In the early 1980’s I went to Los Angeles with my wife for a few days. She went there for her job and on a Sunday afternoon I told her about Howard Hughes and the Spruce Goose which was sitting over in the harbor not yet setup for display. When we got there I talked to a couple people there and explained to them that I was a pilot and told them what I knew about Mr. Hughes and they offered to show us around. We had about a 45 minute tour. Absolutely amazing experience for me and my wife. I stood behind the engines in the right wing, sat in the cockpit where Howard sat and walked the entire fuselage. An amazing life experience for me which I will never forget.
As a kid, my dad showed me the goose sitting in a storage area at his work, long Beach naval shipyard. She was dirty, had water in her hull, and had her wings removed. I'll never forget it.
It was Joe Flynn, not Phil Silvers, on McHale’s Navy. A trivial detail in the midst of the great content. I’m sure many of us have seen some of the images you presented, but you showed many, many more than I’ve ever seen. Thanks, Mike!
My great Uncle, Glenn Odekirk (Ode'), worked closely with Howard Hughes on all his projects, including the Hercules. I have several wood laminated structural test profiles my uncle engineered. Great video.
@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 In the movie Aviator staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Howard asked Ode' to mount the cameras here, smooth out the revits, and pick out the steering wheel. My uncle had a great sense of humor and enjoyed being around kids. I miss him dearly.
I've seen the plane twice at the museum in Oregon. Wondrous sight.Even with the fuselage lower than the floor, the wing pontoons are still at least 15 feet off the floor.
So pleased you made the episode Mike. ❤ Amazing photos and the story details I never before knew. It is very nice to hear a true recount on this planes development. So much more than the over simplified version that persists such as Hughe's folly. What a remarkable individual he was! Incredible accomplishments from all the people in the various Hughes organizations.
My father was an A&P in training at Long Beach and got to see the Goose on it’s one and only flight. He was employed by Bonanza Airlines which eventually became Hughes Airwest. Always loved seeing the flying banana!
Great video Mike. My dad was an engineer on the HK-1 from late 1945 until 1960 (yes, Howard Hughes continued development on the plane at least that long). Dad was supposed to be on-board the day of the flight, but was up late the night before, making preparations for the taxi tests, and was told to get some rest. Touring the plane with him in McMinnville was a treasured memory. He would have enjoyed your video.
Although I have lived in CA since my folks moved here in '56. I grew up in Carlton, OR...which is only six miles from McMinnville, which is near where the Spruce Goose is now located. Because I try to attend the McMenamins UFO convention every year, which is held in McMinnville, I get to revisit my hometown and the Spruce Goose at the same time.
I worked for Hughes Aircraft for most of my aerospace career, and some of my co-workers had worked on that aircraft. I was told that engine tests on the HK-1 were done monthly right up until Howard died.
Wow, Mike - two very enthusiastic thumbs up. Many of these photos are new to me - it's an incredible collection of an unforgettable event. Thanks for putting this up - I look forward to more Howard Robard Hughes stories. - Cheers
The Hughes Goose is in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville Oregon. I would suggest everyone go to that museum for the variety of aircraft and spacecraft on display there.
Ah the man the legend... Howard Hughes, and the iconic Spruce Goose! I Still remember watching the movie "The Aviatior" about him as well very good film for any Aviation buff! I also loved how you made a nod to when Hughes was interested in purchasing the Avro Canada C-102 Jetliner for TWA; an interesting parallel to that too BTW on August 14 1951, the USAF had actually shown interest in purchasing the C-102 Jetliner since it was previously flown to Wright Patterson AFB and their tests pilots were able to see it and fly it themselves on various exercises; and they absolutely loved it! And so as a result The USAF as well as the Aircraft and Weapons Board made a request in a document for an offer to purchase 12 Jetliners, for use in the USAF; specifically for refueling and training purposes, sadly this offer never fully made it to AVRO combined with the C-102 Jetliner program being abandoned for increased development of the CF-100 Canuck for the Korean War effort. I Also loved how you included in the photo of Spruce Goose being displayed alongside the RMS Queen Mary; a truly stunning lady (I just as much of a buff/sucker for Ocean Liners, just as I am with aircraft lol ;) ). Well done Mike! regards, Noah.
