|
Post by londonlad on Nov 2, 2021 10:47:32 GMT -5
On this day in 1947 the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes M-4 Hercules made it's first and only flight. It was in the Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor area. Made mostly of wood due to wartime restrictions on the use of aluminium the wood was mostly Birch. Seeing this aircraft should be on the bucket list of any aviation enthusiast.
|
|
|
Post by chris_c on Nov 2, 2021 13:43:04 GMT -5
I will respectively disagree and as an aviation enthusiast seeing Hughes' Hercules would probably not appear on my top-100 aviation destinations. To be fair, without the hype surrounding the M4, it's just a vanity project from a spoiled, occasionally brilliant filthy-rich man-child. It was completely outdated while still on the drawing board and advanced the science of aeronautics not at all. Had it been scrapped, whether complete or not, almost nobody would miss it today and it's fame would likely compare with the now-forgotten Capilis XC-12Like too many modern icons, the Spruce Goose is famous not for anything that it accomplished or contributed but because it was the holy grail of a flawed but wealthy man who actively sought personnel fame and adoration until he didn't. I just do not care about it one way or the other so this particular "anniversary" is meaningless. Sorry. That's my $0.02 CAD on the Hughes M4 Hercules. Chris
|
|
|
Post by Jorge on Nov 2, 2021 15:40:33 GMT -5
I feel lucky to have seen this airplane when I was a kid when it was still in Long Beach next to the Queen Mary. It's now in Oregon, I believe. The H-4 (originally the HK-4 since Henry J. Kaiser had put some money into it as well during the War) may have been out of date, but it was the first aircraft to feature hydraulically boosted controls. Today, we take such things for granted. Prior to the H-4, all aircraft were flown only by the use of direct cabling -- even the famous B-24 "Liberator" bomber. That's one of the many reasons people wanted to fly fighters instead! Prior to the H-4, the forces on the controls were reduced, as much as they could be, by pullies that would be in the cabling system. These would only be effective up to a certain point, though. One of the things I remember from my former life flying was our "manual reversion" training. It was one of the things we had to do in the sim before passing our check rides on the E-145. It consisted of the check airman at the instructor station failing all the hydraulics and then having the crew fly a visual approach and landing without crashing. Unlike many aircraft flying today, the E-145 can be flown without hydraulics. The catch is you NEED two pilots, otherwise you don't have enough strength to control the thing. I can't even imagine trying to fly a modern airliner without hydraulically boosted controls. It's an eye-opening experience that makes you respect the guys that pulled off Sioux City forty years ago, that's for sure. Would someone else have invented hydraulic boost? Sure, but probably not for quite some time. Who knows how far behind we would be in aeronautics if it wasn't for that psycho with a lot of money -- even if it probably WAS his chief engineer that probably came up with it. Bucket list? Eh. Why not? If you happen to be in the Northwest US it wouldn't be a bad trip since you'd be just down the road from Seattle and the Boeing Museum. Now THAT'S something for a bucket list! I can say that from experience! There's just something awesome walking around inside the very first 747 that ever existed! Jorge
|
|
|
Post by Tom/CalClassic on Nov 2, 2021 17:00:12 GMT -5
It was definitely on my bucket list. Something bigger than a 747 in the propliner era? Oh yeah! It was an amazing experience seeing this behemoth in Long Beach. Incredible.
|
|
|
Post by chris_c on Nov 2, 2021 18:25:34 GMT -5
Well I guess that I can be the statistical outlier here because I am seldom impressed by bigly things just because they're big. Was in awe at the first Boeing 747 at the Museum of Flight, not because its huge (it is) but because what it represented to aviation. Likewise was impressed by the B-36 Peacemaker on the lone occasion were I got to see one on display but completely enthralled by the B-47, which contributed so much to the industry while actually being a pretty awful aircraft. White elephants like the Spruce Goose, Bristol Brabazon and Saunders Roe Princess carry little of interest for me except as cautionary tales and for engineering feats, was more impressed by the Mackinac suspension bridge than New York's Verrazano Narrows bridge although the latter has the greater span and is subjectively more aesthetically pleasing to look at.
