H- 4 Hercules (Spruce Goose)

Howard Hughes is contracted to build the world's largest plane by the US Government

[@mitchelvalentino1569]

Howard Hughes. A great visionary. A great engineer. A great pilot. Thank you for uploading this!

[@Airbaja]

You are most welcome, thank you.

[@snakefinger]

Mr Hughes will forever be the muthafuckin man. We miss you Howard.

[@miguelsalami]

The Hercules was a monumental undertaking, "I put the sweat of my life into this thing" Howard Hughes

[@lilbluecrew928]

I'm a volunteer docent at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville Oregon. One of my favor jobs is giving tours and doing photos in the cockpit. She's the center of our musume.

[@That_AMC_Guy]

It's a fun tour. I'd like to do it again sometime. I did the tour with a pilot friend of mine and the most interesting comment of his was that the cockpit area looked more like a movie set than an actual airplane cockpit. We did our tour near the end of the day and it was just the two of us, so we got to spend a whole lot more time than we should have. But the one thing we noticed was completely absent both at the engineer station and at either flight control was ANY control for Propeller Pitch! The engineer station has control for throttle and mixture and the pilot has control for throttle but we spent a solid 15-20 minutes looking for ANY kind of pitch control and we came up with nothing. Unless it was an unlabeled hydraulic control, there seems to be no control for feathering or reversing propeller pitch even though it's obvious the propellers are capable of this. I find it strange that with all the engineers working on the plane, plus Mr. Hughes meticulous eye for detail that such a control could have been overlooked.

[@jasong5163]

I plan on coming down from tri cities this year to see it I'm so excited.

[@renatoigmed]

@@That_AMC_Guy They knew that this was a stillbirth project so neither wasted time on these technical details.

[@ACEDIAMOND666]

Take good care of my cousin's plane.

[@sharlolaukkanen7550]

I went to the water park

[@ZeranZeran]

Howard Hughes life has been one of the most interesting, and inspiring I've read or learned about about in my entire life. He was a genius in his own way, no one can argue that he didn't think big, on a level that most people couldn't, or wouldn't comprehend. I so wish there were more interviews with him. His condition in his later years is both horrifying, and relatable, and I haven't even been in a plane crash. I'm not a germaphobe, but I am sick and tired of most people. But that's what lead him to being alone and sad. Gotta keep those connections strong. Weird how something so simple could completely change the trajectory of their life. Keep your loved ones and friends close. RIP Mr. Hughes. Thank you for inspiring me. The Hercules is still amazing to me in 2022.

[@luism.5999]

Very well said Zeranzeran. You took the words out of my mouth. RIP Mr. Hughes -Luis Mingura

[@Jin-Ro]

Hard to believe that it's as big as the A380. It was way ahead of it's time. Hats off to Howard Hughes, a great visionary.

[@Airbaja]

The 20th Century was full of them, thanks for the comment! Are you still lonely?

[@Jin-Ro]

So ronery :(

[@Airbaja]

NO AWICK BALLWIN or Dennis Wadman?

[@Jin-Ro]

When you see Arec Barrwin, you will see the true ugriness of human nature.

[@randommodnar7141]

Thank you kim jong il very cool

[@mikedurant6146]

I got to sit in the pilot's seat of it. I will never forget the view. I also sat at his desk at Hughes tool company, and when I was young I saw him in person going down Harrisburg Blvd. In a car. Going to Hughes tool company.

[@WW-fn7rt]

It's called 'The Hercules!', and it will fly Goddamn it!

[@Airbaja]

"I'VE GOT MY WHOLE REPUTATION WRAPPED UP IN THIS THING!"

[@TheRealBirdmann]

Leo’s best work

[@bobloughlin8221]

Would of been a nightmare to service and keep flying if it was ever put into service, but love how Hughes loved to do everything bigger than life. Goose helped make him a legend.

[@Airbaja]

Dead-on Maan, the Talent he ran around with didn't hurt either, talk about the pick of the litter, he even made bras for them, lol.