Didn't know Hughes had so many great accomplishments! Surprised that he was also the first to fly a jet airliner in the U.S. Like a well known song title "what a man"🎶❤️
Having recently visited Evergreen Museum in McMinnville we were told a control lock had been left on one side of the elevator resulting in torquing the tail enough to cause damage. This was only discovered by reviewing maintenance logs.
Great video. Two small quibbles: Hughes died flying back in extremis from Acapulco to Houston for medical treatment. He may have died in Mexico, but was reported to expire in US airspace. Second, the power to weight ratio was such that the plane was grossly underpowered. Mushing along in ground effect may have been the closest to flying it was capable of doing. A flight around Long Beach would never have happened. It was said Hughes of scared of the plane, but so tied to his ego that he spent millions storing the aircraft for the next 30 years.
Thank you for this, I feel lucky to have seen it, in the Dome,, later in my life, working for a Production company, our team was the first to place Classic Cars inside the famed Dome, always cool, thanks again from Huntington Beach CA 🇺🇸
I appreciate your art and your commentary and the evolution of your online presentation while still maintaining the human touch. You relate your own experiences as a kid and adult as well as leaving in minor “hiccups” in the commentary. The only thing better would be an in-person presentation and discussion, direct personal interaction.
Thanks for another great, informative video Mr. Machat! Thanks for all the interesting pics! Even as a bit of a Hughes afficianado, I had never seen the photos of the Goose from the chase boat and from the helicopter. Very interesting stuff! As a bit of nitpicking, Howard did pass away in flight, on a Learjet 24B on April 5, 1976, but actually enroute from his penthouse suite at the Acapulco Princess Hotel to Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX, instead of from Vegas to L.A., as mentioned in the video.
Wow, this was excellent. The commentary, research, presentation and photography really kept my attention. I was lucky enough to fulfill a lifelong dream and visit the Spruce Goose in McMinnville in 2022 during my first year on the road. If you are in an RV, you can boon dock in the parking lot and check out the museum the next day. After a long while of gawking, I asked the staff to let me have access to some restricted areas. When they saw my medium format Hasselblad film camera, they quickly opened doors. I have some coveted images from that day. Bravo and well done, Mike!
I grew up right next to the port. I remember being 8 years old and my older brothers telling me; just a bicycle ride away was the largest airplane ever built and no one can see it. Being 8 years old I thought that was an evil criminal act to hide that thing from everyone.
Thanks so much Mike. An Amazing job. I learned more from your 20 minute production than all the other productions combined thatI have seen in the past. And all the gorgeous B&W photos of “the test.” I really enjoyed the three taken at virtually the same moment from different locations. Nice respectful treatment of Hughes, thank you. He was a multi disciplinary, multi career person before we had such terms for folk of Hughes’talent. Tanks also to Max...and for your outro salute to Max -perhaps unintentional, but I don’t think so. You timing and wording, “as always” -slight pause?- to which I said “Model On” and started to salute as you said “Take Care.” If there is an award for RU-vid Docs this one gets my vote. Thanks again.
Mike, you continue to amaze me by your ability to come up with details that I have never heard before on subjects I have studied significantly. I have always wondered where the pictures and videos of the flight were shot from. I've never heard about the Hughes PT boat. That's really cool that it went on to be the star of McHale's Navy, which I used to watch back in the day. Also in all of my reading I don't recall seeing or understanding the significance of the hydraulic boosted flight controls only being installed for the flaps and elevator. That explains better than anything else why the flight was simply straight ahead with no turns. I always get excited about media that can explain the answers to questions I've long held, and you are one of the best at doing that.
Thanks Russ, 'appreciate the comment. While working at Douglas in the late 1970s, a fellow artist (Dave Snow, credited at the end) was deeply involved in the effort to save the 'Goose from being chopped into pieces and sent to various air museums. As a result, a group of us were allowed into the sealed hangar to tour the airplane in 1979, and I was able to get much information through that effort. Despite his demons, Hughes was a huge hero in my estimation. The engineering involved in the H-4 was far ahead of its time - and all with slide rules in those days. Thanks for watching!
