Howard Hughes - H-4 Hercules - A.K.A Spruce Goose.

Howard Hughes - H-4 Hercules - Spruce Goose.

[@Joe_Blo]

When I went to work for Hughes Aircraft 40 years later, there were still a few employees left from the Hercules project. Hughes had promised them a job for life if they'd stay and work to complete the plane without pay. He kept his word.

[@Aereaux]

I went to work for Hughes Tool Company - Aircraft Division (who built the Flying Boat not Hughes Aircraft) in December of 1972. I was able to get a great tour of the aircraft when it was still in the original hanger. The Hughes Racer was still at the airport in Culver City where I worked and they used to roll it out and start the engine so it would be ready to fly when ever Mr. Hughes showed up.

[@marcosrobertmota]

the world needs more fearless, audacious, genius men like haward hughes

[@cailenknopp411]

Hughes was far from genius. His own ignorance lead to the downfall of every one of his ventures.

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@cailenknopp411 - Hughes aerospace outlasted him. His Las Vegas ventures were huge successes. And while he was alive, TWA was doing great.

[@azeeazasaid8537]

@Casanova Frankenstein & deeeesw#*&fv, g🚱3

[@iamAwesomo1994]

there would if they stopped calling them sexist and racist.

[@ember-brandt]

@@iamAwesomo1994 ^ lolno

[@nevermind-he8ni]

One of the greatest achievements in woodworking for sure.

[@politecat4236]

*LMAO*

[@Aereaux]

politecat 42 may be laughing his ass off, but the Flying Boat advavanced the plywood technology by miles. The lamination processes that they utilized were far better than what was avilable at the time.

[@haseebmoosa1323]

"Its called the Hercules!" - Howard Hughes

[@pfcwar5150]

And she WILL fly goddamn it!

[@Jin-Ro]

The term "Spruce Goose" should be consigned to the dustbin and forgotten. It was coined by detractors that hated Hughes.

[@phexus]

I went and saw it in person today. Sat in the pilot’s seat. Such a marvel. I grew up hearing it called the Spruce Goose, now I will gladly call it the H4-Hercules from now on!

[@moparpelican340]

It was made of birch. Not spruce. Lol.

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@moparpelican340 - correct. Birch plywood.

[@ourtime-downhere6931]

@@phexus id really like a link to proof of that. highly doubtful he's welcome in the NW or anywhere else in the US let alone visiting a air museum in McMinnville Oregon. I've seen it in person and it's quite a sight, I beeping the BS horn on him seeing it and sitting in the pilots seat.

[@phexus]

@@ourtime-downhere6931 No BS, I just had to pay $20 or something to do the guided tour of the inside of the plane, which included the cockpit. I don't know if its standard procedure to let visitors sit in the pilot seat, but my guide let me. I do remember seeing other people sitting in it. Not really something worth lying about..

[@DerpTrollson]

its the way of the future

[@Akshitguleria7]

You do realise that at that moment you were living in the corresponding future smh

[@REAPER0121]

@@Akshitguleria7 he was quoting a line from the movie.....smh

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@REAPER0121 - aviator

[@GereDJ2]

I saw the Hercules on display in Long Beach years ago. Great story about a great man. Glad he was on our side. I don't think politicians on any committee should be allowed to yell at defendants or witnesses. Senator Brewster was a total asswipe embarrassment to our country. There's a line from the Aviator movie where Noah Dietrich says "Everybody works for you , Howard". My father (a master machinist) worked at Hughes Tool Company in Texas in the 1940s and then Culver City in the 1950s. He told me he had talked to Mr. Hughes a few times during the course of his work there. My mom, me and my older brother also worked for Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton, CA in the 1960s. I remember it was actually a good place to work.

[@johntherogger]

Seems like politicians haven't changed at all. Yet the people think they "care deeply about us"....the video of Hues in the committee is all you need to see about how much politicians "care"....

[@GereDJ2]

@@johntherogger Agreed.