[@justineaston8202]

Its called the Hercules and it will fly gd

[@johnfalkenstine8377]

I remember asking Jack Real why the Spruce Goose didn't have termite issues. He calmly replied that the glue was poisonous, a special ingredient had been added as a precaution.

[@georgeshop3654]

A great man, backed up by his wonderful machine. Ignorants call him names, dragged him thorough mud but he raised up as a diamond with no spot of dirt on him. He was the living TRUTH and defined himself as TRUTH with his achievements.

[@davehalst]

Lovely video blighted by the ‘music’ at the end.

[@Airbaja]

I can't account for individuals with a lack of musical taste, the next time you're "blighted" perhaps try the volume, it's less effort than bithchen and moaning, unless that's your thing!

[@jamesgagme780]

Hahahaha, lack of musical taste. I guess shit tastes good to some

[@michaelhelgeland4588]

It’s a beautiful song My Way a great Sinatra hit, shit all over and turned into auditory diarrhea. Video ruined.

[@SuperGuanine]

Horrible the music editor should burn in hell.

[@buster_brownie3921]

a true marvel of engineering. i could not imagine staking such a large steak of my reputation on something that if it failed i would leave the country in shame. this man was a true engineer.

[@maybeachef2931]

Kids these days will never understand honor.

[@wirelessone2986]

And alot of his own money

[@mollyascot5064]

@@maybeachef2931 adults these days will never understand. That's why the world is so greedy

[@That_AMC_Guy]

@@wirelessone2986 MOST of it was with Hughes money. The government contract was for 10 million, Mr. Hughes put (reportedly) another 40 million of his own money into it - even improving things and making additions to the plane well into the 1950's.

[@christopherlopez2729]

confidence because he knew she would fly.

[@OcelotMorris]

I got to tour the Spruce Goose yesterday, and it was amazing. Having sat in that cockpit, and held those controls. Also, getting to see it from the inside, and understand just how insanely huge that thing is. It changes what watching a documentary is like. Seeing footage of it flying and landing in water, after having a genuine sense of the scale of it, makes it terrifying to contemplate. I'd still have gone up in it, given the chance.

[@hg172k9]

OcelotMorris it’s called the Hercules

[@mark675]

@@hg172k9 spruce goose

[@marilyncatalano6478]

I would have too. I love this story so much. Once again, I come back to watch the Spruce goose fly and fly she did!!!! Almost brings à tear to my eye. I must be getting old. Yep, I checked my calendar. I'm officially old. Is sixty three terribly old??? Sigh........rest in Paradise Mr. Howard Hughes.😢😔

[@ZeranZeran]

@@marilyncatalano6478 I'm 29 and I think this is so inspiring. Howard Hughes is a legend. Also, I already feel old! Time keeps going by faster and faster! I was 18 just yesterday!

[@biconguy]

There is a reference to the need for a flying boat in the July 23, 1942 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It’s an interesting read because it is what spurred Hughes and Kaiser to join forces to build such an aircraft. There was also a political cartoon on the same page in the newspaper depicting the dire need for a method to safely transport troops and materiel to Europe. A great book on the life of Hughes was written by Donald Barlett and James Steele.

[@corneliuscrewe8165]

I saw this behemoth years ago in Long Beach. Glad she’s being taken care of.

[@MNGLD-do2kc]

the world's largest wingspan on any plane, made of wood, works on water. Give these men a round of applause

[@renatoigmed]

yeah. let's applaud a guy who used millions of dollars from the american taxpayer and never served for anything until today.

[@u.s.patriot3415]

Love the Hughes Hercules and Hughes FX-11! Way ahead of their time! Look at/study every line of the design attributes of both Hughes aircraft mentioned and today's "like" aircraft, and you too may see some of the H-4 and XF-11 in their design. So glad he got the Hercules into the air and that there is great footage to share it.