"You'll need at least 75, Howard, and 15 on the flaps"..... I'll never forget when that hermetically sealed, damn near pressurized blue Plymouth "Lysolmobile" hit the Barrett-Jackson auction block!
I saw the plane in McMinville a few years ago; truly impressive. Thanks Mike for a great episode with many interesting facts. Never heard about the hydraulic system before!
In 1978 or 1979 (I don't remember exact date, that was almost 50 years ago) I was in Long Beach because I heard that the Hughs hanger was being torn down and his airplane, the "Spruce Goose," was out in the open and could be seen. I put a suit on, got my camera and went to the site. I walked into the yard and the hanger like I owned the place and nobody asked any questions or even gave me more than a passing glance. I shot a roll of 35mm film and just walked around in the area for an hour or so looking at the plane and marveling in it's history. I still have the photos, but the fuselage of the plane was under cover, so I couldn't get a good shot of the plane itself, but got good photos of the hanger, the wings and engines (propellers off). Watching this video, I was surprised by the tail number when I was looking at my photo, and photos of the plane that day in 1947. Funny thing, the tail numbers do not match! The tail number on the uncovered tail section of the plane was N37062. The tail number on the plane that day when it flew was NX37062. I don't know why the numbers are different, but I do know what the tail number on that plane was back then, I have a photo of the plane sitting in the yard next to the hangar that was being demolished at the time. Does anyone out there have an answer to this discrepancy? Was the X in the tail number added or Removed for some reason while it was locked away in that old Long Beach dry dock/hanger?
Thanks for the comment, and the HK-1's tail number "NX" designation referred to "N" (United States of America) "X" (Experimental), and "3" for the year the contract was written, or 1943. "X" was deleted after that letter was removed from US registration numbers in 1948, as the airplane was re-registered and technically kept ready for flight by order of Hughes.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 I thought the X was for experimental, but then I looked at current photos from the plane now in Oregon and the X is back in the tail number. That's okay though for the sake of authenticity. I looked up the number now and it's currently registered to a 1946 Piper J3C-65 out of Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Love the history. My dad was in B-24s out of Norwich England during the war.
Wonderful history of the H4 Mike. Thanks. My uncle was head of flight test for the Navy at Fallon NAS for years. For reasons I won't go into, I spent five months of the year with the family, every year from 53-62. I grew up in aviation as a result. Many hours on my uncle's knee learning the cockpit layout's of these aircraft. My aunt was a fantastic hostess, and the house was a meeting place for test pilots from the era. Think I met just about everyone from all the services at one time or another. I believe it was 59, when I met Howard Hughes. Contrary to some modern lure, he shook my little hand, and asked me if I was a pilot. I remember very confidently answering 'Yes sir'. And he smiled, adding 'Keep up the good work. I'll see you up there sometime'.
Nicely done…fascinating aircraft…I love the tie in to the Avro C102 jetliner. I spoke to a Docent (supposedly was there) back in 2006 regarding why the short flight and why it didn’t fly again and there was mention that the tail was flexing quite heavily and Howard was warned to put it down. He pointed out some bracing added in the area at a later time to help with this. He also mentioned Howard was a little surprised at the lift off. Not sure if this was factual though as I have never read it elsewhere.
Thanks for the comment, and yes, I'd heard that after the flight, Hughes said to his Chief Engineer and fellow pilot Glenn Odekirk, "It really ballooned-up with the flaps!"
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 seriously nice museum. Good for the aviation fans and the kids too (waterside that starts in the hull of an old evergreen 747).
Mike I enjoyed this immensely, worked as a radar engineer at Hughes aircraft from ‘79 though the 80s, have many stories about Hughes and Culver City, most gleaned from old timers who worked on various Hughes projects. Happy to share if of interest CTC
Thank you Mr. Machat for a very interesting and detailed history of this aircraft. Really enjoyed it. A little bit of history; when the C-102 Jetliner was in the USA the word CANADA was added after the word AVRO. A bit of Canadian pride with that.
"....airborne for 1 mile, 1 min. and 20 seconds...." That equates to about 40 MPH, well below the minimum flight speed for this plane, especially since it lifted off at 95 MPH. You did mention 'stable flight', implying that the plane was level for that minute, the rest of the time either climbing or 'landing'.. Aside from that and the Joe Flynn miscast, excellent presentation. Thank you for taking the time to put this together. Bill P.
