The IJN Yamato is a better candidate for megaprojects, in my opinion. The Liberty Ships were the T-34's of transport/cargo ships. Yamato was the largest battleship ever built. It had more displacement than the modern UK Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
My wife, daughter, and I were on a trip to the Los Angeles area for my job at the time and I just couldn't pass up a chance to see this piece of engineering and American history so we made a special side trip to the Long Beach area to see the Spruce Goose AND the Queen Mary that were both on display on the Long Beach waterfront. We were extremely excited to learn just after our arrival that we were luckily there for a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the flight of the airplane, November 2, 1987 that was attended by every surviving member of the flight crew and quite a few of the support crew that were responsible for it at that time. We all received commemorative buttons with both dates and the plane printed on them along with signed photographs of the 'Goose in flight. It was truly a memorable occasion for everyone, including our nine year old daughter.
I am a PDX'er (Portland, Oregon). Evergreen is a beautiful museum where this plane is obviously the main attraction among many many other rare aerospace treasures ;). Thanks for the excellent video Simon!
Great to see this video too because my partner and I were planning a trip down to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum once travel restrictions and been lifted and it reopens, specifically for the H-4 Hercules. But I didn't know they had an SR-71 Blackbird as well. Now I'm extra excited!
Visited that museum two years ago and went through the Goose. It’s pretty impressive. The de Havilland Mosquito was also made of wood and a huge success in multiple roles.
HIV Aladeen that’s a unit cost, development is over 400 billion... so 300 million to develop is actually pretty cheap in comparison. Even the development cost of the A380 was over 25 billion with unit cost punching 400 million.
@@jeffk464 Both the 747 and A380 are now being retired from airline fleets around the world. They're almost completely obsolete because of cost efficiencies. Some 747s will continue to fly but as cargo aircraft.
Just a small nit, at the time that Hughes acquired it TWA stood for “Transcontinental & Western Air”, it wasn’t until 1950 that the name was changed to Trans World Airlines.
Visited LA in 1982 and saw the H4 at its dome next to the Queen Mary. It was magnificent. Alone in the dome in the dark with perfect subdued lighting. Spent all day. Nice memories to those 3 weeks touring the USA.
This plane was in my hometown of McMinnville where I grew up or at least very close by, and when I was little I would beg my grandparents to take me and Ive sat in that cockpit countless times. I was always so captvated and amazed when I would enter. That whole museum is amazing.
The Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, Ca. were launching a ship in less than 48 hours! They still had to be outfitted with additional materials but nevertheless they did it! Our war laborers were second to none. You should do a video on them. Truly an amazing workforce! My mother and father were in that workforce and they always talked about how proud they were to get 'their boys' the materials to fight and win. Thanks mom & dad.
I've lived in Oregon most of my life and did not even realize the spruce goose was right here in Oregon until I watched a video by a British guy living in the Czech republic.....hmm
I've been to the Evergreen museum a couple times, and the Hercules is incredible. it absolutely dwarfs all other aircraft there. That being said, the other aircraft are outstanding!
When my kids were young I took them to see the Spruce Goose when it was in Long Beach. We'd make a day of it doing the Spruce Goose the Queen Mary and the little tourist trap village that was part of the complex. Great family memories.
I grew up in San Pedro with the H-4. My Dad was in Land Survey and frequently as the Harbor Grew had to visit the place under the Vincent Tomas Bridge where H-4 was kept (ALWAYS in flight-readiness). Dad got to know "The Last Mechanic" he gave my Dad a spark plug and sample wing strut cutting. The cutting was used to verify there was no deterioration of the wood overall the time since H-4 had flown. As a 64 year old man and pilot myself, these are most cherished. All of us that loved planes hated to see H-4 moved to Oregon. I did visit her with my family many years later. For me, it was as if looking upon the statue of David. I love that plane
The SOB really will fly! I'm glad I wasn't the only one how thought of the movie. That and that episode of the Simpsons with Mr Burns and his "spruce goose"
Asks for a ridiculously large plane made out of substandard materials requiring brand new techniques and then is upset when it isn't done quickly. Sounds about right.
turkeytrac1 Very true. However I’m sure the H4’s size contributed to its long development time and challenges making it airworthy. I would assume that the larger the vehicle, the easier it is to build out of metal or composite materials rather than wood.
Wood is good for many things...even smaller aircraft.....but not a Giant like this, but yet they did it! Add to that ....it was a requirement NOT TO TAKE AWAY FROM ANY CRITICAL WAR MATERIALS. Me, I take my hat off to the plane, designers and Hughes. We'd be better off with more like em today.
He's going to have to in order to clear up the bullshit lies he just told you... American production of its merchant fleet out paced Germany's capacity to destroy them by literally dozens of times over. There was absolutely no chance of success for Germany. Literally zero. Seriously, for every ship they destroyed dozens more entered service
Another great one!! 1:56 the B-29 in use at the time was 99 ft in length with a 141 ft wingspan and a gross weight of 120,000 vs 64 ft, 95 ft and 25,000 lb gross weight though. Yes on the liberty ship segment. Love your work its helping stay quasi sane during these days
I have watched this many times. I am so glad to see a version of this story that is unbiased and professional. Thank you Simon. My 11 year old daughter loves it as well.
This is an enormous job and I'm getting it done to perfection. Oh, ok. Carry on. Dude just walked into the Senate and broke the table with his brass balls.
So, this is actually a family story tied to this very plane. When they moved it in October of 1980 in the Port of Long Beach, before it would eventually end up in the dome that houses it now, they built a special cradle to lift the plane without putting any undo strain on it and damage/ dent it when lifting with a crane, the cradle didn't fit. My dad's tugboat company, Jones Tug and Barge, was subcontracted to help with the moving of the Spruce Goose and ended up holding it in place with 3 tugs for three days while they fixed the cradle. The total operation ended costing Jones Tug a couple $20k at least, and they never got paid a dime. Jones Tug and Barge also were responsible for pushing the Queen Marry into it's final dock in Long Beach because they were the only ones that had tugs small enough to get in around the berth before they finished the sea wall that surrounds it now. We have a picture of that day, and you can see by the flags on the Queen Mary that they were fighting a cross breeze trying to shove the ship into the wall.
I remember seeing it in Long Beach, under its “dome” when I also saw the Queen Mary. It was an amazing accomplishment even if it was never used for its original design purpose. Well done video.
Lockheed’s C5 Galaxy was for a time the largest plane, built right here in my hometown (my mother was an engineer on it, the L-1011 Tristar and some C-130 Hercules programs) and trust me it’s BIG!
I was lucky enough to visit the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose together when they were in Long Beach - I was just a kid, but that was perhaps the moment when aviation became firmly embedded in my life. I still remember looking up in awe at every inch of that aircraft. The engines looked puny compared to the size of the plane, but after working on large / twin row radials today, I realize that even those were dwarfed by the engines on the Hercules. Howard Hughes is just a fascinating guy, even with all of his quirks (no one is perfect) he was indeed quite brilliant. As with many at the time, the stuff they saw as "obvious" was considered impossible or blasphemy by the press/general population.