[@Airbaja]

one of a kind was never so true, thanks US

[@relaxx4142]

I want to see this thing fly again...

[@michaelmurray7199]

XSANS it did about 31 years ago with Yogi Bear at the controls.

[@TheKalle45]

Yeah, the only way to find out if the H-4 can really fly, more than just carried by ,,ground effect"...

[@richarddressner639]

XSANS Gorgeous bird. At least for a short time he showed stability and proof of concept, but I recall it was woefully underpowered and would have enough power to barely get aloft and maintain any speed only if empty. Nothing left for a payload. The government wanted it built from wood, and it was darn heavy. I think Hughs got that one finished enough to shut up that jerk in Congress, but he knew the limitations, and that’s probably why it didn’t fly again. I think he’d approve if we re-engined it and gave her hell :)

[@That_AMC_Guy]

@@richarddressner639 Had it been constructed of aluminum instead of birch, it would have been much, much lighter. People have done scale models and have found the design to be quite capable of flight. Supposedly, when Mr. Hughes flew the plane, he was only at about 50% power and still at full flap. Legend has it that real reason Mr. Hughes put the plane back down so quickly was that some of the crew on board who were monitoring several strategic stress points of the airframe commented over the intercom "Um, Mr. Hughes? We see daylight." She was a prototype and one hell of a proof of concept.

[@richarddressner639]

Alfred Neuman “Mr. Hughes, uh, we see daylight.” Now that’s funny! Yes, skin and even wings and control surfaces could have been lighter with metal, but that wasn’t what congress wanted and spec’d, and he wanted to make sure he won the bet. If he really was at 50% power when she unstuck herself, that was encouraging, but the fuselage joints twisting isn’t a good thing even empty. The Goose could transport roughly an equipped company and a few APC’s, I think. Rough estimate, 230,000 pounds was the planned payload. Mr. H probably didn’t fuel it much more than enough for the test.

[@Clint_the_Audio-Photo_Guy]

I sat in the cockpit in the early 80's when it was in the domed exhibit next to the Queen Mary as a kid. My dad took my sister and I there. Didn't know it was only on display for two years. That's a shame. I've got pictures and the memories. Now the Aviator is one of my favorite movies.

[@yashilghazi5948]

An amazing man, and an amazing aeroplane. I would have done anything to see her fly again.

[@karlfortuin5794]

I toured that beautiful amazing plane back in late 70s she was very amazing beautiful piece of modern aircraft at that time & yes Howard Hughes deserves to be in the aviation industry hall of fame thanks for sharing this amazing video 👨‍✈️✈

[@Airbaja]

You are more than welcome,,,thanks for the great comment.

[@victorurosevic9944]

Holy shit brother...your channel has almost everything I love!!! What a massive undertaking this was for Hughes...& ofcourse the engineers... Hughes was a fucking rockstar...

[@fredinct5275]

Hosted a New Year's Eve party dinner table in the Dome in Long Beach 1982. Wow it was a great memory !

[@ZC.Andrew]

"Boy those flaps balloon this thing" .... Yup! That's what they do indeed!

[@OhMySack]

As a young teenager in the mid to late 70's, my parents had to move our large sailboat to a new slip in LA Harbor. We ended up temporarily at a marina on Terminal Island in Long Beach/LA Harbor. I spent hundreds of hours of my spare time alone in my Zodiac inflatable zipping among docked container ships and zipping around the waters of the Naval Shipyard that is no more and one day caught a glimpse of something unusual protruding from an immense building that looked otherwise abandoned. I stopped and studied it from afar only to realize it was the tall tail of the Hercules sticking out of the massive structure and it was draped with massive camouflaged netting. This building was only a few hundred yards from the marina we were berthed and I had never noticed it before then. I took my dad over and showed it to him and he confirmed it was indeed the Hercules as you could see the "N" number on the tail through the camouflage netting. It was an eerie yet incredible site of huge proportion and very interesting find. This was BEFORE the dome was built to make the attraction by the Queen Mary. Hughes must have had control of that entire section of the island because there was a massive dock right adjacent to the building and we would see the famous Glomar Explorer "Research" ship that belonged to Hughes and used by the CIA to steal that sunken Russian Sub, berthed there occasionally. I never did go see the aircraft when on display but am seriously considering seeing it now in Oregon.