I've had many comments about this, and the "One minute and twenty seconds" account came from an interview with one of the Hughes crewmen years later. The 95 mph was "indicated airspeed" into a 20-knot headwind at takeoff, and the aircraft slowed to 70 mph for landing, but even that doesn't equate to the 01:20 time. I'm guessing that was the time from the start of the takeoff run to the landing which would make more sense. Thanks for watching!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 No worries, time distorts everything, especially memories ! No matter what, this was a great plane built by a great man, even after his partner (Henry J. Kaiser) walked away from it ! Excellent presentation, thank you for posting ! Bill P.
Our father would take us on scenic drives around Port of Long Beach, in the mid 60's to the old Pierpoint Landing nearby, and would continue on towards Pier E, and point out the H4 hanger building, a secure fenced facility , told us about the Spruce Goose inside. I later toured the Dome in 78' , an amazing sight.. later we moved to Long Beach in 89' to 1000 E Ocean. A 3 story apt building that is in the photo as the H4 turns on its final taxi run before its historic flight. The last 2 days, an old Ford Tri- motor aircraft wss flying over the city, its motors unmistakable drone heard above during several passes over the city & port skyline. Thanks for the informative video and vintage photos. 11/3/23 viewed video.👍🏻
I toured the Boeing plant and watched them build 747s, then went to see the H-1. The H-1 is truly huge and dominates the hangar/museum. There are lots of great planes to see at McMinnville.
I saw it and went aboard it when it was at Long Beach. What an amazing accomplishment for the time. He could not have seen at the time how quickly technology would pass it by and make it moot. I can't help but think of C-141s regularly crossing the Pacific to Vietnam.
Thanks for this excellent video! I was just at the Evergreen Museum (Oct. 13, 2023) and paid the extra $40 to tour the cockpit...you actually get to sit in the pilot's seat (and wear a Hughes fedora)! First time I visited this museum 20 years ago I was unaware that the Goose was there...I walk in and see this giant aircraft and slowly realize what it was. Tremendous! Thanks again for this awesome video.
Great episode, Mike! I have a strong family connection with the H-4. My family had over 100 years of work experience with Hughes Aircraft. One of my uncles, after he left North American Aviation, he went to work for 'Uncle Howard'. One of his first assignments was engineering the horizontal stabilizers on the H-4. He later went on to the satellite division. Years later when his son was first hired at Hughes he was a night watchman for the H-4 in Long Beach. My father was in the field support division going on teaching assignments around the country and around the world. His pride and joy project was the TOW Field Test Set. I grew up in Westchester, CA, and many of my friends' dads worked in Aerospace: Hughes, Douglas, Northrup, TRW, etc. It was a great time and a great place for a kid!
Definitely one of my favorite aircraft, along with the xb-35 & yb-49. Your narration is spot on! Excellent timing as well. I don't really comment, but I have enjoyed most of your videos. Keep up the great work!
George Marek and I are IAE AG alums. Hello George. My wonderful old ranch neighbor in Bandera, Texas, Richard E. Saunders, was an accomplished aeronautical engineer who worked directly with Hughes on the XF-11 and H4. He hated “The Aviator” movie. Liked working with Hughes a lot.
Just a follow up Mike. Great review of the H-4 thorough and interesting presentation. I look forward to your reviews. With my thanks and appreciation. All the best to you and your loved ones. Blue skies and tailwinds.
Mike you do the best presentations by your through research and amazing graphics and photos you dig up. I have a big appreciation for your love of the rich history of Aviation in OUR area. I too worked for Douglas. “First Around the World”. I was a Tool Engineer for 5 different companies. I event occasionally did some illustration as you, but simple artwork for Tooling purposes. THANKS AGAIN - GREAT JOB. If you want more stories about Howard that haven't been made public, I might let them out. My father was in the business since 1938 and occasionally also doing some sketching and rendering. -Stephen Skinner -
It's very likely that the H-4 wasn't structurally sound, turboprops would have simply exacerbated any structural issues. Jet engines made the XF-11 obsolete before it ever flew.