The sign is not for the pilots seat, it's for the radio operators table, so many people sit on the table when their picture is be taken in a group shot. The table is not to be set on. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Flying Boat.
This would be a good one, Glomar explorer was really something else. I'd also like to see Sea Shadow, another item that was left to rot in the mothball fleet (in the Hughes Mining Barge)... in essence there could be 2 more episodes featuring the eccentric on himself.
OMG! It could be a MegaProject and a Business Blaze! The whole piece where Hughes convinced the world he was just building a giant sea vacuum is right up Danny's alley.
"The DC-3 was the biggest plane in production at the time." The Pan-Am Clippers, B-17, and British Airways flying boats are all well bigger than a DC-3 and of the same vintage.
Also the Martin Mars, the biggest flying boat ever actually used, was in operation during WW2. Not in large numbers, though. They made only five production version aicraft, seven in total. Two of them even served as water bombers putting out forest fires up until these days, too. Well worth a google for those interested in airplanes who didn't already know about this beautiful thing.
Not to mention the 4-engine airliners of the time, like the DC-6, Constellation, and Stratocruiser. I like the other shows/podcasts Simon presents but Megaprojects often has too many errors to be fun.
The Clippers weren't in production when this began, this was also started, as HK-1 a year before the Connie. The 36 was not built until 49, and was not in service, as he means it here, it was a military plane, as was the B17, B24, and B29, the Lancaster, the Halifax and the Sterling. The DC6 wasn't built either. Like the bombers you guys mentioned, the Martin Mars were purpose built military aircraft, in this case long range heavy transport. Thus, with the possible exception of the Ju52, which was in MUCH more limited service, fewer in number, and carried less, there is actually a pretty good argument to say that the largest plane in service, as in commercial service, in the early 1940s, certainly when this project began, was the DC3/C47. You MIGHT a few examples of much more limited local planes, but GENERALLY speaking, the 3 was about as big as planes "in service" got. This plane was meant to be a civilian commercial transport aircraft to replace merchant shipping. Thus comparing the two is apt. You people just have to fucking gnit pick everything, don't you?
1:56 "....at the time, the largest aircraft in use was the DC-3...." Maybe at the beginning of World War II, but not by the end. The Douglas C-54 Skymaster, a military version of the DC-4, was flying in 1943. The Lockheed Constellation was built from 1943 to 1958. There were also the DC-6 (1946) and the B-17 and B-29 bombers. All of these were bigger than the DC-3, but only the B-17 was in use at the beginning of the war.. OTOH Noah Dietrich, Howard Hughes' Chief Executive Officer and factotum, reports in his book "Howard: The Amazing Mr. Hughes" (1972) that those connected with the Hercules called it the "Jesus Christ," because that was the first thing you said when you saw it. I saw it in Long Beach in the 1980's before it was moved to Oregon, and I said that myself--and I'd seen Boeing 747s already. Cheers.
Those are all tiny baby land planes. To compare apples to apples (or giant flying boats to giant flying boats), the Martin JRM Mars (at 200ft/61m wingspan) was ordered in 1938, first flight in 1942, seven delivered to the US Navy from 1945-1947. Two are still extant, converted to firefighting water bombers in 1959, and still in service with extensive upgrades. Of the others, two were scrapped, two sank (one because of an engine fire and one in a typhoon), and the other one (of the three converted for firefighting) crashed because it was too heavy to climb over the mountain when its water-dropping mechanism got stuck.
Just the numbers on that machine! Up to 250 decibels on launch, Seven and a half million pounds of thrust, it remains the most powerful machine man has ever built.
In the 90"s I lived in Southern California and was fortunate enough to visit the Spruce Goose in its original hanger. It was truly impressive. Right by the hanger was the Queen Mary set up as a tourist attraction and hotel. Both were amazing to see. Was sad to see the SG move to Oregon
I used to live some 20 miles from the Evergreen Museum, went there a few times... Last time was probably 2005 or so. Simon is *NOT* kidding about how gigantic that beast is! Most newbies to the museum spend the first few minutes ducking a little when they catch the Goose out of the corners of their eyes while looking at the aircraft sitting underneath. Ford Trimotor, various fighter jets, etc, and an SR-71 to boot! None of these planes are small, but they looks like baby chicks being protected under the wings of "mommy", the Spruce Goose.
I would consider the H-4 a successful prototype, If it were built in aluminum it probably would be so much lighter and with post war turbo props I bet that would have been a game changer.
A good video. And I'm intending to visit the museum in the near future. The H-4 was a piece of aviation history that should always be respected. Hughes did it!
I visited the plane once, many years ago when it was still in Long Beach, CA. I even got to walk around part of the inside a little bit (up to the flight deck.) The size is still quite impressive, even if it could never have flown well enough to be practical. What I remember most vividly (and being most impressed by) was the ingenious helical configuration of the cylinders of the engine, to get the maximum power out of them.
I also sat in that seat, when I visited the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in early 2015. A spectacular place to visit, but I only got to spend about 4 hours there. I still have to put together the model of the 'Spruce Goose', that I picked up in their gift shop. It's somewhere in my pile of around 80 other unbuilt kits I've yet to get to. If you're ever in the Portland area....the museum is located in nearby McMinville. At the time, there were 3 main buildings. 1 housing a lot of space stuff & vintage helicopters. the other housing the 'Goose' & a lot of other planes....& the 3rd building was a big movie theater complex, showing a bunch of different aviation-related documentaries.
I had a similar experience, my parents took me to see it in Long Beach when I was 12? Maybe? I don’t know I remember I lost my glasses in the ocean and someone actually found them and placed them on a rock, anyhow I remember seeing it and sitting in it only difference is I didn’t become a pilot, yet.
when it was in Long Beach i visited it as a kid, I still remember the whole thing and i have a poster of it somewhere. i wish they would return it back to long beach.
Long Beach didn't own the plane when it was there, it was leased by Jack Rather from the Aero Club of Southern California. When Rather died in 1984, Disney bought the dome and picked up the lease on the Flying Boat. Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum bought the Flying Boat from ACSC and moved it to McMinnville, OR where it is on display now in a better condition than at Long Beach. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.
@@karlepaul6632 There was an employee contest, the winning name was Hughes Hercules. The employee got a $100 war bond for the winning name. Hughes hated all the names given to the plane. Hope this helps. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Flying Boat.
Such a great job on this one, nice ending, it will keep people thinking. BTW , properly used wood is stronger pound for pound than most metals, and is much more acoustically damp than metal. The latter is great when working with things that vibrate a lot like radial engines and strong air flow.
