One of the symbols of the American aircraft industry of the 40s of the twentieth century was the world's largest flying boat (take-off weight 180 tons), which is still one of the largest aircraft in the world (wingspan is larger than that of the A-380 and An-225« Mriya» ). We are talking about the Hughes H-4 Hercules, whose only flight took place on November 2, 1947.

In connection with the heavy losses of transports in the Atlantic in 1942, the US military department issued an order for the development of a capacious flying boat made of ... wood! Since at that time there was an acute shortage of such strategic materials as aluminum.

The development of the new aircraft was carried out by non-professionals in aviation: Henry Kaiser, the creator of such a class of transport ships as the Liberty, and billionaire Howard Hughes, a great aviation enthusiast. The names of the creators are reflected in the factory designation "NK-1" – by the initial letters of the surnames Hughes + Kaiser. In fact, the design team was led by aircraft designer Glenn Oderkirk.

In 1942, a government contract was signed, according to which three such huge machines were to be built in two years. At the same time, the aircraft received the army designation H-4 Hercules and the unofficial nickname "Spruce Goose" (or "Dude Goose" – English Spruce Goose). The designers worked out seven configurations of the aircraft with four, six and eight engines. As a result, working documentation was developed for an eight-engine vehicle with a wingspan of 97.54 meters, which could carry 750 fully armed soldiers or two 30-ton M4 Sherman medium tanks. The design of the aircraft was based on patterned birch plywood.

The fate of the aircraft did not work out from the very beginning. Although the working documentation was developed fairly quickly, construction progressed slowly. Naturally, the deadlines were not met, which caused a whole wave of lawsuits. As a result, the prototype aircraft was built only in the middle of 1947. In August, the military canceled the contract, and the plane became the property of a billionaire.

In the fall of 1947, the aircraft was flown to California, where it was planned to take it into the air. November 2, 1947 "Goose" made its first flight. Hughes himself was at the helm, with Dave Grant as co-pilot. In addition, the crew included two flight engineers (Don Smith and Joe Petrali), 16 mechanics, and two other crew members. Also on board were seven invited journalists and seven representatives of the aviation industry. Only 37 people. After warming up the engine on the Cabrillo Beach Canal, the Hercules took to the air. The plane was able to gain a height of 21 meters and flew about a mile (1.6 km) at a speed of 217 km / h. It was the first and last time when the giant took flight.

Although the military still decided to buy the plane, but this time Hughes did not sell it. So the largest plane in the world became a billionaire's toy. For the next twenty-five years, Hercules was in a special hangar in the Long Beach area. The billionaire spent gigantic sums of money—a million a year, according to some sources—to keep the car flying. Initially, the giant was serviced by 300 specialists, whose number decreased to 50 in 1962. The service of the car ceased in 1976 due to the death of Hughes.

In 1993, the aircraft was purchased by the Evergreen International Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. About 300,000 tourists visit the plane every year.

The plane proved to be a very popular apparatus in cinematography. So, the biography of the creator of the aircraft, Howard Hughes, and the testing of the aircraft are shown in Martin Scorsese's film "The Aviator", and in the TV series Leverage ("Impact"), the main characters created the illusion of lifting into the air, flying and crashing "Hercules" with the help of holograms and forged fuselage fragments.

"Spruce goose" is found in computer games L.A. Noire, Mafia II Crimson Skies, and is the only aircraft in this game world that also exists in real life. In The Mafia, he is often seen in the air accompanied by fighter jets.

It is one thing when an ordinary plane rises into the air, even if it is designed for a couple of hundred passengers, and it is quite another when a product of the human mind tens of meters long is in the sky, capable of transporting hundreds of tons of cargo for thousands of kilometers.

AT different time the honorary title of the largest aircraft in the world was carried by various winged vehicles. For example, among them in the 1930s was the unique 8-engine propaganda aircraft ANT-20 "Maxim Gorky". Today, there are other leaders in this field, although the records they set many decades ago still hold. "Around the World" invites you to meet some of these champions.

The best: AN-225 "Mriya"

This is an aircraft with the largest payload capacity in the world (it can carry cargo with a total weight of 250 tons) and with the largest take-off weight (more than 640 tons), as well as the largest in length and span of the wing that entered service. First, let's deal with the dimensions: the length of the "Mriya" (in Ukrainian "Dream") is 84 meters, and its wingspan is 88.4 meters. For example, we point out here that a football field that meets FIFA recommendations has dimensions of 105 × 68 meters, and Red Square in Moscow - 330 × 75 meters.

