The Spruce Goose Fly's Again!!!

HISTORY
The largest aircraft ever flown, the Hughes "Spruce Goose" was envisioned as an airborne "Liberty Ship" safe from enemy submarines. Henry J. Kaiser and Howard Hughes cooperated in its initial development, but when the aircraft's strategic importance diminished late in WWII, Kaiser withdrew his support. Hughes carried on.
In June 1946, a firm of house movers transported the immense hull from its Culver City factory to an assembly dock on the waterfront of Terminal Island. The one and only test flight of the "Spruce Goose" took place more than a year later, on November 2, 1947.
It was a spectacle worthy of Howard Hughes, who piloted the aircraft himself. A huge crowd gathered on the dock; VIPs watched from a yacht hired by Hughes. At 12:10 p.m. he fired up all eight engines and taxied the Flying Boat briefly up and down the harbor. He repeated this at 12:40 p.m. Then, a surprise to everyone but Hughes, an hour later, he opened the throttles. The huge aircraft gathered speed and lifted off the water. It flew for no more than a mile at rather less than 100 ft. It never flew again.
The book "Howard Hughes and his Flying Boat," by Charles Barton, Charles Barton Inc, Vienna, Va., 1982, gives excellent details of this day.
The "Spruce Goose" lay dormant for years. It was later an elaborate display, housed under a huge dome at Long Beach Harbor. More recently, the aircraft was moved to the Evergreen Aiation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.Check out their website at www.sprucegoose.com

THE REAL HUGHES "SPRUCE GOOSE" FLYING BOAT, 1947
Wing span: 319 ft. 11 in. Wing area: 11,430 sq. ft.
Length: 218 ft. 8 in. Height: 79 ft. 4 in.
Weight, gross: 400,000 lb. (For another configuration: 350,000 lb)
Construction: Laminated birch, some spruce used as fillers
Power: Eight Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major
28-cylinder air-cooled radials, 3000 hp each
Cruising speed, best range, 5000 ft: 150 mph
Maximum speed, takeoff power: 234 mph
Landing speed: 87 mph
Range: 1430 miles
Ceiling: 17,400 ft.


I want to thank the designer Dennis Simanaitis for redoing his 98 version for 2004. He let me play with a "fix" that I as a newbie couldn't get to work.

Now he has released this new version, MS pay attention, put it in the next Flight Sim FSX!

Where can you download it?

Download it here:
http://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/3061/fs2004-spruce-goose/

beautiful

but did you know that Hughes hated the name "Spruce Goose"

He called it the HK-1 Hercules
"Spruce Goose" was given to his wonder mark of engineering by a senator names Owen Brewster a pawn in the monopoly game of Pan American Airways

shown here on the right next to some ugly old lady.

possibly his wife......

im sorry Senator Brewster

his wife is really ugly

Thanks for the shots of a great and huge craft RadarMan.

In the movie Aviator( cause of L.D. Caprio)there was an excellent reference to the build and first flight of this craft.

Interesting pics there RM

Nice pics!I was always interested in the spruce goose.

With the download, there is a flight that will start you at Long Beach, right in front of the museum that I *think* holds the aircraft now, at least it did for a few decades.

It's pretty cool, I've taken that plane to Catalina a few times, but that's my longest flight. It'd be interesting to see if it could do the Norfolk, VA to Liverpool, UK, like it was originally designed to do...

Hmm...I think that's a challenge.

Although I never made the trek to it's home in Long Beach I do remember them giving it that domed home.
Now it's in Oregon.

http://aafo.com/goose/goose-2.htm

aaaaaah!I was just gonna post that question!

Its huge

Nice

I downloaded it and there is a missing texture near the back of the fuselage.

Nice pics there RM, if my history is right , Hughes meant only to taxi this first time out but went for it anyway and proved his giant could fly!
Confidence is all!

Yes, he did what he wanted, geniuses are like that sometimes.

Does anybody know where to get or seen scenery of the Hughes aircraft factory or any of his test fields?

Happy that this old thread got bumped up to where I found it today. Nice shots RM and thanks for the interesting history. How did it handle. Is there a newer download that you know of?

I didn't read the first part of my own post but when I saw this for 1998?? I emailed (I believe his name is Dennis) and asked if he would update it to 2004.
He answered me with a fix for it but later on he redid the Goose and posted it for general use.
Maybe an email would do it again.

How did it handle, nicely I was impressed with his air cfg knowledge for such a huge aircraft.