I feel real old now. Not only did I make seven trips to Vietnam on WWII Victory ships, I also worked on the H-4 Hercules from 1973 until 1978. All in all I've probably been on it a couple of thousand times or more. I find this video mostly accurate with only a couple of faults A couple of added extras. The Glowmar Explorer was moored just ahead of the goose for a couple of years and while Evergreen is great I was there a couple of years ago the volunteers they have answering questions were telling people a lot of false things about the planes time in the hanger in Long Beach One of the best jobs I ever had.
I totally love that you gave a shout out to the Evergreen national aviation Museum I freaking love that place they’re awesome and I think they had a pool or something built next door
8:03 "as far as we know, there was never anything called the H-2 or the H-3, and we don't know why he chose 4..." *Simon* i would bet that it was called '4' because H-4 Hercules = H-for-Hercules!!! :D
The H-1 was Hughes Racer, the H-2 or the D-2 was the second aircraft, the XF-11 was his third aircraft. He crashed it in Beverly Hills. I hope that answered your question. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation Museum, home of the Spruce Goose.
I would be glad to give you all the stats you want on the Flying Boat. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Flying Boat.
@@bebdlk Thank you so much for the offer! No thank you however, this was more of a comment to the entire channel, and it sounds like Simon started this whether he saw my comment or not!
Great episode, Simon! As a licensed pilot and life-long aviation nut, I'm always interested in learning the fascinating history of legendary aircraft. Thanks so much!
It is truly a sight to behold. I saw this plane years ago when it was in Long Beach. You strolled down a corridor and turned a corner and entered a gigantic room. When I turned the corner and first saw the plane I gasped out loud. I had never seen anything so unbelievably HUGE.
Honestly, this plane could have been a success, but everything about the project was against it from the start. I can't help but wonder how different it would have been with access to aluminium and other manufacturing companies.
There's a museum (Evergreen Aeronautica & Space) in a town nearby where I live. They have the entire museum building built around the Hercules. It's such a large plane, they had to take the ends of the wings off so that it would fit in the building. I love that museum.
I feel like the Spruce Goose is a very good metaphor for the US as a whole: a completely unthinkable challenge with a rediculous price tag, somehow completed through the grit of a slightly insane person, successfully proven once just to spite detractors, then shelved in a museam leaving more questions than answers about the whole thing.
You may scoff at wood being used, may I point to one of the most iconic and versitile wooden wonder, the de Havilland Mosquito multi role combat plane. Would love a mega project on this.
He's not wrong that Hercules was a Roman god though. The Romans adopted the Greek hero/god Herakles into their own pantheon and made him the founder of the Latin tribe. Hercules is the Roman rendition of Herakles.
Hercules wasn't a god though, he was a hero, so a demi-god, half divine and half mortal. The Greeks considered semi divine to be heroes, mortals could be praised but not as heroes. Greek name was Herakles
@@elimalinsky7069 _Followed by his twin goddesses, HerUkulele and Herkankles, singing a duet of "Mele Kalikimaka" every Saturday evening outside of some Convenience Store. {0.o}_
It was defiantly not a failure, as a prototype it was immaculate, Hughes knew from the outset that wood was not strong enough for a plane of that size. He was also right to never fly it again, there were stress fractures in wing gussets after the "test flight" . To fly again at altitude would have been suicidal. Much was learnt about heavy plane design in particular control surface dimensions allowing aircraft such as the 747 to proceed quickly. Also plywood technology was advanced as a result of Hughes's developments. In a sense it was a working mock up.
@@ChadWilson not to mention working round the clock and knowing your project through and through. However, the one built in a few days also broke in half. Lol
Wonderful video. Simon, your appreciation of this amazing aircraft comes through loud and clear, and I salute you for it. THis plane was an amazing achievement, even if it came too late to serve in WW2. But as you of course know, that fate befell many other aircraft, ships and weapons systems. In a way, I suppose that's a good thing. What a shame so many of our greatest achievements are spawned by war. Thanks for all your fabulous work... I look forward to your next video!
13:11 "It was also the first plane to use AC power rather than the wires used on other planes because it was simply so big that wiring would weigh it down considerably." Uh, that's word salad. What I think you meant to say is that the H-4 had a high-voltage electrical system rather than low-voltage to keep currents low for a given power so smaller diameter (and thus lighter) cabling could be used. I believe the system was DC, not AC. Good vid tho.
davidf2281 I don’t think that you know what “word salad” means. There were no random words or phrases thrown in. He’s not an electrical engineer, but his point was made well enough for the purposes of the video.
This high voltage is correct, 120 Volts DC was used, a three wire system. The APU 120 Volts DC, 30 Kilowatts and the engine generators for the plane were 120 Volts DC, 15 Kilowatts.
First few seconds I think it was in Oregon. We get no love here. Also it's in a air museum outside of salem I believe. I think they have a SR-72, a B17, I think a mig, and a P-51, I also think there is a tank museum there too. It's been awhile since it was a field trip I took there when I got to see the spruce goose.
You know, I completely missed that. As a Washingtonian by birth, I still in my nearly 55 years not found the "r" in Washington. So many people say ore gon' that I assume they are referring to a kind of rail car. It's like people saying "morris" instead of Morse. Slack action in the old brain box, I guess.
@@julieenslow5915 - And let's not start on local place names, like Puyallup or Sequim. I bet somebody could even get Humptulips wrong, and how can one Humptulips incorrectly?!
I heard that the intended purpose of the plane was to be used in the Pacific theater of war. The problem was lots of islands that had no landing strips and it was too hazardous to bring in deep draft vessels close to coral islands. The could bring an entire army in this plane, land in the water and taxi up to the shore to land the troops. At the time it made a lot of sense but by the time it could be effectively employed the atom bomb was a certainty and the end of the war was on the horizon. I also heard that Hughes decided to be effective they had to upgrade the engines on the plane but it never happened as jets were in development.
I got to see it while it was long beach next to the Queen Mary. I was eight years old and in absolute awe of this modern marvel. You mentioned the SR-71, this I have seen in two different air bases. She is beauty incarnate.
@@magnemoe1 You can get a special tour, I have sat in that seat on two different visits. That plane is incredible, and it is worth the extra cost to get full access.
@@pauljohnson8002 Get it and it make sense, kind of like Kennedy Space Center has loads of tour options. However we picked up one party member with some hangover had climbed into an WW2 transport plane at an museum in München and sleep on an stretcher.
I've been to Evergreen and seen the H4... gorgeous plane. I wasn't willing to spend $40 to be able to sit in the cockpit, so I just admired it from (slightly) afar. I personally think somebody should revamp the thing and get it to actually fly. Would be an awesome testament to Hughes.
I got to see it when it was in CA when it was next door to the Queen Mary. Never got to sit in the pilot's seat, but we did get to walk through parts of it. As a kid I remember being stunned and in awe of it's MASSIVE size for a plane.
Simon: I'm just gonna quickly disregard how they got such a gigantic plane from Long Beach Harbor in CALIFORNIA to a landlocked city museum in OREGON and see if nobody catches on... Me: Ahhh, Mr. Whistler....