The cargo compartment at Mriya is a sealed space 43 meters long, 6.4 meters wide and 4.4 meters high (that is, about the size of a two-story house), it can fit, for example, 50 cars. The aircraft was invented and built in 1984-1988 at the Kiev Mechanical Plant to transport parts of the Buran spacecraft and launch vehicle from the production site to the launch site, as well as, if necessary, the entire Buran - it was supposed to be placed on the "back" at " Mriya."

An-225 at the Swedish airport Stockholm-Arlanda

However, this giant did not perform its main duties for long: by 1990, all work under the Energia-Buran program was curtailed, and the AN-225 from 1994 to 2001 stood half-disassembled. By 2001, it was restored and has since been regularly used to transport heavy loads, including for record-breaking transport operations.

Mriya has already flown with the longest (42.1 meter wind turbine blades) and heaviest monocargo (generator weighing 174 tons), as well as with cargoes of the largest total mass - 253.8 tons. In total, Mriya has more than 200 world records of this kind. The plane exists in a single copy, it is operated by a Ukrainian airline Antonov Airlines, however, it is possible that in a year or two by the forces of the Kyiv Antonov Design Bureau and a Chinese company AICC a second one will be built.

Giant flying boat: Hughes H-4 Hercules

In the previous part, we mentioned that the AN-225 "Mriya" is the aircraft with the largest wingspan among all entered into service. This reservation is not accidental: in the history of aviation there was an even larger aircraft, but it made only one test flight at an altitude of 21 meters and a length of about 1.5 km. It's about Hughes H-4 Hercules, a giant flying boat built by 1947 by the brilliant (and insane) American aviator and businessman Howard Hughes.

Created by Hughes, an 8-engine monster 66.6 meters long with a wingspan of 97.5 meters was conceived as a means of transferring cargo, military equipment(with a total weight of about 70 tons) and up to 750 soldiers across the Atlantic from the US to Europe. The project started in 1942 with the money of the American government, but its implementation was delayed for a long five years. So the Second World War ended, but the megaboat still did not take off.

In the end, this alerted the US government and Congress, under pressure from which Howard Hughes nevertheless made a test flight on November 2, 1947 in the California city of San Pedro. Flight first and last. Until Hughes' death in 1976, the Hercules was maintained in flying condition, and then passed from hand to hand, until it finally ended up in the aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it is to this day - you will be in Oregon , be sure to check it out.

Hughes H-4 Hercules during testing

The most remarkable thing about this plane is not even the largest wingspan among planes ever flown, but the fact that the car was built from birch, or rather, from birch plywood: the shortage of aluminum during the war years affected. Despite this, the plane was nicknamed "spruce goose" (Spruce Goose)- it has become synonymous with the expression "white elephant". We also add that Hughes H-4 Hercules- also the largest hydroplane in the history of aviation.

The largest passenger: Airbus A380

In this category, the first place is Airbus A380 in modification 800. This is generally the largest serial airliner in the world: height - 24.1 meters, length - 72.8 meters, wingspan - 79.8 meters, on its two decks it can carry up to 853 people in total (in a single-class configuration ) at a distance of 15,700 km.

It is on this aircraft that the second and third longest commercial flights are operated today - from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai (about 17 hours) and from Dallas, Texas, to Sydney, Australia (about 16 hours). During this time, aircraft cover about a third of the length of the equator (the first place in terms of the length of a commercial flight since February 2017 is for a flight Qatar Airways from Auckland to Doha Boeing 777-200LR).

A380 being towed to the runway

In the plans Airbus creation of enlarged versions of this airliner - even more spacious A380-900 for 900 passengers (all in economy class), as well as a cargo version A380F, which will be the second after the "Mriya" in terms of carrying capacity. And both of them, presumably, will be even larger in length and in wingspan. So far, however, not a single such aircraft has been built: they do not have the required number of orders.

Longest passenger: Boeing 747-8

Interestingly, the gigantic size and record capacity Airbus A380- not the longest passenger aircraft in the world. This title is former number one among airliners Boeing 747 in version 8. Boeing 747-8- This is the third generation of the double-deck 747, which made its first flight back in 1969 and was put into commercial operation about a year later.

The record of this aircraft in terms of weight and capacity among passenger liners lasted 36 years - just before the advent of Airbus A380. At the same time, some of his records have not been broken so far. Yes, exactly Boeing 747-400 in 1989, he made the longest non-stop flight for a commercial airliner, covering a distance of more than 18,000 km from London to Sydney in 20 hours and 9 minutes. There was no cargo or passengers on board.