[@Airbaja]

Very kool story thanks for sharing it. I've seen it and it's worth the visit to Oregon. What fun cruisin around the harbor.

[@OhMySack]

@@Airbaja So now, because of this video, I'm studying Google Earth and looking at these locations. Some familiar landmarks still exist like the Gerald Desmond Bridge seen at 8:45 as well as the huge factory with stacks alongside the bridge. The building I saw was indeed the location where the Hercules was kept all those years. Everything else has completely changed. The building is gone, the entire island has become a huge Chinese owned container facility with miles of pavement. There used to be an incredibly beautiful city that was Long Beach Naval Shipyard with incredible grounds and historic buildings. All sold to the Chinese COSCO by the Clinton Administration.

[@Airbaja]

@@OhMySack Yup, there were nice little parks on the base as well. My Mom was born there, Gramps was career Navy. I did stand-up with Bob Hope's U.S.O. Shows. Our first was the Battleship New Jersey 1983, it was refurbished and recommissioned by President Reagan. Ram's Cheerleaders were with us, it was so much fun we stayed with him for 13 years..Best gig ever Maan! acenairhart.com/Home_Page.html

[@OhMySack]

@@Airbaja Very cool! Yep, BB62 was refit right there in that shipyard. I remember seeing it there likely before the refit began in those days.

[@dougwalmer8620]

@@Airbaja awsome!!

[@originalfiremancancelled7303]

America fuc yeah_____ mr. Hughes was a genius and that's a beautiful bird........

[@Airbaja]

Matt Damon

[@bartonsmith1215]

Very informative, especially enjoyed the turbo 90’s techno at the end. Would recommend highly to anyone interested in giant flying boats and ingesting bulk ecstasy tablets. 10/10!

[@Airbaja]

You rule Bart!

[@szqsk8]

I live just south of Long Beach in the OC and when I'm driving up PCH to the north I can still see the dome that the Spruce Goose was housed in back in the day. It looks like half of a golf ball. It's right near the Queen Mary. Seeing the Spruce Goose being moved reminds me of the recent move of the Space Shuttle through the streets of LA to its new home at the California Science Center. Thanks for another great history lesson!

[@Airbaja]

I stay at the Queen Mary every year in the spring. My son and I are on the race management team for the Long Beach Grand Prix..I emceed and did a set at the grand opening of the Spruce exhibit. Dorothy Lamour was there along with some of the people you see in the video. Where in the O.C? My haunt was Huntington, but lived in Redondo when I could afford to live at the beach..I was working in Marina Del Rey..

[@szqsk8]

Airbaja Dude I live in Huntington Beach on Warner Ave behind the Wetlands! Gotta let me know next time you will be coming to town!!! I love Redondo Beach. We lived in Carson when I was a kid/teen and dad would take us to Redondo all the time and for 4th of July fireworks.

[@Airbaja]

@@szqsk8 I will, small world !!!

[@szqsk8]

Airbaja The smallest!

[@42lookc]

I wish they would have taxied her up the coast to Oregon. That would have really been something. Flying it, even if feasible, would have been a bad idea because it would have damaged the legend and mystique of it having only been flown once by none other than Howard Hughes himself. Taxiing it over 950 miles would have been such an incredible opportunity for all kinds of new high definition color video footage of it in action. What an awesome feat of mechanical engineering it was and is.

[@MrClijun]

that's one *Hughes* aircraft!

