June 11, 1946, Wings of the Hughes H-4 Hercules, now known as the Spruce Goose, are moved from Hughes' Culver City plant to Long Beach to make what would turn out to be her only actual flight. Here she is making a stately two miles per hour.
http://feldgrau.info/engines/12922-elovyj-gus-samoljot-govarda-khyuza
https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelryerson/29089239165/
I wonder how long it took and what equipment was used to attach the wings to the fuselage.
ReplyDeleteGood question! I look at the wing to fuselage engineering to be nearly a miracle, as the weight of the wings and their span? That's a lot to bolt together and THEN suspend the weight of the airplane from when flying, and THEN the strain and stress of turning, taking off with full engine power, etc etc. Amazing engineering! From what I recall, Howard Hughes had it all in his head, and could design it, engineer it, and oversee it's construction. In his head, without the hardcopy drawings
DeleteHey, wow, you've made it through 10 years of archives!
Delete