I wasnt aware of a landing gear on the Hercules. It just had outriggers and a boat bottom.pull it out i would fly it today. But Howard said it was very heavy on the controls.
People who understand the physics of flight, know the H4 never 'really' flew. For a plane to be considered "flying" it needs to reach an altitude greater than its wing span. The H4 test flight was considerably less than 319 ft. high. The H4 Wingspan: 319 ft 11 in (97.51 m).
Actually the extra kinetic energy it takes to break free of the surface of the water for a flying boat or seaplane is very great and probably greater than the energy required to fly out of ground effect. Does anyone know whether he was at full power even? It seemed to take off easily and it was a very efficient design, with plenty of power for its size and weight so why wouldn’t it take off and fly well? It was designed after all to carry a massive amount of weight.
Well, I talked to Mr. David Grant during the disassembly in 1992 and he called it a flight. Also, having worked in aviation for forty years, I have never heard the theory that the airplane must exceed in height the wingspan. This would negate the Wright brothers first flight too.
This aircraft wasn't a Hercules. It was the incomparable Spuce Goose made largely of the wood fibre, except for the powerplants, landing gear and other necessary components. Unfortunately, it's flying time was limited to a single demo flight for feasibility purposes.
@@clydedonaldson7369 Hercules was the actual name given by the contract and Hughes Aircraft, the public named it the Spruce Goose , despite in being made primarily of birch. People close to and working on it named it the Birch Bitch, that didn’t sit as well with the public as Spruce Goose.