[@jeffalvich9434]

While in "storage" at the original hanger, the plane did not sit idle, as it was a research "tool" which many different types of analysis was done including radar, engines, structures and used as analysis for new aircraft theories. My dad was one of many, many engineers who worked on her during the 60's up through the early 70's. I can tell you one other thing for certain.... like the rest of hughes aircraft planes, it was flight ready at any time

[@Airbaja]

Jeff thanks for adding to the continuing fabric of this epic. Your words will find their way to the future. This film plays in the museum where theis edifice is residing presently. What a great job your Pops had...

[@jeffalvich9434]

@@Airbaja Another FYI, the H4 remained owned by the US Navy up through 1973 (IIRR), Howard Hughes (and HAC) had such an incredible, good relationship with DoD, that in 1973 (IIRR) the USN with the presidents approval, sign title of the H4 over to Howard Hughes himself... IMHO, that was one of the highest honors one could bestow on a civilian.

[@rollingtroll]

What a beautiful piece of engineering

[@There_Will_Be_Bond]

I found this fascinating thanks for posting. Great to know there is a Bond link here as he was close friends to Cubby Broccoli.

[@thamechanic3324]

A legend like no other...

[@ilfbforever7292]

My husband loooves this Video cause he is very interesting in Planes. .. Your vids Rocks ever one! 👍👍👍

[@Airbaja]

Thank you both very much! You are very kind..I saw this plane in Long Beach 30 years ago and it blew my mind! lol...

[@ilfbforever7292]

Airbaja its soo Kind that you mostly write back .. And sry..it should be called : Every Video of you Rocks!!! Again , sry for My Bad english , I just learned english in school and thats not english People speak in the states ..😉

[@Airbaja]

Cornelia, I understand every word, keep it up, good job!

[@watchrepairing]

Your husband is a lucky man. Finding a woman interested in her husband's interests is rare.

[@jackjohnson7396]

I saw that bad boy at Long Beach. Think it was 84, was in a hanger, roped off to keep the people at a distance. Was very interesting too.

[@Airbaja]

Me T, Tom, remember the cool old cars they had placed around it as well...thanks for watching! Cheers!

[@jackjohnson7396]

Not vividly, maybe I had a few too many at the Queen Mary that day. Thanks for the video.

[@gerdesoto262]

I'll bet odds a couple days of work to check that Spruce Goose out carefully it would and made sure everything was ok to fly again it would fly and make Big Time excitement worldwide to see it Fly again. It would bring a thousands of people to see it fly one more time

[@That_AMC_Guy]

@@gerdesoto262 Sadly, it will never fly again. Never. The air frame is stressed quite badly due to age and 20+ years of sitting outdoors. Remember, this was a prototype and should have been constructed from aluminum and steel - not birch wood! Chances are that even firing up an engine would shake it loose from it's mountings.

[@gerdesoto262]

@@That_AMC_Guy so what you explained the Construction material of choice was a bad idea right from the start for what your saying. So the airplane was a bad idea right from the start because of materials used. It would take a lot of money to try to straighten this thing out to make it right. One thing is for sure if it would fly again people from all over the world would want to see it and be there. Because it's so famous world wide. It's too bad Howard Hughes didn't do it right from the start as far as having it built.

[@joekurtz8303]

We often went for scenic drives in the harbor in San Pedro or Long Beach. The old hanger in P.O.L.B. was by a sulphur pile and the Morton salt facility. And a banana boat dock. Pier Point landing @ pier G there with harbor tour boats and small shops., now a container dock.The Dome now supports the Cruise ship terminal there.

[@mr.roaddogwade7107]

Great video 👍👍 Howard was a Titan. A great American with huge kahoona’s .

[@cheesygapple5055]

What a magnificent plane!

[@roybm3124]

What a beautiful plane

[@matthrivnak6572]

I believe it was his intention to fly it to prove that it would fly

[@robertgantry2118]

What I had been told all my life was that the Spruce Goose simply was too large to get airborne. I now, after watching this video, believe that it *can* fly just as it was designed to fly. I bet you could fly that thing around at 10 or 12 thousand feet with no problem.