I'll try to keep this as condensed as possible because I do have a bit to comment; all positive. I got to see the H-4 Hercules when it was hangered in Long Beach during the 1980s. My grandma, (who had taken me and my siblings to see the Spruce Goose and Queen Mary) even bought me the model kit, described in the video, from the souvenir shop at the location, (I recognized the assembly diagram as soon as I saw it on screen.) Unfortunately, I have no idea what happened to the model. (My dad was USAF, so we had to move a few times since visiting the airplane, so anything could've befallen the kit.) I really appreciate the extra notes on the photos and other details surrounding the Spruce Goose's only flight. Much more details than I can remember learning about before this video. I bet those reporters who got off the plane early were kicking themselves after doing so. lol. I have a question that's not directly related to the H-4, but more to Howard Hughes and TWA; a question that perhaps you may have some insight to. I like to watch television shows from the 50s, and I've noticed that whenever a show involves the characters taking flights somewhere, they always (seemingly) utilize, and even go out of their way to mention, TWA, and this is done not out of what would be recognized as a sponsorship by TWA, but more of a salute to the company. I've often wondered if this was because of Howard Hughes connections with Hollywood, or maybe that TWA's main competitor (at the time,) Pan-Am, was strongly associated with/supported by Washington politicians who were conducting rampant "witch-hunts" throughout Hollywood as they tried to identify communist sympathizers, so many of the "Hollywood" community may have wanted to separate themselves from Pan-Am or something to that effect. Is there anything to this observation of mine or am I just noticing more than what's actually there? I'll end this here. Great video on one of the most unique aircrafts ever built & flown.
Great comment and wonderful story, thanks. In my opinion, TWA's strong presence in the 1950s was a direct result of Hughes's aggressive and brilliant advertising and marketing. Aside from flying the iconic Lockheed Constellation, TWA became the official airline of Disneyland when it opened in Summer 1955, and a TWA Connie was prominently featured in the very first serial story on the Mickey Mouse Club TV show. There was also the TWA Moon Rocket in Tomorrowland in the park. In Times Square, New York, a massive model of the TWA "Super-G" Connie sat high atop a billboard with lights and spinning propellers! Colorful ads were also in every magazine you could find. Biggest difference from Pan Am was that PAA did not fly inside the U.S. Thanks for watching!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Ah, the fact that Pan Am did not fly inside the U.S. is likely the prime reason for the lack of depiction in television as usually the characters in the shows were flying within the U.S., so mentioning TWA does make a lot more sense. Thanks.
There was a man with a camera that took a picture, he is an avid airplane guy. He saw it fly that day., His daughter cleaned out his stuff after her mom died, threw out a bunch of stuff, that picture and the negatives ended up in the trash heap somewhere around Thousand Oaks California.
Questions..... 1.Why did Kaiser pull out the program? 2. Why try and build a seaplane so far away? Why not build it on location? 3. What did Hughes Aircraft work on other than than the XF-11 & H-4 during the war? 4. Why didn't established flying boat makers like Consolidated or Martin not try this? Too busy? 5. Could it have flow out of ground effect? 🤔
1. Kaiser pulled out of the program due to Hughes' being a perfectionist causing delays to the project 2. There is no hangar big enough to house the construction of the Hercules, if you can find photos of the plane during its final assemble, it was just housed on a make shift hangar. Also, the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft was in LA California 3. Hughes first made a fighter prototype named the D2, a twinboom design, it was destroyed on a fire. Next was the XF-11, a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft, also a twin boom design with contra rotating propellers, it crashed during its test flight with Hughes at the control, barely alive after the crash, after that is OCD condition worsen which we can also attribute to the delay of the H-4 4. Consolidate and Martin are busy with other aircraft at the time and it was Kaiser's original idea who then app[reached Hughes 5. It was talked about that Hughes didn't have the intention of flying the H-4 that day, many say that the rough seas that day might have caused the craft to break apart, personally I would say that it can fly given the time for it to be further developed, one test run isn't enough to finely tune or update the aircraft, but I would personally say it can PS I would highly recommend watching The Aviator
I apologize for being a stereotypical Canadian. The division of Avro which designed and built the C-102 Jetliner was Avro Canada Ltd. (Malton/Downsview) Some sources indicate Hughes leased the 102 for almost 6 months, but I have no idea how much he flew it out of Culver City. His requests to obtain a license for manufacturing was denied by the Canada Government, and Avro was told to stick to CF-100 production in light of the Korean and Cold War requirements.