Hydraulically boosted control surfaces were a feature of the earlier C-69 Constellation and so the argument that the later Hercules somehow contributed something to aviation technology rings pretty hollow. Some things are famous just because they are famous. Or big.
While I would certainly not wish for its deliberate destruction, I remain indifferent to the plane's continued existence but for example, would dearly love to stand beside a B-52, not for its size but for what it represented to history. For those who may be enthusiastic about Howard Hughes' folly, certainly enjoy it but for me it will always be a sample of what can happen when unhealthy obsession is married to a bad idea and nearly limitless wealth.
It was never my intention to offend anyone here so if that is the case, please accept my sincerest apology. I would not even have posted on the topic but for the assertion that "any aviation enthusiast" must see this colossal lemon before they die. Count me out on that score.
Chris
|
|
|
Post by Tom/CalClassic on Nov 3, 2021 10:22:38 GMT -5
Yes, I encourage our diversity here, and each has their right to their opinions. For example I often look upon the B-52 (and many other parts of the military) with sadness due to all the human pain and misery it caused, and being the symbol of how we humans cannot seem to get along in this world. We keep having these chances (like at the end of WWII), and they never happen due to people’s greed, suspicions, and power ambitions. It used to make me quite depressed that people seem to accept it and sometimes actually choose it, before I let it go and just accepted the world as it is and it’s resulting turmoil.
|
|
|
Post by londonlad on Nov 4, 2021 9:54:03 GMT -5
No offense taken by the author. Born in 1935, I sort of grew up around airplanes. I lived close to LGA as a small child and would walk to the Marine Terminal on the days when the PanAm Clippers would arrive. I spent 55 years in the aviation industry and was privileged to fly many different aircraft. From J-3 Cub (1st solo) to multi engine jets. I still stop and watch airplanes flying overhead. I guess I'm just an aviation nut who can spend hours at museums looking and reading about airplanes. Cheers.
|
|
|
Post by qxtoolman on Nov 8, 2021 4:07:19 GMT -5
Yes, I encourage our diversity here, and each has their right to their opinions. For example I often look upon the B-52 (and many other parts of the military) with sadness due to all the human pain and misery it caused, and being the symbol of how we humans cannot seem to get along in this world. We keep having these chances (like at the end of WWII), and they never happen due to people’s greed, suspicions, and power ambitions. It used to make me quite depressed that people seem to accept it and sometimes actually choose it, before I let it go and just accepted the world as it is and it’s resulting turmoil. The Spruce Goose is in McMinnville OR, just South of Portland in Wine Country, @ the Evergreen Air & Space Museum. They have nice collection of both Military & Civilian Aircraft. As Many here know I was in the Air Force. But as many here might assume, I worked on Aircraft. I did not or was I stationed on a base with Aircraft or Runways even. I worked on ICBM's at the Base that had the largest deployment of Minuteman III's in the World. 200 of them to be exact. Now I see Tom's point though, and there much merit to it. The realization of what I worked on & the destructive power of it was not wasted on a 19 Year Old, and I had many nights of "Soul Searching". There was a note on the top rung of the ladder at one of the Silos, and it read, " If You Look behind & the Missile is gone, bend over & kiss Your Butt Goodbye". Meaning that if that Missile was ever launched, that there was not any reason to go any further. Crazy huh? In SAC the motto was: "Peace is Our Profession", and I tried very hard to live up to it. My Brother too was in SAC & was a Crew Chief on a B-52 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and was actually "Scrambled" fully loaded during it. Although We never talked about it, I knew that it made Him question things too. So to Tom, I say keep thinking that way. Maybe some time in the future, 19 Year Old Kids, will not have to ponder, what My Brother & I had to ponder. Also Tom, Thank You for always allowing Diversity here. You were ahead of Your Time. God Bless, Stefan
|
|
|
Post by Tom/CalClassic on Nov 8, 2021 10:58:13 GMT -5
Thanks for your comments. Before people get the wrong idea, I never said such military hardware wasn’t necessary, I’m just sad that it was indeed needed. That said, we way overbuilt due to our paranoia of the era.
|
|