Friday, April 15, 2005
Hughes Flying Boat H-4 (HK-1) Hercules “Spruce Goose”
I love water, I have made it plain and clear. I've got Multi Time, Turbine Time, Ski Time, Wheel Time, Taildragger Time, but the most enjoyable and fulfilling flying I have ever done has been on floats. I love early spring when the ice just leaves the lakes and the water is cold and clear, and the fishing is second-to-none. I love the fall, and hauling moose hunters into and out of stretches of river a helicopter would have a hard time using. Anyway, I love floatplanes and flying boats, so I just thought I would post info on a ship that has one minute of flying time, and never went higher than 70 ASL while flying! She has been repaired and has a new home, and continues to and will be a major attraction for years to come. She was a ship decades ahead of her time, and too late to contribute to WW11. Some considered her a strange man's folly, and everyone has their own opinion. She still has the longest wingspan of any aircraft ever built, 320', 30' longer than the AN-225 Cossack! She is an eight radial piston-engined aircraft made of white birch, she is;
The "SPRUCE GOOSE"
Cargo Aircraft Prototype
Largest wingspan: 319 feet, 11 inches with a wing area that covers 11,430 square feet
Features full cantilever wing and tail surfaces
Tallest aircraft: 79 feet, 3 3/8 inches
Length: 218 fee 6 ¼ inches
Largest seaplane
Largest wooden aircraft: the entire airframe is composed of laminated wood
Primary control surfaces, except the flaps, are fabric-covered
Power: Eight Pratt & Whitney R-4360, 3,000 horsepower engines
Propellers: Eight, 17 feet, 2 inch diameter
Weight, Empty: 300,000 pounds
Weight, Loaded: 400,000 pounds (maximum take-off weight)
Capacity: 750 troops or two Sherman tanks
Normal Crew: 18
First And Only Flight: November 2, 1947
The most reciprocating horsepower ever installed in an aircraft
Estimated Performance:
Cruise Speed: 141 to 150 miles per hour at 5,000 feet
Top Speed: 227 to 231 miles per hour at 5,000 feet
Range: 2,975 miles with 12,500 gallons of fuel
Spruce Goose - Introduction
Spruce Goose - Move To Oregon
Spruce Goose - Description
Spruce Goose - Home, Engine Installation, and Interior Slide-Show
Google Spruce Goose Images
What a behemoth!!! Could you even begin to fathom the sound 24,000 HP would make coming from radial piston engines composed of 224 cylinders? I would love to hear it!!
The "SPRUCE GOOSE"
Cargo Aircraft Prototype
Largest wingspan: 319 feet, 11 inches with a wing area that covers 11,430 square feet
Features full cantilever wing and tail surfaces
Tallest aircraft: 79 feet, 3 3/8 inches
Length: 218 fee 6 ¼ inches
Largest seaplane
Largest wooden aircraft: the entire airframe is composed of laminated wood
Primary control surfaces, except the flaps, are fabric-covered
Power: Eight Pratt & Whitney R-4360, 3,000 horsepower engines
Propellers: Eight, 17 feet, 2 inch diameter
Weight, Empty: 300,000 pounds
Weight, Loaded: 400,000 pounds (maximum take-off weight)
Capacity: 750 troops or two Sherman tanks
Normal Crew: 18
First And Only Flight: November 2, 1947
The most reciprocating horsepower ever installed in an aircraft
Estimated Performance:
Cruise Speed: 141 to 150 miles per hour at 5,000 feet
Top Speed: 227 to 231 miles per hour at 5,000 feet
Range: 2,975 miles with 12,500 gallons of fuel
Spruce Goose - Introduction
Spruce Goose - Move To Oregon
Spruce Goose - Description
Spruce Goose - Home, Engine Installation, and Interior Slide-Show
Google Spruce Goose Images
What a behemoth!!! Could you even begin to fathom the sound 24,000 HP would make coming from radial piston engines composed of 224 cylinders? I would love to hear it!!
