The Conroy Tri-Turbo-Three was a
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...
fitted with three
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...
engines by
Conroy Aircraft
Conroy Aircraft was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by John M. Conroy in Goleta, California, in 1968 after he resigned as president of Aero Spacelines. The company imitated Aero Spacelines' success with its Guppy aircraft by converting ...
; the third engine was mounted on the nose of the aircraft.
Design and development
First flown on 2 November 1977,
[''Air International'' November 1978, p. 252.] the cruise speed of the aircraft was increased to . The engine mounted on the nose could be shut off, decreasing the speed to and increasing the range of the aircraft. It was used by
Polair and
Maritime Patrol and Rescue. It was fitted with skis for use in polar regions and flew in the North Pole region out of
Resolute Bay Airport in Canada. It was uniquely suited for flying long distances and landing on rough, unprepared snow runways.
In this role it was instrumental in opening up the interior of
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
to private expeditions and tourism.
Most notable was a 1983 expedition transporting eight members of the
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Climbing the Seven Summits ...
expedition, plus a crew of three, to the Antarctic for a first-ever assault on
Mount Vinson.
In early May 1986 workers at the
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is west of downtown Santa Barbara, California, United States. SBA covers 948 acres (384 ha) of land and has three runways.
It is near the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the city of Goleta. The ...
accidentally started a fire in the cockpit of this aircraft, which destroyed the cockpit. A second Tri-Turbo-Three was then manufactured out of the wreckage of the old plane and a different airframe.
Specifications
See also
References
* "Airdata File: Specialized Aircraft Tri Turbo-3". ''
Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fi ...
'', November 1978, Vol 15 No 5. p. 252.
*
Gunston, Bill. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Propeller Airliners''. London: Windward/Phoebus, 1980. .
External links
''Tri-Turbo 3''Goleta Air and Space Museum
{{Douglas DC-3 family
1970s United States airliners
Tri-Turbo-Three
Trimotors
Low-wing aircraft
Three-engined turboprop aircraft
Douglas DC-3
Aircraft first flown in 1977