[@olivermansfield8341]

I'd agree, but modern safety in aviation and precautions would deem it too risky.

[@deksea]

Robert, one more reason why you are better off relying on first-hand information rather than just accept what people tell you to believe instead. Of course this aircraft can fly. The reason Hughes did this in the first place was to shut up all the nay-sayers once and for all. And he did that very well in one single stroke.

[@lim-dulspaladin50]

They've computer modeled it and it will according to the models fly loaded to design weight almost all the way across the Atlantic.

[@ZenFox0]

@@lim-dulspaladin50 "almost"?

[@tommissouri4871]

@@ZenFox0 Remember, it is a flying boat. If it needs to refuel, it can set down and refuel from a ship, if needed. And not all of the Atlantic is the same distance across.

[@junk0426]

Thank you for awesome movie, I saw her in Long Beach. CA about 30 years ago. And I planning road trip in U.S.A next year. i hope i can see her again,

[@Airbaja]

SHE WAS A SIGHT TO BEHOLD!

[@junk0426]

Thanks!!

[@ragazzi25]

Saw it when it was in Long Beach...amazing!

[@Airbaja]

Me too, crazy!

[@mcsnickerman7262]

Wow. I’ve lived in Long Beach almost my whole life and I never knew this was what was kept under that white dome. So many times I’ve flown to the practice area and just seen the Queen Mary and that dome. I will never look at it the same again.

[@Airbaja]

History is all about us, sometimes unknown treasures abound!

[@jakobfromthefence]

Goose bumps here.

[@user-zq9no4or8u]

Seen the real life spruce goose before. I live in the city it rests in to this day.

[@davidrubio9753]

I got to tour the Spruce Goose when she was in Long Beach, California

[@Airbaja]

Me too, was bitchen right?

[@elbagrau]

There is nothing more to say about Howard Hughes and the visionnary He was. I just wonder how on earth Leonardo Di Caprio did not get an Oscar for the movie "Aviator" where He portrayed M. Hughes's character.

[@Airbaja]

Howard bucked the Hollywood system, he was not popular with the movie making establishment. Sometimes visionaries aren't celebrated in their time. Thanks M.

[@elbagrau]

@@Airbaja makes sens! Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece of history.

[@Airbaja]

@@elbagrau My Privilege Mo.

[@katrina2041]

Great weekend.

[@ronwade5646]

Thank You!

[@Airbaja]

You are most welcome Ron!

[@pub6023]

When men were men.....when men were allowed to be men.

[@muriloninja]

Real Men will always be real Men...some will have to find that out the hard way!

[@cooganalaska3249]

Hughes was obviously a brilliant guy. However, he was too proud to admit the H4 was sized beyond the intersection of the power-strength-weight curves. Anyone can see how the plane struggled (under-powered) to get off the water--empty of cargo. Several smaller planes would do the job feasibly.

[@leneanderthalien]

@Ed Mee yep this aircraft need twice the power, for example the biggest in service propeller aircraft was the Antonov AN22, who was smaller for similar empty weight but had 4x 15000hp (60000hp), the Spruce Goose had only 8x 3000hp (24000hp)...

[@gerdesoto262]

I don't agree with what your saying I saw it in person it has enough engines and power to fly so your story stinks period

[@oiudatropen9548]

Coogan Alaska no. It didn't appear to be struggling to lift off and had it been, the copilot or one of the other the crew members aboRd would have mentioned it - maybe inxirectly, which a comment such as, I was surprised it drive surface tension and lifted off. In the video footage it actually appears to lift off pretty easily. What do you see that suggests it was struggling? Yes while taxying it rocked side to side a bit, but while on the water it was in effect a bat and boats rock somewhen the float under the wing touched the water, it did exactly what it was there for, stablize the side to side rocking Any extra dtag itmay have caused didn't cause it to yawand pull the fusLGe out of paralell with it's direction of travelse it to it had plenty of power to keep itself perfectly on track. I may be missing something, but I see nothing to indicate excessive struggle. Please point out what makes you think it was struggling die to being underpowered so the rest of us can see it too. Thanks.