Boeing 747-8I German airline Lufthansa

Boeing 747-8 produced in two versions - passenger (747-8I) and cargo (747-8F). And in the near future, one more highly specialized one will probably appear: the US Air Force is looking at the 747-8 as the future "number one aircraft" - for the US President. Now this role is played by the heavily redesigned 747-200 in comparison with the production version, which was put into operation in the late 1980s. It is noteworthy that a Russian trace appears here: they are going to convert Boeing 747-8I, ordered by the ruined Russian company Transaero and currently stored in the Mojave Desert in the United States (due to climatic conditions, the aircraft stored there at a special training ground are practically not subject to corrosion).

Most voluminous: Boeing 747 Dreamlifter

Surprisingly, the giant "Mriya" was not omnipotent. When companies Boeing it was necessary to establish supply chains of parts for the latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner, its capabilities were not enough to transport parts of the wings and fuselage of the Dreamliner from Japan and Europe to a plant in Washington state. Moreover, none of the aircraft that existed at that time (the Soviet AN-124 and its own Boeing 747-400F) suited the company, and it would have been too long to transport components by sea. Then the engineers Boeing developed (note, not without the participation of the Moscow bureau of the company) a modified version Boeing 747 by calling her Dreamlifter.

Boeing Dreamlifter at Chubu International Airport (Japan)

The difference of this, frankly, rather ugly aircraft (to the president of the commercial division Boeing Scott Carson even had to jokingly apologize to the creator of the 747 Joe Sutter "for what [they] did to his aircraft") is visible to the naked eye: the 747 is noticeably swollen - the diameter of the aircraft body is significantly increased, and it opens for loading side tail.

As a result, engineers managed to achieve a record volume inside in 1840 cubic meters. notice, that Dreamlifter not unique. Earlier, with the same goals, the American Aero Spacelines Super Guppy(on it transported and transport parts of spacecraft) and the European Airbus Beluga, which delivers aircraft parts to the factory in Toulouse. Both of them, however, have a smaller usable volume.

Potential champion: Scaled Composites Model 351

May 31, 2017 in the Mojave Desert from the hangar with the confluence of the public and journalists Scaled Composites Model 351- twin-body, 6-engine aircraft, an element of the air launch aerospace system Stratolaunch, designed to lift rockets to a height of 11 kilometers Pegasus XL, from where they can launch into space, spending significantly less fuel and, therefore, having more payload on board.

Such a launch scheme is not new - for the first time to launch aircraft from other aircraft invented in the first half of the last century: in the 1930s, two airships were built in the United States, from which it was supposed to send small planes into flight. And after World War II, first in the 1970s in the USA (project Convoy Virtus), and then in the 1990s in our country (the Lightning-1000 project, aka Hercules), projects were developed to launch spacecraft from superplanes. So far, however, none of them, including the described Startlaunch, did not take off.

But soared much smaller White Knight Two, similar in design to a twin-body carrier aircraft built by the same Scaled Composites for air launch of a tourist spaceplane SpaceShipTwo billionaire Richard Branson. In 2010 year SpaceShipTwo made the first flight, separated in the air from the carrier white knight.

SpaceShipTwo(center) and carrier aircraft White Knight Two, analogue Scaled Composites Model 351

If the flight Scaled Composites Model 351 ever take place, this aircraft will break the record Hughes H-4 Hercules in terms of wingspan among aircraft ever flown: with a length of 71 meters, the length of the wing Startlaunch(and technically it has one solid wing connecting both fuselages) is 117 meters.

Photo: Larske / commons.wikimedia.org, commons.wikimedia.org, Monty Rakusen / Getty Images, Kiefer / commons.wikimedia.org, Muroi 8210 / commons.wikimedia.org, Virgin Galactic / Mark Greenberg / commons.wikimedia.org

What do you think is the largest aircraft in the world?
Oddly enough, but such an air giant is the wooden seaplane Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" built by the eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes back in 1947, and in our opinion - "Spruce Goose"

No, of course, in terms of such parameters as takeoff weight, flight load, flight range, etc. modern heavy trucks have long left it behind, but the record wingspan still remains with the Spruce Goose.
The aircraft takes its origins in 1942, when the heavy losses of the merchant fleet from submarines forced them to look for an alternative way to deliver goods. One of the options was the delivery of goods by air.