So we're clear- I was pointing out to MR. WHISTLER that he forgot something. I know they stuck the pieces in trucks and drove them to the museum. I'm just wondering if people get to hear about the H4's reason for only being flown once- it dissapeared to radar, which was why Hughes hid it for a half-century. The fact that the plane operated on AC electricity, and was made of a wood-composite, made the plane all-but dissapear to radar, save for the engines and the console. In fact, the radar operators at nearby Pt. Doom, reported seeing "a flock of geese" flying in perfect formation where the H4 was supposedly watertaxing to test the water-proofing of the airship's hull.
So we're clear- I was pointing out to MR. WHISTLER that he forgot something. I know they stuck the pieces in trucks and drove them to the museum. I'm just wondering if people get to hear about the H4's reason for only being flown once- it disappeared to radar, which was why Hughes hid it for a half-century. The fact that the plane operated on AC electricity, and was made of a wood-composite, made the plane all-but disappear to radar, save for the engines and the console. In fact, the radar operators at nearby Pt. Doom, reported seeing "a flock of geese" flying in perfect formation where the H4 was supposedly watertaxying to test the water-proofing of the airship's hull.
@@guardsmanom134 I've never heard that... I assumed the Goose was put in storage was that Hughes wholly owned it, and he didn't want it destroyed after it was clear it was militarily obsolete...
The Evergreen museum is awesome! I got to go a few years ago and was very impressed. They have a ton of unique airplanes there and the facility is immaculate.
At Expo 86 in Vancouver Canada, an aviation film 'made light' of early flight attempts - then faded at end to astronauts exiting the Lunar Excursion Module. You make the same point very well.🙏
Definitely do Liberty Ships
This, we did a brief overview of liberty ships at college and it was fascinating
Yes please
The IJN Yamato is a better candidate for megaprojects, in my opinion. The Liberty Ships were the T-34's of transport/cargo ships. Yamato was the largest battleship ever built. It had more displacement than the modern UK Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Yes on Liberty ships. I was born here Wilmington NC and this town was a major builder of them.
There is still a Liberty ship in The USA it is on the East coast. I think it is a museum now.
Simon: Liberty Ships?
The internet: Yes.
Yes
Yes
umm yes please :D
Can confirm.
Simon: Liberty Ships? The internet: JUST WRITE THE GODDAM SCRIPT, DANNY!
My wife, daughter, and I were on a trip to the Los Angeles area for my job at the time and I just couldn't pass up a chance to see this piece of engineering and American history so we made a special side trip to the Long Beach area to see the Spruce Goose AND the Queen Mary that were both on display on the Long Beach waterfront. We were extremely excited to learn just after our arrival that we were luckily there for a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the flight of the airplane, November 2, 1987 that was attended by every surviving member of the flight crew and quite a few of the support crew that were responsible for it at that time. We all received commemorative buttons with both dates and the plane printed on them along with signed photographs of the 'Goose in flight. It was truly a memorable occasion for everyone, including our nine year old daughter.
I was born that day!
The H4 Hercules was a beautiful craft. With what Howard had to work with, he and his crews did an amazing job with her.
2:25 - Chapter 1 - WWII
4:10 - Chapter 2 - Howard Hughes
6:15 - Chapter 3 - A long construction
9:00 - Chapter 4 - Senate hearing
11:00 - Chapter 5 - The spruce goose
13:30 - Chapter 6 - The flight
15:45 - Chapter 7 - The disappearing goose
I am a PDX'er (Portland, Oregon). Evergreen is a beautiful museum where this plane is obviously the main attraction among many many other rare aerospace treasures ;). Thanks for the excellent video Simon!
That and the Blackbird!
@@TheCerealHobbyistand now an F-117 😁
Liberty ship? Danny, SMASH THAT SCRIPT !!!
For this series, it might be Olivier. But I understand the reference. A good one!
Would definitely love to see a video on the Liberty ships, I'd not heard of them before this video. 48 days to construct? Amazing.
I too would love to see this. My grandpa was a merchant marine during the battle of the Atlantic running cargo on liberty ships
Great to see this video too because my partner and I were planning a trip down to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum once travel restrictions and been lifted and it reopens, specifically for the H-4 Hercules. But I didn't know they had an SR-71 Blackbird as well. Now I'm extra excited!
Cash Garman my mother came to America in 1947 on a Liberty ship
I believe the record for fastest construction of a liberty ship was like 3 or 4 days.
@@cashgarman be sure to plan at LEAST a full day for the Museum. Evergreen has a space museum too right next door.
Visited that museum two years ago and went through the Goose. It’s pretty impressive. The de Havilland Mosquito was also made of wood and a huge success in multiple roles.
300 million dollar in today's money, well that is nothing in plane development... probably doesn't even cover the cost of coffee on the F-35 project..
One f35 is about just more than1/3 of that total cost
HIV Aladeen that’s a unit cost, development is over 400 billion... so 300 million to develop is actually pretty cheap in comparison. Even the development cost of the A380 was over 25 billion with unit cost punching 400 million.
@@Turroc2077 All to replace the 747, which really didn't need replacing.
@@jeffk464 Both the 747 and A380 are now being retired from airline fleets around the world. They're almost completely obsolete because of cost efficiencies. Some 747s will continue to fly but as cargo aircraft.
You know what inflation is?
Mega Project suggestion: The Arecibo Observatory
I would love to see that covered
Cradle?! Sweet! Watch out for Alec though.
26 seconds? I have something in common with the H4
He's got you covered, he made a video. Unfortunately this comment is a little sad now since the observatory collapsed :(
Just a small nit, at the time that Hughes acquired it TWA stood for “Transcontinental & Western Air”, it wasn’t until 1950 that the name was changed to Trans World Airlines.
Visited LA in 1982 and saw the H4 at its dome next to the Queen Mary. It was magnificent. Alone in the dome in the dark with perfect subdued lighting. Spent all day. Nice memories to those 3 weeks touring the USA.
This plane was in my hometown of McMinnville where I grew up or at least very close by, and when I was little I would beg my grandparents to take me and Ive sat in that cockpit countless times. I was always so captvated and amazed when I would enter. That whole museum is amazing.
The Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, Ca. were launching a ship in less than 48 hours! They still had to be outfitted with additional materials but nevertheless they did it! Our war laborers were second to none. You should do a video on them. Truly an amazing workforce! My mother and father were in that workforce and they always talked about how proud they were to get 'their boys' the materials to fight and win. Thanks mom & dad.
yes for the Liberty Ships!
as soon as Simon Said, "Hello Everybody welcome back" my mind immediately went to "Business Blaze, It's your Boy with the Blaze" *smacks script* :D
"It's your boi with the mega projects"
"i think it was i Oregon"
Me: "THATS US. I CAN SEE THE EVERGREEN MUSEUM FROM MY HOUSE!"
I feel real special.
ha, glad im not the only one
That makes three of us!
Some mighty fine pinot noir is made in Oregon too.