[@kcindc5539]

The question is would it have ever gotten out of ground effect? Unfortunately we’ll never know.

[@Ignacio.Romero]

Keith Allen The answer is no, too slow and underpowerred

[@scottw550]

...and the said it wooden fly, but Howard proved them wrong.

[@MonteD1]

Beautiful plane.

[@dj_alexxx]

Amazing airplane!!!

[@karlmarxwasright6006]

caspian sea monster one of the cold war ere by Soviet union 😂😂😂😂😂😁😁😁

[@whirledpeas3477]

When people know they are smart. And no problem knowing if they knew if they were a boy or a girl

[@Airbaja]

Hummmm...does the name J. Edgar Hoover ring a bell? For thirty something years he directed the F.B.I. at night pranced around like Zsa Zsa Gabor American socialite.

[@drxsasquach]

I wish he would of took to the high sky's, It's a shame only one flight, and still is not runing today.

[@poodlesauce7560]

what a waste of an amazing machine

[@That_AMC_Guy]

@@poodlesauce7560 At least it still exists and has been preserved.

[@NinaAhgase]

9:28 lmaooo my dad loves to sing that

[@garyseeseverything8615]

It flew, he landed it purposefully to make sure it wasn’t destroyed as it was the only model made.

[@Mike-01234]

H-4 Hercules wing span was 320 feet wide still larges wings of any plane. Grew up 20 miles from there never once saw it.

[@kabeerx504]

So big great plane ever made 👌👍😄

[@lenevee4925]

Didn't expect the musical medley but it would have been nice to find out additional details regarding Disney ending the display after 2 years.

[@dewiz9596]

I suspect that Hughes fully intended to fly the Goose, but quickly realized that hw could not get it out of ground effect.

[@KS-wt9gj]

Bram Moerman “THE FLYING LUMBERYARD”

[@routtookc8064]

and how much throttle you got to have to overcome the water resistance, which suddenly disappears...

[@EnginePoweredArt]

Rule of thumb: The ground effect occurs when the altitude is equal to or less than half the wingspan of the wing.

[@carljohnson5528]

Lol my teacher is called Mrs spruce and we all say spruce on the loose

[@phapnui]

Big plane. Many of us learned to fly with one of Hughes smallest aircraft, the Mattel Messerschmitt.

[@Airbaja]

lol

[@mikebecket7458]

And now it sits in Oregon in a large building made for it for tours

[@kieronbevan7489]

Wood is fantastic. The mossie is case and point. This beast would be a beautiful way to cross the oceans even now. Now they're cutting her up to make watches

[@billyjack3361]

“Spruce Goose” was a name given to the Hercules by Senator Brewster of Maine as an insult. Please do not disrespect Mr. Hughes by calling it that. It’s called the “Hercules” and deservedly so.

[@Mr121953]

It has become folklore and that name has become iconic over the years . I'm doubtful when people refer to that amazing plane they would ever consider it as any disrespect ...Technically it's actually called a ' Hughes H-4 Hercules' not just 'Hercules' ...

[@robertgantry2118]

The H-4 Hercules does *_NOT_* remain the "Largest Airplane Ever Built". That title goes to the Antonov An-225. The H-4 is about the 5th largest ever build but *_does_* still have the longest wingspan.

[@Airbaja]

'Airplane' not Aircraft, nor Jet Aircraft, largest Airplane...

[@robertgantry2118]

Brilliant.

[@lanturn4950]

Lost out on that title too, recently.

[@TacticalBuffoonary]

Antonov is a flying pile of shit. Why do you dorks always mention that flying turd? Get a life loser. The Goose is and always will be the biggest sea plane made out of WOOD as it was described in this video dumb ass. 🙄

[@cablety]

Amazing! Even for today’s standards

[@paulsbackpack6057]

Rip spruce goose make it fly again!