[@lt4324]

I was lucky to see this beautiful Aircraft and its history while it was in Long Beach Ca. Pictures do not do it justice, and to see it in person just to behold the size of this AC is fantastic!

[@eyestoenvy]

Our country needs more men like Mr Hughes, like right now .....

[@mlt3820]

Those red trucks transporting the largest plane ever built are Corbitt Trucks made in Henderson, North Carolina!

[@edgarg1935]

No wonder why Stan lee based Tony stark character on him, one of the greatest and most inspiring man in history, RIP Mr Howard Huges and God bless you.

[@dscdrkel5546]

I was a witness to the first flight of the Spruce Goose from the deck of Navy ship USS DIACHENKO APD 123----San Pedro/ Long Beach harbor.-It was a great thrill to watch that plane lift off - to prove to the idiots in Washington that it would fly..This scale model proves that it was a good design. The main problem back then was the engines were under powered , If Mr. Hughes had todays Jet engines with the power/weight ratio-The plane would be able to preform is"s designed mission. With the prop engines it could never lift off with 300 hundred or more troops.

[@63bplumb]

This bird is now in McMinnville, OR. Buddy and I flew down to Evergreen Air across the road from the museum. They came and picked us up. Ended up we got a private tour through the cock pit of the plane. I have a picture of myself sitting in the PIC seat turning around looking back at the photographer just like HH. Great day.

[@63bplumb]

BTW The truth is that the tail area had the beginnings of cracks that HH would have possibly felt while flying. They are repaired and you can see the way they patched them. HH felt it was unsafe to ever try again. If you don't believe me go see the plane and walk back through the inside of the great space towards the tail. You can see the repair.

[@familytraditiontransportat7951]

Thats all blocked off these days, even the VIP tours have it blocked, say it's too unsafe.

[@63bplumb]

Thanks for the update. Yes it has been awhile since I've been there.

[@Anne6621]

hate it when people make fun of Howard and the plane and all that he has ever done , he was amazing

[@gcHK47]

Let it be known among all: It does not matter that there was "ground effect", the H-4 Hercules flew. The Wright Brothers' Flyer had "ground effect", but it still flew.

[@AlastorTheNPDemon]

I like these old British documentaries and their funky music.

[@politecat4236]

Fuck yeah!

[@davesuiter]

Sure he was born wealthy but Howard Hughes was an American original. Although he had no children, his legacy is still carried on by those who saw his genius.

[@Guccimustard]

imagine how angry Hughes would be if he knew that all these years later people still call the Hercules the "Sproose Goose".

[@Paiadakine]

No I don’t think I will! That’s the way to talk back to a servant to the people who thinks they are better than everyone else.

[@u.s.patriot3415]

H. Hughes was no dummy and he and his design team knew that the H-4 would fly!

[@iamAwesomo1994]

it's math no questions about it

[@drfiberglass]

It was said Howard Hughes hated people calling it the Spruce Goose...

[@TIMEtoRIDE900]

Because it was mostly mahogany. And the ugly Ford Tri-Motor was called the Tin Goose.

[@63bplumb]

Hemlock NOT mahogany! Wouldn't have gotten off the ground if it had been mahogany FCS!

[@cravefubar4114]

Lol if you look it up it was made of Birch from Wisconsin primarily.

[@ACEDIAMOND666]

True. My late cousin hated that moniker.

[@XxSirderekxX]

Amazing things happen when someone showed him the blueprints.

[@bradleysmith3284]

I have actually heard rumors around this region about the blue prints for this plane. The prints were in a house that once worked for Hughes

[@oldbikerbear]

I would have loved to see him take this thing on a long range flight.

[@clubredken13]

He should have flown it around the world. At an altitude of 30 feet the whole way.

[@andrezkamotu]

This is an excerpt from "Reach for the sky" documentary series...

[@ShadowMenace1]

ITS THE HERCULES !!!

