SPRUCE GOOSE
The largest flying boat
ever built, and still the aircraft
with the largest wing-span, the HK-1 (also known as the
H-4) was designed during the WW2 years as a large
capacity transport aircraft when U-boats were taking a
heavy toll on trans-Atlantic shipping.
The aircraft was largely
the brainchild of Howard Hughes
and was initimately tied to his life and mental state.
Designed largely of
wood to conserve strategic materials
(actually Birch, not Spruce as the name suggests), the
construction of the aircraft suffered endless delays such
that it was obsolete before it was completed.
Hughes was subjected
to considerable scrutiny for alleged
misuse of government funds on the aircraft and was
determined to prove the critics wrong. During supposed
taxi trials in November 1947 Hughes lifted the aircraft off
Long Beach harbour and flew for a mile at an altitude of
about 70 feet. It was the only time the aircraft flew.
Following cancellation
of the government contract the
aircraft was carefully maintained in flying condition
until Hughes' death in 1976. Since then it has been on
display to the public, firstly at Long Beach and lately
at McMinnville in Oregon.
This CD contains a copy
of the very rare flight manual for
the Spruce Goose.
This CD contains:
Hughes
Flying Boat Pilots Manual, produced by the
manufacturer Hughes Tool Company, Aircraft
Division, approx 164 pages.
| CD TITLE | Spruce Goose |
| PRICE | US$17.95 plus postage |
| POSTAGE AND ORDERING DETAILS |
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