Conroy Aircraft

Conroy Aircraft

The Conroy Turbo Three in its original state fitted with two Rolls Royce Darts when exhibited at the 1969 Paris Air Show

Conroy Aircraft was a US aircraft manufacturer founded by John M. Conroy in Goleta, California in 1968 after Conroy's resignation as President of Aero Spacelines. The company imitated Aero Spacelines' success with its Guppy aircraft by converting a Canadair CL-44 to carry oversized cargo as the Conroy Skymonster.

In 1969 the company then tried to make a name for itself in turboprop conversions to aircraft such as the Cessna Skymaster (as the Stolifter), Douglas DC-3 (as the Turbo Three and the Tri-Turbo-Three), and Grumman Albatross (as the Turbo Albatross),and a turboprop conversion of a C-119 Flying Boxcar but none of these progressed past the prototype stage. The company dissolved in 1972, at which time Conroy founded Specialized Aircraft, and moved to Camarillo airport, Camarillo, CA.

Turbo-Three Corporation

Main article: Conroy Turbo Three

Conroy formed the Turbo-Three Corp. to support his aircraft; Turbo-Three proposed the Conroy Virtus aircraft to NASA for use as a Space Shuttle carrier aircraft, but the design was not taken up. Turbo-Three Corporation ceased operations sometime around the death of Conroy and the rejection of the Tri Turbo-Three by the FAA in 1979.

References

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