Assembly of the aircraft fuselage; 1945

The idea of ​​​​delivering goods across the Atlantic was promising, with the exception of one moment - there was no aircraft capable of doing this.
And so the eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes took up the idea. The idea seemed promising to him and he undertook to implement it, concluding a contract with the naval command for this and receiving $ 13 million from him for the construction of a heavy truck, designed to lift 60 tons of cargo, or 750 marines

Final assembly in the port of Los Angeles; 1947

The design documentation was developed quickly, and at the beginning of 1943, the construction of the aircraft began. However, the further assembly of the aircraft was extremely slow. There were many factors at play, not least of which was Hughes' desire to build the perfect aircraft.
With the end of the war, the fleet also lost interest in the aircraft, so construction progressed at a slow pace.
However, the designer was eccentric, and was engaged not only in aircraft.

Howard Hughes at a Senate hearing, Washington; August 1947

In 1947, Washington (represented by the Senate) became interested in the fate of the money spent on the construction of the aircraft, and Howard Hughes had to finish the aircraft in a hurry to show where the money went

Senator Harry Kane, along with Howard Hughes, inspect the completed aircraft; Los Angeles; August 18, 1947;

The best evidence would be the flight of the aircraft, and it took place on November 21, 1947, the Spruce Goose was controlled by the chief designer himself - Howard Hughes

Hughes, together with the flight mechanic, take readings of control instruments before the flight; November 21st, 1947

Hughes at the helm of the Goose; November 21, 1947

Before the start

In flight

During its first and last flight, the Spruce Goose covered about 2 kilometers and climbed to a height of 21 meters. The plane did make one flight. After that, it stood in readiness for a second flight until Howard's death in 1976. Such a whim of Hughes as maintaining the aircraft in working condition cost up to 1 million dollars a year.
After the death of Howard Hughes, the plane was transferred to the Aviation Museum in Long Beach.

Jack Rial (left), senior vice president of Summa Corp. Aviation Group being interviewed by journalist Walter Cronkite inside the Goose; Long Beach 1978

Moving the "Spruce Goose" to a new exhibition hangar; 1982

The largest seaplane in the world. The only dream flight. November 4th, 2012

Hughes H-4 Hercules- transport wooden flying boat, developed by the American company Hughes Aircraft under the direction of Howard Hughes. This 136-ton aircraft, originally designated as NK-1 and received the unofficial nickname Spruce Goose (Amer. "Goldfinch", "Dude"), was the largest flying boat ever built, and its wingspan still remains a record - 98 meters. It was designed to transport 750 soldiers fully equipped.

At the start of World War II, the U.S. government gave Hughes $13 million to build a prototype flying craft, but the aircraft was not ready by the end of hostilities, due to aluminum shortages and Hughes' stubbornness in trying to build the perfect machine. The Hercules aircraft, piloted by Howard Hughes himself, made its first and only flight only on November 2, 1947, when it took off to a height of 21 meters and covered approximately two kilometers in a straight line over Los Angeles Harbor. After a long period of storage, the aircraft was sent to the Long Beach Museum, California. It is currently on display at the Evergreen International Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it was moved in 1993. But let's talk about everything in order ...

In the initial period of the war, the Allies did not immediately realize what danger the German submarines. The experience of the First World War was safely forgotten, which led to simply catastrophic losses in the merchant fleet. If in 1939-1940. the number of ships sunk by the Germans did not go beyond acceptable loss rates, then in 1941-1942. Krigsmarine staged a real terror in the Atlantic. The situation was stabilized only by the end of 1942, and even then, by a global increase in the fleets of covering ships. However, the submarine threat was not eliminated. In such a situation, a completely predictable option was found - cargo can be transferred not only by water, but also by air. The main problem was only that none of the parties at that time had an aircraft with sufficient payload.

The original idea for this project was Henry J. Kaiser, a steel magnate who owned the shipyards that built the Liberty ships during World War II. The plane was designed and built by Hughes Aircraft: billionaire Howard Hughes and his team.

An order for the construction of a multi-ton wooden amphibious aircraft with a wingspan of almost a hundred meters was received from the US government in 1942. The goal was stated: to build a passenger-and-freight ship in such a way as to consume as few strategic raw materials as possible. That is: the plane was to be made not from metal, but from wood. The aircraft was intended to transport cargo and troops to help Europe at war: the traditional waterway during a certain period of hostilities turned out to be inaccessible due to the powerful development of submarines on the enemy side.

