Rather ordinary looking white and maroon T-hangars located on the premises of El Paso International Airport have a special place in my heart. Not only do they bring a familiar and peaceful sensation of "being home" to me, the whole setting of this particular airport is charming and speaks to me like no other place does. Nothing beats the picture of the Franklin Mountains in near proximity to the airport and airplanes in the beautiful southwestern sky. I count my blessings each and every time we hop in our golf cart, tune the radio to tower and listen to it as we cruise between the hangars while enjoying the views of the ATC tower with airplanes landing and taking off. (Special metaphysical note from the author: Dear Mighty Universe, I know I have made a lot of requests already, but please, do not ever take THIS away from me.)

However, that is not all. KELP is also the location of the proud NASA base for (as some of the crew members like to call her "our little silver fish") the B377-SG - NASA's Super Guppy.

Who would ever guess that our big small town of El Paso with its cozy airport hides such gem? How awesome is it the enormous beluga-shaped aircraft calls El Paso International Airport her home? VERY! With the wing span of more than 156 feet and 25-foot diameter cargo bay, this big lady has been my target of interest since I first saw her. Imagine, this B377-SG played a crucial role in the Space Race and until today she still secures transport of large components for NASA, the Air Force and the Navy (https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/Features/super_guppy.html, 2022).

Many times, we have watched her from a distance from the T-hangars and also from a bird's perspective while taking off or landing. She is almost like the lighthouse. Always there, always welcoming us, she waves good-bye as she patiently and quietly watches over the T-hangars and the sky. I used to wonder if I would ever get to see the Super Guppy fly too. Then one early morning Jimmy the Squirrel and I were sweeping our hangar when I heard a very strange noise I could not identify. I only knew something huge was about takeoff and I had to see what it was. As I was trying to figure out which runway was hosting this big bird for takeoff while squinting my eyes into the distance and extending my neck as much as I could, a big shining blip appeared on the horizon. The Super Guppy was on the roll!

"Super Guppy is taking off, she is taking off!", with the broom in one hand and protective dust glasses on my nose I started hopping around in pure excitement. If Jimmy the Squirrel did not know what was going on he could have easily thought I was trying to fly that darn broom.

Broom - CHECK.

Protective glasses - CHECK.

Czech chick check list - CHECK.

That would be probably the shortest checklist in the history of aviation if I ever got airborne.

While as a photographer I failed every single time when Super Guppy was getting airborne, I made up in the department of being very close to her while on the ground. Thank you, Jimmy the Squirrel, Super Guppy Air Crew Member, and of course the Mighty Universe for making this happen.

Then I did something that blew my mind, I looked up. To be so close and just staring up was something! This bird is massive! I was fed with so many interesting facts about her and do I remember any of those? NO! I was completely lost in sponging that amazing experience I had to go to nasa.gov webpage and re-dig some of those facts for ya, folks.

I needed to get all kinds of intriguing angles that would summarize how small we were and how huge she was. I was by the tail and her back again which reminded me of orca the killer whale (which is not a whale of course, as we all know, orca belongs to the dolphin family, duh).

The doors were opened and we were invited for a sneak peek inside.

To be continued ...