Four of us lol. Im about 30 minutes north of mcminnville. Just south of Forest Grove
I've lived in Oregon most of my life and did not even realize the spruce goose was right here in Oregon until I watched a video by a British guy living in the Czech republic.....hmm
Loved this one. 'The Aviator' was such a great movie.
I've been to the Evergreen museum a couple times, and the Hercules is incredible. it absolutely dwarfs all other aircraft there. That being said, the other aircraft are outstanding!
I heard that evergreen has a titan II missile silo is that true?
@@Philly1010 They have a Titan II fully erect with launch room and cradle. They also have a Titan IV, but that launcher is laying on it’s side.
When my kids were young I took them to see the Spruce Goose when it was in Long Beach. We'd make a day of it doing the Spruce Goose the Queen Mary and the little tourist trap village that was part of the complex. Great family memories.
Huges was a strange guy. Especially near the end.
But he did achieve some crazy thing in his life.
That the most general shit I ever read
It was brilliant considering the limitations and innovation. RIP Mr. Hughes.
I grew up in San Pedro with the H-4. My Dad was in Land Survey and frequently as the Harbor Grew had to visit the place under the Vincent Tomas Bridge where H-4 was kept (ALWAYS in flight-readiness). Dad got to know "The Last Mechanic" he gave my Dad a spark plug and sample wing strut cutting. The cutting was used to verify there was no deterioration of the wood overall the time since H-4 had flown. As a 64 year old man and pilot myself, these are most cherished. All of us that loved planes hated to see H-4 moved to Oregon. I did visit her with my family many years later. For me, it was as if looking upon the statue of David. I love that plane
One of my favorite movies is “Rocketeer” and there is a very well done cinematically subtle reference to the Spruce Goose with Howard Hughes.
The SOB really will fly!
I'm glad I wasn't the only one how thought of the movie.
That and that episode of the Simpsons with Mr Burns and his "spruce goose"
Fun movie. Not like giant modern superhero films. Felt like it was filmed in the 50's.
I grew up watching The Rocketeer many times. I'm just about 41 now and watched it again a couple years ago. Still so enjoyable!!
Asks for a ridiculously large plane made out of substandard materials requiring brand new techniques and then is upset when it isn't done quickly. Sounds about right.
Wood is not a substandard material,I refer to the RAF DeHavilland Mosquito, all wood construction and one of the fastest, most capable aircraft of WW2
turkeytrac1 Very true. However I’m sure the H4’s size contributed to its long development time and challenges making it airworthy. I would assume that the larger the vehicle, the easier it is to build out of metal or composite materials rather than wood.
I mean they did fight an entire World War before the thing was ready lol.
turkeytrac1 : absolutely right! Eood is the original carbon composite.
Wood is good for many things...even smaller aircraft.....but not a Giant like this, but yet they did it! Add to that ....it was a requirement NOT TO TAKE AWAY FROM ANY CRITICAL WAR MATERIALS. Me, I take my hat off to the plane, designers and Hughes. We'd be better off with more like em today.
A vid on the Liberty ships would do just fine 👍
He's going to have to in order to clear up the bullshit lies he just told you... American production of its merchant fleet out paced Germany's capacity to destroy them by literally dozens of times over. There was absolutely no chance of success for Germany. Literally zero.
Seriously, for every ship they destroyed dozens more entered service
Simon wasn't a 100% sure he was in Oregon. I had no idea our pot was that strong. lol
Don't give him a hard time. Most of the time Joe Biden doesn't know where he is either.
Another great one!! 1:56 the B-29 in use at the time was 99 ft in length with a 141 ft wingspan and a gross weight of 120,000 vs 64 ft, 95 ft and 25,000 lb gross weight though. Yes on the liberty ship segment. Love your work its helping stay quasi sane during these days
I have watched this many times. I am so glad to see a version of this story that is unbiased and professional. Thank you Simon. My 11 year old daughter loves it as well.
It “wood” be a great wish to see this fly again. A unique piece of aviation history.
That’s gonna be hard to do considering the plane is enclosed in an building. I’ve been to the museum that serves as it’s home.
I see what you did there. Points
This is an enormous job and I'm getting it done to perfection.
Oh, ok. Carry on.
Dude just walked into the Senate and broke the table with his brass balls.
Man Leo really nailed Hughes' demeanor
So, this is actually a family story tied to this very plane. When they moved it in October of 1980 in the Port of Long Beach, before it would eventually end up in the dome that houses it now, they built a special cradle to lift the plane without putting any undo strain on it and damage/ dent it when lifting with a crane, the cradle didn't fit. My dad's tugboat company, Jones Tug and Barge, was subcontracted to help with the moving of the Spruce Goose and ended up holding it in place with 3 tugs for three days while they fixed the cradle.
The total operation ended costing Jones Tug a couple $20k at least, and they never got paid a dime.
Jones Tug and Barge also were responsible for pushing the Queen Marry into it's final dock in Long Beach because they were the only ones that had tugs small enough to get in around the berth before they finished the sea wall that surrounds it now. We have a picture of that day, and you can see by the flags on the Queen Mary that they were fighting a cross breeze trying to shove the ship into the wall.
I remember seeing it in Long Beach, under its “dome” when I also saw the Queen Mary. It was an amazing accomplishment even if it was never used for its original design purpose. Well done video.
Megaproject suggestion --- tank suppressors
Love your channel
I did not expect to see you here
Lockheed’s C5 Galaxy was for a time the largest plane, built right here in my hometown (my mother was an engineer on it, the L-1011 Tristar and some C-130 Hercules programs) and trust me it’s BIG!
My dad spent most of his Air Force career flying the C-130, flew the C-5 for a few years before he retired. the C-5 is huge!
Simon: "It's a bit strange."
Parliament: "AM I A JOKE TO YOU!?'
That was my first thought.
#HowardHughes was kool✌.
#GoNationalist ✌
In this regard. Yes.
Yes!
We need to hear about the A10 Warthog.
Thunderbolt II (a.k.a. Warthog)
HELL YEAH
BBBBRrrrrrrrrTTTtttttttttt ! ^^
Hey Simon, I am the new Director of Education at Evergreen. I am so glad you could make it out and congrats on another amazing video!
I'd def love one on liberty ships
I was lucky enough to visit the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose together when they were in Long Beach - I was just a kid, but that was perhaps the moment when aviation became firmly embedded in my life. I still remember looking up in awe at every inch of that aircraft. The engines looked puny compared to the size of the plane, but after working on large / twin row radials today, I realize that even those were dwarfed by the engines on the Hercules.
Howard Hughes is just a fascinating guy, even with all of his quirks (no one is perfect) he was indeed quite brilliant. As with many at the time, the stuff they saw as "obvious" was considered impossible or blasphemy by the press/general population.
I love how in the shot where you are sitting in the pilot's seat there's a sign saying "DO NOT SIT" right behind you.