The working documentation was developed quite quickly, which cannot be said about the pace of aircraft construction. Started in 1943, construction was fully completed in mid-1947. This was influenced by several reasons, ranging from the end of the war (and as a result, the lack of interest in further work on the NK-1 on the part of the military) and ending with various legal proceedings against Hughes.

Throughout the implementation of the project, there were disputes about the amount of its financing, and in principle there was no unambiguous opinion about the need for such a project. One of the American senators dissatisfied with the project called the future aircraft a "flying timber warehouse." However, his most famous nickname is "Spruce Goose".

The aircraft's official name was originally HK-1 (derived from the surnames Hughes and Kaiser). After the Kaiser abandoned the project in 1944, Hughes renamed the aircraft H-4, and changed the tail number from NX37602 to N37602 after the first flight.

This huge flying boat consists of a hull, a cantilever wing and eight radial engines (Pratt & Whitney brand engines, 3000 hp each). It has vertical and tail surfaces, fixed wing floats. The whole construction consisted of glued timber (despite the nickname, not spruce, but birch was used in the construction).

The physical parameters of the amphibious aircraft were as follows:
length - more than 66 meters
height - 24 meters
wingspan - 98 meters
weight - 136 tons
maximum cargo weight - 59 tons
maximum number of passengers - 700 people

Flight characteristics (estimated):
maximum speed - 378 km / h
cruising speed - 282 km / h
flight range - 5634 km
flight altitude - 7165 m

For all its unprecedented size, a crew of only 3 people was required to control this aircraft.
The body of the aircraft was divided into two compartments: a flight deck for accommodating people and a large cargo compartment. For communication between the compartments, spiral staircases are installed. Fuel tanks were located below the cargo compartment, separated by watertight bulkheads.

Hughes and Kaiser's flying boat was to be the largest aircraft ever built (in fact, it turned out to be seven times the size of any aircraft built before it) and became the most amazing aircraft project of all time. Only the courage and dedication of Howard Hughes and his small team of like-minded people made it possible to complete the construction, despite everything they did not refuse to work and nevertheless sent the Hercules on its only historical flight.

At some point, contradictions between the project leaders, Hughes and Kaiser, were sharply outlined: Henry Kaiser suggested limiting himself to a 70-ton apparatus in order to meet the deadline and provide the customer with a finished product; however, Hughes insisted on a larger one - a 200-ton aircraft, which required where big investments time and money. Henry Kaiser refused further participation in the project, and Howard Hughes became more and more interested in the idea, making new suggestions and improvements that further delayed the completion of construction.

In 1942, for the US government, this was an urgent, priority order. By 1944, the priorities had changed: due to a change in the situation on the world fronts, the state's interest in the project was gone. The government expected to cancel the construction contract. But Hughes' motivation by that time had already ceased to be rational: rather, he was seized by the idea of ​​​​building an air cargo ship that surpassed the wildest human fantasies.

Keeping in mind the entire global project, Hughes did not lose sight of even the most inconspicuous details: nothing but his personal eccentricity could explain the need to sit for hours discussing the design of the dashboard. Being a perfectionist by nature, he still could not bring himself to admit the work was done, until finally such numerous delays attracted the attention of the Senate: a committee was created to review the current work.

The construction of the aircraft was completed only in 1947: a huge amount of $ 22 million went out of the US state budget for the project. But the matter was not limited to this: due to insufficient funding, Howard Hughes spent his own 18 million on the project.

On November 2, 1947, the Hercules was launched and Howard Hughes and his small crew started the engines in test mode. After making several passes through the water, in front of excited spectators, mostly journalists who watched the movements of the vessel, the Hercules broke away from the surface of the Los Angeles harbor, setting off on its first and last, unannounced flight. Hughes himself was at the helm.

At a low altitude of just over 20 meters, the plane traveled about two kilometers at a speed of about 120 km/h and made a perfect landing. This test run, performed by Howard Hughes despite an official ban on taking the Hercules into the air, was intended to rebuff the critics of the project and prove that the largest aircraft in the history of mankind can still fly. To this day, many consider this flight one of the greatest moments in the history of aviation.

Having completed its historic flight, the Spruce Goose returned to its hangar - a giant building specially built for it - never to take off again. At the request of Hughes, until his death in 1976, the state of the aircraft was constantly maintained in full "combat readiness", including monthly engine starts.

Over the past 50 years, the aircraft has become one of America's favorite artifacts, moving from the world of the military industry to the category of cultural objects. Today, his story is seen as an example of unprecedented determination and self-sacrifice. Hughes H-4 Hercules has become one of the symbols of the twentieth century.