[@alfredenisz4775]

Hughes got Senator Brewster out of the U.s. senate.

[@scottwins2]

I sat in the Pilots' seat of Hercules!

[@politecat4236]

Omg you can do that?

[@daninfrance2892]

I love the design. The low glairshield gives amazing visbility to all sides.. What a difference it makes when a real pilot designs a plane and cockpit. I would give anything to fly a plane like that. Forget the MD11 or 747., designed by bean counters and regulators. Will someone build a new one, maybe a little bigger?

[@granskare]

we saw this during the 1984 Olympics. As well as the Queen Mary liner. A great view :) We have a foto of this plane !

[@alexabadi7458]

Howard Hughes should be our next president ! (and I approve this message)

[@stevenford4313]

What a man! What a machine! What a life!

[@jslade60]

It seems like anybody worthwhile in this country money or not is givin a hard time. Howard Hughes did more for aviation in this country than most people realize

[@federicosagun4615]

Wow. Exact words from the movie aviator. Every words has captured

[@TuffBurnOutTeam]

Great video Thank you for Australia

[@philippesauvie639]

The plane is now in Oregon. A number of years ago I saw it barged down the Willamette River in Portland, in pieces on its way to the Evergreen Museum.

[@jeancoppola6950]

Magnifique...merci pour le partage et la video....depuis la france !

[@politecat4236]

"Hop in" "But sir..." "I said hop. in."

[@higgydufrane]

Oh to hear 8 R4360s singing together in person.

[@koroba01]

higgydufrane ...right, the ultimate in round sound...

[@timmayer8723]

R4360 radial engine, King Kong of the sky's. The 8 engines on the Hercules developed about 32,000 horse power on its one and only take off and fly run.

[@Saa42808]

DiCaprio is the only reason I came to know Howard and Howard is one of the reasons I like flying boats.

[@jeffriggs6703]

I'll bet he was demanding, certainly to himself!! My money says he knew it would fly, scale models, wind tunnel, hell, drag it with a rope!! He flew it for the people that built it, just to give them the same sense of pride he felt!!

[@southern04man]

ITS NOT THE SPUCE GOOSE!!!

[@utibinagain]

Right

[@davesuiter]

southern04man Now that's funny !

[@DeltaSniperZRR]

southern04man AND IT WILL FLY GODDAMN IT!!

[@markwinberry8095]

you're right, it was called the JUICE GOOSE dammit.

[@subsamadhi4124]

Youre right its the "spruce goose"

[@oliviamonkey]

NOT the Americans, but Howard Hughes he was the genious.

[@setcam2794]

And Israel the genious

[@checkyourhead9]

Rest in peace Mr Hughes

[@film79]

Pretty good video but I wish you would have showed me all the blue prints.

[@markwinberry8095]

what for it's "the way of the future".

[@markwinberry8095]

I spilt my milk on them, I spilt my milk on them, I spilt my milk on them, I spilt my milk on them.

[@clintonperdue5086]

Show me the blue prints,show me the blue prints, Show me the blue prints.

[@xephael3485]

"I've put the sweat of my life into this thing. I have my reputation 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!" -Howard Hughes It flew just fine. Rest of the stupid commentators can STFU.

[@REAPER0121]

"THE WAY OF THE FUTURE"

[@tonytrotta9322]

Neat Video of the Sproose Goose. Itoured her when she was in a large domed building next to Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. Note: At the 6:08 mark there is a U.S. Navy Heavy Cruiser of the Baltimore class in the background.

[@robhill3378]

Howard Hughes my God what a man

[@hieroglyph321]

"I don't remember, get it off the record" LMAOOOOOO

[@kubanskiloewe]

great man , great AViator ! we had here in germany fine engineers too but Hughes was really outstanding ! I always wondered why he does´nt show interest in jet planes earlier. I would like to know what he thought when saw the design of the ME262 the first time

[@bruceburns1672]

Back in the days when the Western world were all societies of trades and crafts and manufactured all its own needs instead of just buying everything from the Asians and going broke at the same time .