The sign is not for the pilots seat, it's for the radio operators table, so many people sit on the table when their picture is be taken in a group shot. The table is not to be set on. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Flying Boat.
@@bebdlk Ahhh, that makes sense. Thanks.
Hey Simon. How about the Hughes glowmar explorer. The ship that stole a Russian submarine
This would be a good one, Glomar explorer was really something else. I'd also like to see Sea Shadow, another item that was left to rot in the mothball fleet (in the Hughes Mining Barge)... in essence there could be 2 more episodes featuring the eccentric on himself.
Can we get a refund for the Glowmar fiasco? The CIA comes up with some of the best worst ideas.
OMG! It could be a MegaProject and a Business Blaze! The whole piece where Hughes convinced the world he was just building a giant sea vacuum is right up Danny's alley.
@Make Me Believe ... i mean... wouldn't you? Thats cool as shit!
Allegedly q
The Duramold process can likely be considered one of the first uses of composites in aircraft construction. This is still super crazy for the '40's
"The DC-3 was the biggest plane in production at the time."
The Pan-Am Clippers, B-17, and British Airways flying boats are all well bigger than a DC-3 and of the same vintage.
B29
Also the Martin Mars, the biggest flying boat ever actually used, was in operation during WW2. Not in large numbers, though. They made only five production version aicraft, seven in total. Two of them even served as water bombers putting out forest fires up until these days, too. Well worth a google for those interested in airplanes who didn't already know about this beautiful thing.
Not to mention the 4-engine airliners of the time, like the DC-6, Constellation, and Stratocruiser. I like the other shows/podcasts Simon presents but Megaprojects often has too many errors to be fun.
The Clippers weren't in production when this began, this was also started, as HK-1 a year before the Connie.
The 36 was not built until 49, and was not in service, as he means it here, it was a military plane, as was the B17, B24, and B29, the Lancaster, the Halifax and the Sterling.
The DC6 wasn't built either.
Like the bombers you guys mentioned, the Martin Mars were purpose built military aircraft, in this case long range heavy transport.
Thus, with the possible exception of the Ju52, which was in MUCH more limited service, fewer in number, and carried less, there is actually a pretty good argument to say that the largest plane in service, as in commercial service, in the early 1940s, certainly when this project began, was the DC3/C47.
You MIGHT a few examples of much more limited local planes, but GENERALLY speaking, the 3 was about as big as planes "in service" got.
This plane was meant to be a civilian commercial transport aircraft to replace merchant shipping.
Thus comparing the two is apt.
You people just have to fucking gnit pick everything, don't you?
Apis4 what about the Focke-Wulf FW200? And yes i am picky :D
1:56 "....at the time, the largest aircraft in use was the DC-3...." Maybe at the beginning of World War II, but not by the end.
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster, a military version of the DC-4, was flying in 1943. The Lockheed Constellation was built from 1943 to 1958. There were also the DC-6 (1946) and the B-17 and B-29 bombers. All of these were bigger than the DC-3, but only the B-17 was in use at the beginning of the war..
OTOH Noah Dietrich, Howard Hughes' Chief Executive Officer and factotum, reports in his book "Howard: The Amazing Mr. Hughes" (1972) that those connected with the Hercules called it the "Jesus Christ," because that was the first thing you said when you saw it. I saw it in Long Beach in the 1980's before it was moved to Oregon, and I said that myself--and I'd seen Boeing 747s already.
Cheers.
Those are all tiny baby land planes. To compare apples to apples (or giant flying boats to giant flying boats), the Martin JRM Mars (at 200ft/61m wingspan) was ordered in 1938, first flight in 1942, seven delivered to the US Navy from 1945-1947. Two are still extant, converted to firefighting water bombers in 1959, and still in service with extensive upgrades. Of the others, two were scrapped, two sank (one because of an engine fire and one in a typhoon), and the other one (of the three converted for firefighting) crashed because it was too heavy to climb over the mountain when its water-dropping mechanism got stuck.
What about taking a look at the Saturn V?
Yes they should do that
It was succesfull, so it isn't interesting;-D
@@sjoormen1nobody ever said it had to be a failure
Just the numbers on that machine! Up to 250 decibels on launch, Seven and a half million pounds of thrust, it remains the most powerful machine man has ever built.
Yes it was majestic.
In the 90"s I lived in Southern California and was fortunate enough to visit the Spruce Goose in its original hanger. It was truly impressive. Right by the hanger was the Queen Mary set up as a tourist attraction and hotel. Both were amazing to see. Was sad to see the SG move to Oregon
I used to live some 20 miles from the Evergreen Museum, went there a few times... Last time was probably 2005 or so. Simon is *NOT* kidding about how gigantic that beast is! Most newbies to the museum spend the first few minutes ducking a little when they catch the Goose out of the corners of their eyes while looking at the aircraft sitting underneath. Ford Trimotor, various fighter jets, etc, and an SR-71 to boot! None of these planes are small, but they looks like baby chicks being protected under the wings of "mommy", the Spruce Goose.
I would consider the H-4 a successful prototype, If it were built in aluminum it probably would be so much lighter and with post war turbo props I bet that would have been a game changer.
A good video. And I'm intending to visit the museum in the near future. The H-4 was a piece of aviation history that should always be respected. Hughes did it!
Liberty ships would be a great episode! Also, Brunel’s Great Eastern seems like a perfect fit for the channel
Any coverage of a man named Isambard Kingdom Brunel is worth it!
You nailed it! Yes!
I visited the plane once, many years ago when it was still in Long Beach, CA. I even got to walk around part of the inside a little bit (up to the flight deck.) The size is still quite impressive, even if it could never have flown well enough to be practical. What I remember most vividly (and being most impressed by) was the ingenious helical configuration of the cylinders of the engine, to get the maximum power out of them.
I also sat in that seat, when I visited the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in early 2015. A spectacular place to visit, but I only got to spend about 4 hours there. I still have to put together the model of the 'Spruce Goose', that I picked up in their gift shop. It's somewhere in my pile of around 80 other unbuilt kits I've yet to get to. If you're ever in the Portland area....the museum is located in nearby McMinville. At the time, there were 3 main buildings. 1 housing a lot of space stuff & vintage helicopters. the other housing the 'Goose' & a lot of other planes....& the 3rd building was a big movie theater complex, showing a bunch of different aviation-related documentaries.
My parents brought me to see the spruce goose when I was about 4 in Long Beach. Ive been a pilot for about 20 years and about 16,000 hours now!
Awesome!
I hope to learn to fly one day. Gonna be one of those old men hanging out at the small airports.
I had a similar experience, my parents took me to see it in Long Beach when I was 12? Maybe? I don’t know I remember I lost my glasses in the ocean and someone actually found them and placed them on a rock, anyhow I remember seeing it and sitting in it only difference is I didn’t become a pilot, yet.
That would make you a living legacy of Howard Hughes.