[@aertybhujm1]

I have finished watching this video completely. (我看完這部影片了) I am a Taiwanese who cares about the global affairs. (我是一個關心全球事務的台灣人) And, sadly, most of my fellow Taiwanese don't really care about the world. (但是，很不幸地，我大部分的台灣同胞不那麼在意世界。) Hopefully Taiwan can become increasingly globally-aware and globally-competitive. (希望台灣可以越來越有全球意識與全球競爭力。) God bless Taiwan. (天佑台灣。)

[@madmax2069]

Well hell yeah he intended to get it up into the air, he wouldn't have called for flaps if he didn't intend to. He had everything to prove by making it fly.

[@patrikbj829]

howard hughes was awsome

[@JustJohn505]

Well he was crazy But being crazy made him a famous person in aviation and I respect him for that

[@Justwantahover]

If it has the big 4 row radial engines, it could be like 30,000 hp. I heard they are 3.5 grand hp each.

[@slaythedragonstrackclub]

Currently on my way to high jack the Spruce Goose from the Evergreen Aviation Museum

[@StarHorseLover2012]

That sounds like Anthony Quale commenting up until 7:46

[@fx4wannabe01]

This seems like a fine documentary....what is this excerpt from? What documentary? Surely not a quarter hour docu...

[@diana8259]

"El aviador " buena película de M. Scorsese ...la madre de howard le condicionó la vida por la 'sobreprotección.'

[@apollofell3925]

A gentle reminder that you can be brilliant, innovative, and far ahead of your time - but you'll still be capable of having bad ideas.

[@Airbaja]

Many of the good ideas that resulted from the bad idea, became fantastic ideas on future craft, ergo he did move the aviation ball forward, just sayin...

[@williamaustin7865]

I would love to see the eight wonder of yesterdays world.

[@jeremystark3350]

I'm watching the aviatior right now.

[@andypettit5869]

There went our Pacific Northwest coastal spruce...

[@pyneemium1186]

That's a big boy.

[@Josemanel123]

Olha o tamanho dessa coisa!

[@alexdacostausa9471]

top

[@_JamesBrown]

What's with the goat banging music at the end?

[@Airbaja]

Frank's people leaned on us, The Godfather made us an offer we couldn't refuse.

[@David-yy7lb]

Was that plane under powered for its size?

[@iournal4323]

Maybe im not sure

[@iournal4323]

You should what on movie pilot

[@gavinthor4479]

Really interesting video, well put together. Could have done without the murdering of My Way.

[@Airbaja]

The museum that asked me to make the film to run at exhibit, wanted 'My Way' The Sinatra family wanted a gazillion bucks for the COPYRIGHTS.

[@dicksonnfriendsoutdoors2715]

David's nose is a separate plane itself

[@bananaguns766]

the quality makes the video looks like it was in the 70s

[@bananaguns766]

HOW

[@brassysounds]

What they did to Frankie Sinatas "My Way" is a sin for its own. Shame on them!

[@janetcarbone4213]

Hughes was hilarious😂.🤪but hilarous

[@xpez9694]

"The wave of the future!'

[@General5USA]

I was old enough to actually fly the Hercules when my hand could reach all six throttle levers at once (15.5 years of age) the “spruce goose “ wouldn’t get out of ground effect it reached no more than50-100 feet. It could not break ground effect. The plane was many tons overweight even with the new prat and Whitney engines that I chose...now...GUESS WHY.

[@vxcomanche]

Poor girl...at least she tasted flight albeit briefly.

[@Airbaja]

Unlike many planes before her, she will be revered forever, #Siverlining .. Happy Holidaze..

[@Pontiac65Cat]

Disney was assholes for not letting her stay in her home.

[@paul_slw]

Au moins il peut faire office de bateau ! 😂😂👌✈️

[@human_rights0]

That's a way of future