[@brucebyrnes5996]

Amazing plane!!

[@hanspeterhansen5783]

My neighbor (Captain Friedrich Christiansen, "Pure le Merit") from the North Sea island of Föhr, flew the DO-X (168 passengers and 11 crew members, sleeping cabins, etc.) from Germany to New York in 1931 ... https: // de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_X

[@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 today's "like" aircraft, and you too may see some of the H-4 and XF-11. So glad he got the Hercules into the air and that there is great footage to share it!

[@ulisesken3173]

bien que Howard Hughes aiga sido buen elemento para la aviacion ya comense a construir mi propio hercules

[@63bplumb]

Of course it's in McMinnville, OR. For the right $$$ you can go with the guide to the flight deck (at least you could a few years ago). I have a picture sitting in the left seat partially turned in the seat like Howard but without the fedora. We neither taxied or took off however.

[@terriecotham1567]

What a time and what workers Thanks for posting

[@shawnfoxfirth9684]

4:37 'Now if You'll just wait till I Subpoena Mr Mars' Is That The Same Mr Mars of the Martin Mars Water Bomber ? the two planes are quite similar . . .

[@robertgantry2118]

I'm not sure if the video just ended before the narrator could finish his sentence, or if he was just mistaken. While the Spruce Goose is the largest aircraft ever built out of wood, and while it may have been the largest aircraft ever built at the time of it's completion, the actual largest aircraft ever built is the Russian Antonov An-225.

[@TheNewGreenIsBlue]

+Robert Gantry Depends on the interpretation. Spruce Goose has a longer wingspan and it's taller than the An-225. So in some dimensions, it still qualifies as biggest aircraft.

[@robertgantry2118]

+TheNewGreenIsBlue I see. Thanks.

[@robertgantry2118]

+TheNewGreenIsBlue Probably the heaviest aircraft, too.

[@ryansmith2814]

Wrong mister I know everything , the 225 is the largest to fly multiple times

[@robertgantry2118]

Ryan Smith Spruce Goose has largest wingspan, but the an-225 is still the largest aircraft. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Giant_planes_comparison.svg

[@diogosabino2545]

The way of the future!

[@bikerguy5829]

Howard said it would never fly again because It was a death trap

[@nhmooytis7058]

Would love to see it!

[@futuregenerationz]

Is that Anthony Quayle narrating? Awesome! The obvious question is; Could it have really flown? I mean, the opinion of Hughes himself is the only one that was ever submitted.

[@williamlinares3]

what is the name of that video Howard Hughes - H-4 Hercules -Spruce Goose showing on television ?

[@beatleme2]

Paul Allen has been quietly building in the California desert is complete, and the vehicle, which would be the world’s largest airplane with a wingspan wider than Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose Called Stratolaunch, the plane has some impressive stats: a wingspan of 385 feet... This today was on yahoo news and i came looking for the org..

[@billbright1755]

Hugh's Flying Boat is her proper name. Culver City California on the card here. Bigger is not always better as power comes in numbers, If one goes down, another takes it place. If that behemoth goes down, well, you're out of luck. Howard sure told Brewster!

[@markwinberry8095]

I would rather use the name bestowed upon it by Mr. Hughes which is Hercules. Flying boat is its description. I don't know who Hugh is.

[@markwinberry8095]

I would rather use the name bestowed upon it by Mr. Hughes which is Hercules. Flying boat is its description. I don't know who Hugh is.

[@juanar4305]

0:51 I suppose that those clocks separated by a vertical line, four and four, correspond to the 8 motors, they measure 9 parameters, I wonder what they are. I can't imagine more than rpm, oil pressure and temperature haha.

[@jukkatakamaa7274]

It was made of Duramold....material ½ as heavy as aluminum, but almost 2x tougher.

[@markwinberry8095]

why must everyone complicate everything, just say plywood.