Quite an honor.
when it was in Long Beach i visited it as a kid, I still remember the whole thing and i have a poster of it somewhere. i wish they would return it back to long beach.
Long Beach didn't own the plane when it was there, it was leased by Jack Rather from the Aero Club of Southern California. When Rather died in 1984, Disney bought the dome and picked up the lease on the Flying Boat. Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum bought the Flying Boat from ACSC and moved it to McMinnville, OR where it is on display now in a better condition than at Long Beach. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.
Don't leave anything of historical value in California.
It will be covered in graffiti in no time.
My guess is that Howard Hughes came up with the name like this: "The 'H' is for Hercules......'H' for Hercules.....H-4 Hercules."
Howard Hughes was into text speak before it was cool
Except the H stood for "Hughes"
@@karlepaul6632 There was an employee contest, the winning name was Hughes Hercules. The employee got a $100 war bond for the winning name. Hughes hated all the names given to the plane. Hope this helps. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Flying Boat.
Such a great job on this one, nice ending, it will keep people thinking. BTW , properly used wood is stronger pound for pound than most metals, and is much more acoustically damp than metal. The latter is great when working with things that vibrate a lot like radial engines and strong air flow.
I feel real old now. Not only did I make seven trips to Vietnam on WWII Victory ships, I also worked on the H-4 Hercules from 1973 until 1978. All in all I've probably been on it a couple of thousand times or more. I find this video mostly accurate with only a couple of faults A couple of added extras. The Glowmar Explorer was moored just ahead of the goose for a couple of years and while Evergreen is great I was there a couple of years ago the volunteers they have answering questions were telling people a lot of false things about the planes time in the hanger in Long Beach One of the best jobs I ever had.
Perhaps we know each other, I worked in Radar Systems and many people that worked in the Long Beach hanger came on board the anpg 65 program
I totally love that you gave a shout out to the Evergreen national aviation Museum I freaking love that place they’re awesome and I think they had a pool or something built next door
Yes there is a pool next to it, there is a 747-100 on top of the pool with four slides coming down it.
8:03 "as far as we know, there was never anything called the H-2 or the H-3, and we don't know why he chose 4..."
*Simon* i would bet that it was called '4' because H-4 Hercules = H-for-Hercules!!! :D
Except the H stood for "Hughes"
The H-1 was Hughes Racer, the H-2 or the D-2 was the second aircraft, the XF-11 was his third aircraft. He crashed it in Beverly Hills. I hope that answered your question. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation Museum, home of the Spruce Goose.
4 engines per wing
When you list off 3 or 4 stats like weight, range, etc, could you throw them up on the screen as well for a moment?
I would be glad to give you all the stats you want on the Flying Boat. Spruce Goose Bruce, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Flying Boat.
Excellent idea. . . There are those who learn with eyes rather than ears
@@bebdlk Thank you so much for the offer! No thank you however, this was more of a comment to the entire channel, and it sounds like Simon started this whether he saw my comment or not!
Great episode, Simon! As a licensed pilot and life-long aviation nut, I'm always interested in learning the fascinating history of legendary aircraft. Thanks so much!
Come visit the Fling Boat in McMinnville, Oregon, we'd love to see you.
It is truly a sight to behold. I saw this plane years ago when it was in Long Beach. You strolled down a corridor and turned a corner and entered a gigantic room. When I turned the corner and first saw the plane I gasped out loud. I had never seen anything so unbelievably HUGE.
Tony Stark TRIES to be as big as Howard Hughes.
Liberty Ships? Yes Please.
Another Sugestion: The Hubble Space Telescope
Honestly, this plane could have been a success, but everything about the project was against it from the start. I can't help but wonder how different it would have been with access to aluminium and other manufacturing companies.
There's a museum (Evergreen Aeronautica & Space) in a town nearby where I live. They have the entire museum building built around the Hercules. It's such a large plane, they had to take the ends of the wings off so that it would fit in the building. I love that museum.
I feel like the Spruce Goose is a very good metaphor for the US as a whole: a completely unthinkable challenge with a rediculous price tag, somehow completed through the grit of a slightly insane person, successfully proven once just to spite detractors, then shelved in a museam leaving more questions than answers about the whole thing.
A show on the Sydney Harbour Bridge would be amazing!!
You may scoff at wood being used, may I point to one of the most iconic and versitile wooden wonder, the de Havilland Mosquito multi role combat plane. Would love a mega project on this.
There was also the Volksjaeger, He162; and the Hoton flying wing.
Lockheed Vega. And the N-9M was partially made of wood and had wood-skinned wings: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_N-9M
Actually, “Hercules” is a name with a hellenic (greek) origin.
He's not wrong that Hercules was a Roman god though. The Romans adopted the Greek hero/god Herakles into their own pantheon and made him the founder of the Latin tribe. Hercules is the Roman rendition of Herakles.
Hercules wasn't a god though, he was a hero, so a demi-god, half divine and half mortal. The Greeks considered semi divine to be heroes, mortals could be praised but not as heroes.
Greek name was Herakles
@@elimalinsky7069 _Followed by his twin goddesses, HerUkulele and Herkankles, singing a duet of "Mele Kalikimaka" every Saturday evening outside of some Convenience Store. {0.o}_
@@MAGGOT_VOMIT Mele Kalikimaka is apparently Merry Christmas in Hawaiian.
@@elimalinsky7069 _Right you are, Ken!!_
It was defiantly not a failure, as a prototype it was immaculate, Hughes knew from the outset that wood was not strong enough for a plane of that size. He was also right to never fly it again, there were stress fractures in wing gussets after the "test flight" . To fly again at altitude would have been suicidal. Much was learnt about heavy plane design in particular control surface dimensions allowing aircraft such as the 747 to proceed quickly. Also plywood technology was advanced as a result of Hughes's developments. In a sense it was a working mock up.
My dad took me to see the plane when I was in high school, it’s huge! Seeing it on a screen doesn’t do it justice
My favorite of Simon's channels.
Buisness blaze is better but this is a solid second.
Your mom is a solid second.
@@Drozey710 Holy shit. This escalated quickly.
sign beside chair says "do not sit"
simon sits anyways.
I'm a rebel.
They also said I could ;)
damn those liberty ships in 42 days how!!
the record for a liberty ship being built was just three or four days if I remember correctly
Mass production and standardization of every damn part of construction
@@ChadWilson not to mention working round the clock and knowing your project through and through. However, the one built in a few days also broke in half. Lol
Oh boy, short cuts, so many shortcuts... Heck, it wasn't uncommon for them to split in half from a single torpedo.
@@Zappyguy111, to be fair, quite a few military ships would split in half after a single torpedo.
She’s going on my list of planes that should brought back into production.
Wonderful video. Simon, your appreciation of this amazing aircraft comes through loud and clear, and I salute you for it. THis plane was an amazing achievement, even if it came too late to serve in WW2. But as you of course know, that fate befell many other aircraft, ships and weapons systems. In a way, I suppose that's a good thing. What a shame so many of our greatest achievements are spawned by war.
