Modern-Aviation

The Hughes H-4 Hercules (also known as the Spruce Goose; registration NX37602) is a prototype strategic airlift flying boat designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company. Intended as a transatlantic flight transport for use during World War II, it was not completed in time to be used in the war. The aircraft made only one brief flight on November 2, 1947, and the project never advanced beyond the single example produced. Built from wood because of wartime restrictions on the use of aluminum and concerns about weight, it was nicknamed by critics the Spruce Goose, although it was made almost entirely of birch. The Hercules is the largest flying boat ever built, and it has the largest wingspan of any aircraft that has ever flown. It remains in good condition and is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, United States.

The cargo-type flying boat was designed to carry 750 fully equipped troops or two Sherman tanks over long distances. It has a single hull, eight radial engines, a single vertical tail, fixed wingtip floats, and full cantilever wing and tail surfaces. The entire airframe and surface structures are composed of laminated wood and all primary control surfaces, except the flaps, are fabric covered. The aircraft's hull includes a flight deck for the operating crew and a large cargo hold. A circular stairway connects the two compartments. Fuel bays, divided by watertight bulkheads, are below the cargo hold.

Howard Hughes was called to testify before the Senate War Investigating Committee in 1947 over the use of government funds for the aircraft. During a Senate hearing on August 6, 1947 (the first of a series of appearances), Hughes said:

"The Hercules was a monumental undertaking. It is the largest aircraft ever built. It is over five stories tall with a wingspan longer than a football field. That's more than a city block. Now, I put the sweat of my life into this thing. I have my reputation all rolled up in it and I have stated several times that if it's a failure, I'll probably leave this country and never come back. And I mean it."

In all, development cost for the plane reached $23 million(equivalent to more than $283 million in 2016.

General characteristics
Crew: three
Length: 218 ft 8 in (66.65 m)
Wingspan: 320 ft 11 in (97.54 m)
Height: 79 ft 4 in (24.18 m)
Fuselage height: 30 ft (9.1 m)
Empty weight: 250,000 lb (113,399 kg)
Loaded weight: 400,000 lb (180,000 kg)
Powerplant: 8 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial
engines, 3,000 hp (2,640 kW) each
Propellers: four-bladed Hamilton Standard, prop, one per
engine
Propeller diameter: 17 ft 2 in (5.23 m)