I heard a story that the rudder was broken during the flight. Have you heard this story and is it correct? Thanks for the fabulous photographs and story. I saw it in long beach in the 1980s it is enormous indeed.
Wonderful story about the Spruce Goose. Incredible photo chronology. Too bad no sound exists of that one and only historical flight. Eight 4360s would really be something to hear at takeoff power. A small piece of trivia associated with the Spruce Goose: Hughes Project Manager William L. Berry, who accompanied Howard Hughes on that one flight, is the father of Jan Berry, member of the 60s Surf Rock duo, Jan and Dean. The late singer was just six years old at the time. Thanks, Mike.
Visited the Evergreen museum a couple years ago and highly recommend the guided tour that takes you inside the H-4. You can sit in the pilot's seat and have the view that Hughes had. The tour guide told me that a large crack opened up in the lower rear fuselage during the flight, and an engineer riding in the tail looked down to see water beneath him! Outside the aircraft you can make out the patch panels that were applied for repair. A set of clamshell doors for the nose were built but never installed; the doors were acquired by the museum with the rest of the aircraft, but then discarded- what a shame. I think the helicopter at 13:40 is a Sikorsky H-5.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Thanks, when I think of the Bell 47 I think of the bubble-and-girder model- didn't know the early versions included enclosed ones.
Mike, the Aurora instruction sheet was a nice touch, it must have been a wood kit. While a student at Northrup University, some fellow students and I tried a few times to sneak into the building housing the H-4 but were turned back every time "sad," but I did get my A&P license. A outstanding watch full of great information along with top-notch narration. Question: Wasn't the Antonov An-225 destroyed by the Russians?
Thanks for the comment, and you're right - I should have made that direction sheet a Strombecker wood kit. Good catch! And yes, the AN-225 was destroyed in its hangar in the Ukraine last year.
In that photo of Howard Hughes and his flight crew, the man second from the right, also wearing a fedora, looks like Tex Johnson, the famous Boeing pilot. ❤😂 I watched all three seasons of McHale's Navy when it aired back in the mid-1960s. I don't remember Phil Silvers on that show.
It makes a person wonder what he could have done if he was given the aluminum to build this plane. He fought for years to get the material before he finally did agree to settle on the wood, just to get it done. With all the changed that had to be made once he realized he wasn't going to get the material he actually wanted. My uncle met Hughes. He worked on this plane. He was an engineer apprentice. It had different aspect and plans at first when it was to be built with aluminum. It had to be almost completely re designed when they had no choice but to use wood. The only thing they actually kept was the look and size of the plane from the outside.
Wow! An incredibly entertaining and informative video. Thats quite a tail on that plane. Impressive since its entirely made of wood. Surprised that thay didnt do multiple shorter tails like the Connie or the B-24/B25.
Interesting point, Chuck, and I'm thinking the surface area and tail height (8-and-a-half stories!) was required due to the massive torque of those eight 3,000-hp engines. Thanks for watching!
I wonder how much fuel Hughes used in his tests. In Reading, Pa., there is a C-97 parked, awaiting a replacement engine. It has four R4360's. It was explained to me that the C-97 consumes 200 gal. just to get airborne.
The "Liberty Ships" were manned by Merchant Marines. There is an Acadamy. They lost more men than all other armed forces combined. There was one or two machine guns on the boats. They weren't expected to fight, just move needed cargo from place to place.
Growing-up on Long Island, I remember seeing the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point when my family drove into New York City. Thanks for the comment!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 My father was a Merchant Marine. You could say I survived WWIl. Heroes everyone of them. My own feelings. He never spoke of his service.
Trivia du Jour: Interesting to know that Hughes' hangar was the largest glued buildign in the world. Here's your trivia: in 1905 the largest building in the world was the Siberia factory of the Singer Sewing Machine Company -- built by the father of a friend of mine.