Thanks for all your fabulous work... I look forward to your next video!
I've sat in the same seat. You are correct, it is at the Evergreen Museum in McMinville Or.
“The way of the future...the way of the future...the way of the future”
One episode of this channel should be a massive workload of the epic Simon Whistler, who apparently are twins and they never sleep...
he just reads the scripts.
Great vid expertly narrated...one small error: 13.00..ailerons don't increase/decrease lift, they allow aircraft to bank for turns
Hi Simon! I just wanted to say a very big congratulations for this channel blowing up so damn fast.
Nice work!
Mega Project suggestion: Getting my stepson off the couch
Absolutely
You might try obnoxiously playing an infinite loop of The Tams - What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am) or Hanson - MMMBop.
That would be theoretical, like the Dyson sphere, but harder.
m.th-cam.com/video/ZAKI9ylELF8/w-d-xo.html
13:11 "It was also the first plane to use AC power rather than the wires used on other planes because it was simply so big that wiring would weigh it down considerably."
Uh, that's word salad. What I think you meant to say is that the H-4 had a high-voltage electrical system rather than low-voltage to keep currents low for a given power so smaller diameter (and thus lighter) cabling could be used. I believe the system was DC, not AC. Good vid tho.
davidf2281
I don’t think that you know what “word salad” means. There were no random words or phrases thrown in. He’s not an electrical engineer, but his point was made well enough for the purposes of the video.
@@augsdoggs I do and it was.
davidf2281
Ok
I don't think you're right. Using AC would make sense as you don't get the voltage drop like you do with DC. Also, not a word salad.
This high voltage is correct, 120 Volts DC was used, a three wire system. The APU 120 Volts DC, 30 Kilowatts and the engine generators for the plane were 120 Volts DC, 15 Kilowatts.
Good job on the pronunciation of Oregon.
First few seconds I think it was in Oregon. We get no love here. Also it's in a air museum outside of salem I believe. I think they have a SR-72, a B17, I think a mig, and a P-51, I also think there is a tank museum there too. It's been awhile since it was a field trip I took there when I got to see the spruce goose.
You know, I completely missed that. As a Washingtonian by birth, I still in my nearly 55 years not found the "r" in Washington. So many people say ore gon' that I assume they are referring to a kind of rail car. It's like people saying "morris" instead of Morse. Slack action in the old brain box, I guess.
Oh? I had no idea Oregon was mispronounced so much! My grandparents lived in Washington, so perhaps I learned it from them.
@@julieenslow5915 - Some also say Are a Gone, as in this Simpsons clip: th-cam.com/video/OScrSz98RX0/w-d-xo.html
@@julieenslow5915 - And let's not start on local place names, like Puyallup or Sequim. I bet somebody could even get Humptulips wrong, and how can one Humptulips incorrectly?!
I heard that the intended purpose of the plane was to be used in the Pacific theater of war. The problem was lots of islands that had no landing strips and it was too hazardous to bring in deep draft vessels close to coral islands. The could bring an entire army in this plane, land in the water and taxi up to the shore to land the troops. At the time it made a lot of sense but by the time it could be effectively employed the atom bomb was a certainty and the end of the war was on the horizon. I also heard that Hughes decided to be effective they had to upgrade the engines on the plane but it never happened as jets were in development.
I got to see it while it was long beach next to the Queen Mary. I was eight years old and in absolute awe of this modern marvel. You mentioned the SR-71, this I have seen in two different air bases. She is beauty incarnate.
"A plane I have sat in the pilot's seat of..." Shows a sign plainly saying "Do Not Sit."
is it any guards around? Then the sign don't work.
Note this does work for signs saying maximum height on an underpass.
@@magnemoe1 You can get a special tour, I have sat in that seat on two different visits. That plane is incredible, and it is worth the extra cost to get full access.
@@pauljohnson8002 Get it and it make sense, kind of like Kennedy Space Center has loads of tour options.
However we picked up one party member with some hangover had climbed into an WW2 transport plane at an museum in München
and sleep on an stretcher.
I would love to see liberty ships and any other ASW warfare weapons during that time
Used to sit in a Dome next to the Queen Mary, in Long Beach.
I partied in the dome after the goose went north
I've been to Evergreen and seen the H4... gorgeous plane. I wasn't willing to spend $40 to be able to sit in the cockpit, so I just admired it from (slightly) afar. I personally think somebody should revamp the thing and get it to actually fly. Would be an awesome testament to Hughes.
I got to see it when it was in CA when it was next door to the Queen Mary. Never got to sit in the pilot's seat, but we did get to walk through parts of it. As a kid I remember being stunned and in awe of it's MASSIVE size for a plane.
Anyone who enjoyed this video should definitely watch the movie "the aviator" starring Leonardo Dc.
Great film.
Harmesh Patel I was about 3 minutes in and started thinking about that movie, and then ‘catch me if you can’
Simon: I'm just gonna quickly disregard how they got such a gigantic plane from Long Beach Harbor in CALIFORNIA to a landlocked city museum in OREGON and see if nobody catches on...
Me: Ahhh, Mr. Whistler....
There is a whole story about how that was done...
I can fill you in on the movement of the Flying Boat.
So we're clear- I was pointing out to MR. WHISTLER that he forgot something. I know they stuck the pieces in trucks and drove them to the museum. I'm just wondering if people get to hear about the H4's reason for only being flown once- it dissapeared to radar, which was why Hughes hid it for a half-century. The fact that the plane operated on AC electricity, and was made of a wood-composite, made the plane all-but dissapear to radar, save for the engines and the console. In fact, the radar operators at nearby Pt. Doom, reported seeing "a flock of geese" flying in perfect formation where the H4 was supposedly watertaxing to test the water-proofing of the airship's hull.
So we're clear- I was pointing out to MR. WHISTLER that he forgot something. I know they stuck the pieces in trucks and drove them to the museum. I'm just wondering if people get to hear about the H4's reason for only being flown once- it disappeared to radar, which was why Hughes hid it for a half-century. The fact that the plane operated on AC electricity, and was made of a wood-composite, made the plane all-but disappear to radar, save for the engines and the console. In fact, the radar operators at nearby Pt. Doom, reported seeing "a flock of geese" flying in perfect formation where the H4 was supposedly watertaxying to test the water-proofing of the airship's hull.
@@guardsmanom134 I've never heard that... I assumed the Goose was put in storage was that Hughes wholly owned it, and he didn't want it destroyed after it was clear it was militarily obsolete...
26 seconds? I have something in common with the H4
OMW........HaHahhhhaaaa....
You've got me beat. 😂
The Evergreen museum is awesome! I got to go a few years ago and was very impressed. They have a ton of unique airplanes there and the facility is immaculate.
At Expo 86 in Vancouver Canada, an aviation film 'made light' of early flight attempts - then faded at end to astronauts exiting the Lunar Excursion Module. You make the same point very well.🙏