world. NASA never used 737s to transport booster sections.
The reason the 737 is called a guppy at United comes from the largest aircraft, in the inventory (the 747) being called a "whale". Naturally the smallest was the 737-100 and 200. It was called the "guppy". It seems to be a United thing. No other airlines call their 737s guppy.
04-24-2018, 06:20 AM
#124
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Posts: 332
Close, but no cigar. The original aircraft was a Boeing 377.
https://interestingengineering.com/m...t-in-the-world. NASA never used 737s to transport booster sections.
The reason the 737 is called a guppy at United comes from the largest aircraft, in the inventory (the 747) being called a "whale". Naturally the smallest was the 737-100 and 200. It was called the "guppy". It seems to be a United thing. No other airlines call their 737s guppy.
https://interestingengineering.com/m...t-in-the-world. NASA never used 737s to transport booster sections.
The reason the 737 is called a guppy at United comes from the largest aircraft, in the inventory (the 747) being called a "whale". Naturally the smallest was the 737-100 and 200. It was called the "guppy". It seems to be a United thing. No other airlines call their 737s guppy.
And the reason many ex CAL pilots don't find the term as endearing as their L-UAL brethren has to do with the repeated comments during the merger/SLI talks of "all they are bringing to the merger are a bunch of guppies". I can't tell you how many times I heard that phrase loudly exclaimed around 2012-2014. Me personally, I find aircraft nicknames about as silly as 50 somethings carrying around backpacks in uniform at work. It is a personal preference.
04-24-2018, 06:25 AM
#125
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And the reason many ex CAL pilots don't find the term as endearing as their L-UAL brethren has to do with the repeated comments during the merger/SLI talks of "all they are bringing to the merger are a bunch of guppies". I can't tell you how many times I heard that phrase loudly exclaimed around 2012-2014. Me personally, I find aircraft nicknames about as silly as 50 somethings carrying around backpacks in uniform at work. It is a personal preference.
I served my time in the Guppy.
04-24-2018, 06:30 AM
#126
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Close, but no cigar. The original aircraft was a Boeing 377.
https://interestingengineering.com/m...t-in-the-world. NASA never used 737s to transport booster sections.
The reason the 737 is called a guppy at United comes from the largest aircraft, in the inventory (the 747) being called a "whale". Naturally the smallest was the 737-100 and 200. It was called the "guppy". It seems to be a United thing. No other airlines call their 737s guppy.
https://interestingengineering.com/m...t-in-the-world. NASA never used 737s to transport booster sections.
The reason the 737 is called a guppy at United comes from the largest aircraft, in the inventory (the 747) being called a "whale". Naturally the smallest was the 737-100 and 200. It was called the "guppy". It seems to be a United thing. No other airlines call their 737s guppy.
04-24-2018, 07:04 AM
#127
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04-24-2018, 07:59 AM
#128
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Posts: 5,244
And the reason many ex CAL pilots don't find the term as endearing as their L-UAL brethren has to do with the repeated comments during the merger/SLI talks of "all they are bringing to the merger are a bunch of guppies". I can't tell you how many times I heard that phrase loudly exclaimed around 2012-2014. Me personally, I find aircraft nicknames about as silly as 50 somethings carrying around backpacks in uniform at work. It is a personal preference.
04-24-2018, 09:20 AM
#129
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04-24-2018, 10:25 AM
#130
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Posts: 332
In some cases, no doubt. All I’m saying is if one is wondering why the majority of former CAL pilots have a sour taste about the nickname, the reason why dates back to the merger and the name throwing etc that pilots naturally engage in during mergers. I don’t and didn’t take it personally.
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