The Hughes H-4 Hercules is perhaps Howard Hughes most significant achievement within his lifetime. While he has had a number of successful ventures in his time, this contribution to aviation was a turning point for the entire industry. The project began in 1942 with a request from the U.S. War Department for a better means of large-scale transport after German U-boats created substantial losses. The aircraft was to carry 150,000 pounds, the equivalent of 750 fully equipped troops. Another one of the specifications was that the aircraft could not be made of “strategic materials” including aluminum. Henry Kaiser, a steel magnate and shipbuilder decided to team up with Hughes because of his engineering and aviation prowess. The project was originally titled the HK-1, being the first Hughes-Kaiser plane, but was later changed to the H-4 when Kaiser withdrew from the project. Restrictions forced the designers to eventually land on birch as the primary material, with other materials used for specialized areas of the plane. Yet, the nickname “the Spruce Goose” caught hold in the press, and became the unofficial name of the project. Howard despised the nickname the press had dubbed the project with; he felt that it was an insult to what would be the biggest flying machine to be recorded. The production of the machine, which was originally set to last 24 months, was slow moving in large part because of Hughes’ notorious perfectionism. Problems continued to arise when the war had officially ended, and the plane was still far from being completed. This eventually led to a Senate War Investigating Committee in 1947, which questioned the Hughes Aircraft Company’s use of government funds for what many had deemed a failed project. "...if it's a failure, I'll probably leave this country and never come back. And I mean it.” When the project was finally completed, the price tag was a total of $23 million, $7 million of which Hughes contributed directly, with the rest being government funded. During a break in the testimony, Hughes returned to California and had the plane transported to long beach for what would be its only flight. On November 2, 1947 Hughes piloted the Hercules with 30 passengers for a taxi flight. While his critics might detract that the plane was over-budget, overdue, and had a limited to use to put it mildly, aviation aficionados understand the bigger picture.
Hughes had helped to create the largest flying machine ever built, and did so almost entirely out of wood. The machine would later help to inspire current designs or large-scale crafts such as the Boeing 747. Hughes again demonstrated his profound character, with what many deemed as a failure to become one of the monumental achievements in his field.
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