Although in fact, Howard Hughes' Hercules was not so useless. This aircraft, for all its imperfections, was decades ahead of its time, becoming one of the steps of the technical revolution not only in aviation, but in engineering in general. He demonstrated the potential of artificial aircraft, largely shaping the modern understanding of the implementation of flights.

After a long period of storage at the base of the flying club in Southern California, next to the decommissioned Queen Mary ocean liner, in 1992 the aircraft was transferred to the Evergreen Aviation Museum - museum educational center in the state of Oregon. To this day, it remains the largest man-made aircraft to take to the air.

The most interesting thing is that many of you have seen its prototype. Of course, provided that you watched the movie "The Aviator", with Leonardo DiCaprio (Leonardo DiCaprio).

The creator of the Hughes H-4 Hercules, named Howard Hughes, who ran his own company Hughes Aircraft, became the prototype for the protagonist of the painting The Aviator.

There are longer aircraft in the world, there are more carrying ones, but the Hercules, which made its first flight in 1947, is still unsurpassed in terms of wingspan (97.5 m), and in height to the tip of the keel only the newest A-380- 800.

Wooden plane - it's some kind

At the beginning of the era of aviation, when the first "flyers", "blerios" and "farmans" were just beginning to circle in the air, no one was surprised that wood and fabric were used to make them. However, as time went on, the requirements for the strength characteristics of airplanes grew, steel and aluminum were already used in their construction. But in the midst of World War II, reports suddenly began to come from across the ocean that an airplane made of wood was being built in the United States. Not a training biplane or transport, but a huge flying boat, designed to become the largest aircraft in the world.

"Hughes H-4" Hercules "(eng. Hughes H-4 Hercules) was a flying boat made of wood, designed and built by Hughes Aircraft under the direct supervision of its owner Howard Hughes. Spruce Goose, or "Spruce Goose", was the informal nickname for this vehicle, which was designed to carry 750 fully equipped soldiers.

The reasons why the car was born were quite reasonable and serious. After the entry of the United States into the Second world war the US military faced a serious problem. German submarines operated with impunity in the Atlantic, and the delivery of troops and equipment across the ocean by sea became a very dangerous business: in the first seven months of 1942 alone, the Germans sank almost 700 Allied ships and vessels. To solve the problem, shipbuilder Henry Kaiser proposed a large flying boat, and aircraft designer Howard Hughes brought his idea to life, creating a giant aircraft that still has no equal.

The US Department of Defense issued an order for the creation of an amphibious aircraft in 1942. According to the contract, the cost of a huge flying boat was necessary with a minimum consumption of such strategic materials as aluminum and steel, which went into the production of combat aircraft. As a result, the entire structure of the machine consisted of glued wood, and despite the nickname given to it, it was used as building material not a spruce, but an ordinary birch. Hughes developed the working documentation for the aircraft quite quickly, but the construction of the machine was rather slow. They were able to complete the Hercules only after the war, in 1947, when no one needed it. In many ways, work on the project was delayed due to the contradictions that arose between its leaders Howard Hughes and Henry Kaiser. As a result, the government canceled the contract for the aircraft. But this did not stop Hughes: he was seized by the desire to create a unique aircraft that would surpass the most daring projects in this area.

Hughes and Kaiser's flying boat turned out to be seven times larger than any other aircraft. Only its wingspan reached a record 98 meters! It was possible to complete the construction only thanks to the perseverance and perseverance of Howard Hughes and his small team of like-minded people.

The plane was very expensive. So, from the US state budget, a huge amount of 22 million dollars was spent on the project at that time. But this was not enough: due to lack of funding, Hughes spent his own 18 million on it.

Immediately after the completion of the first flight, which took place on November 2, 1947, the Spruce Goose returned to a giant hangar specially built for it and never took off again. However, at the request of Hughes, until his death in 1976, the aircraft was maintained in working order. For example, it monthly carried out the launch of all engines.

Over time, this aircraft has become one of the most beloved modern artifacts of America and has turned from an object of military equipment into the category of historical and cultural monuments, symbolizing the greatness and power of the human mind.

Howard Hughes' "Hercules" was not nearly as useless as it is still sometimes said to be. After all, with all its imperfections, it became revolutionary not only in aviation, but in all engineering in general. The aircraft showed the potential of aircraft made from traditional materials of the past era, and largely shaped the understanding of the tasks of modern transport aviation, which formed the basis of many of its current projects.