[@42lookc]

It's not complicating anything, but saying "plywood" over-simplifies the construction. Duramold is *not* merely plywood.

[@leneanderthalien]

duramold IS plywood: made with birch foils impregnated with phenolic resin and heated under presure, like all aviation plywoods (same thing for the de Havilland Mosquito)...

[@TuffBurnOutTeam]

Gee what a Great video

[@JungleYT]

Did not realize that they *documented* the construction process - and in *COLOR!* They say it lifted off 70ft, but in my opinion, more like 40???

[@stephenwright8824]

If J.M. Barrie had lived long enough to know about Howard Hughes, he would have recognised the man immediately as a "Peter Pan," but a neurotic one.

[@daninfrance2892]

I hope another genious dreamer comes along. Buy 2 surplus A380s move the eight engines above the wing. Join the fuselages and make the Hercules 2020 flying yacht. I will fly it for you all over the world.

[@josephrandolphiii5649]

Jan Berry's Dad From Jan & Dean helped build this plane

[@rwnorris1327]

“What a drag.”

[@paulsypersma7165]

Dirt devil almost had an xl5,preflight engage.Bring it power.

[@sidpirate8570]

Yeah EYE know how YOU feel...

[@carsonblake107]

2:03 fun fact about Don Smith he wrote the wrong tail number in the log book

[@empemitheos]

Ultimate ENTJ Move

[@nhmooytis7058]

empemitheos I’m an ENTJ :)

[@jaybrooks1098]

Sets it to 15 degrees.. he was flying it that day..

[@ChairmanMeow1]

Way of the future.

[@gabecooper8408]

The music is the best part

[@ACEDIAMOND666]

My cousin and his flying boat.....

[@JeffQC12]

Does the Hercules still in airworthy shape? Or he is now just a museum of his own?

[@nathalienatacha5826]

Merci

[@rickyhuff]

I wonder how the plane handled the flight, and if there were any structural failures to any degree?

[@binsurf]

Not likely, it was a smooth transition and it likely had proper reinforcement.

[@tony_5156]

The only wooden plane? Ever heard of the De Havilland Mosquito?

[@bluemarshall6180]

고등 지능 ODINS trash Everyone knows that.

[@gunsaway1]

I wish he had kept going

[@robertgift]

Why such a low and short flight? Was Hughes afraid of dying in a crashad he gained altitude and flown? In such a case allow other test pilot volunteers to fly it. Why not have flown ito its new Oregohome? Material deterioration over all these years?

[@binsurf]

He wasn't cleared for take-off. If he admitted he intentionally lifted off, he would have been fined or worse. Hence the drama around it.

[@icysloths8681]

fun fact: one of my great grand fathers helped fix the spruce goose

[@ahmedaly4397]

The voice on the video seems like Anthony Hopkins the actor.

[@yds250]

It's Anthony Quayle - More Info here - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Quayle

[@annewinston4424]

The Antonov 225(?) is 57 feet longer.

[@TheNewGreenIsBlue]

+Anne Winston True, but with a shorter wingspan and a shorter stature.

[@UFOBobTV]

Enjoyed the video but hated the cheesy 80s synth keyboard score.

[@karimoon5323]

SHOW ME THE BLUEPRINTS! ....THE WAY OF THE FUTURE!

[@simunator]

and here we are laughing in c-5 galaxy

[@Simondonatdietrich]

Anyone knows what’s the name of this documentary? Watch it as a child and would love to see the whole again.

[@yds250]

Documentary info Here - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaching_for_the_Skies

[@tuxnor]

The movie about huges life and his planes is named the aviator and is ar tubeme

[@shawnnoss2396]

Back when men was men.

[@shakerHeightsChannel]

What documentary is this from?

[@lynagy20]

show me the blueprints show me the blueprints show me the blueprints show me the blueprints show me the blueprints show me the blueprints show me the blueprints ...

[@jeffbogue3718]

lynagy him , The Aviator was a great movie I'm watching it right now for the third time