Hercules Hurcules - Evergreen Photo Dump

"f86sabre" (f86sabre) 07/29/2019 at 10:32 • Filed to: Planelopnik, Spruce Goose

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Spending some time with family out west this week. Swung by the Evergreen Museum to see the Hughes H-1 Hercules. Some kids call it the Spruce Goose. It’s a lovely plane. My son didn’t really understand how big it is until he saw it. It had the world’s longest wingspan until Stratolaunch flew a few months ago. The museum is nice. Lots of cool planes.

boredalways > f86sabre 07/29/2019 at 10:41

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Is this part of the plane?!

ttyymmnn > f86sabre 07/29/2019 at 10:51

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Unfortunately, “Birch Goose” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

It had the world’s longest wingspan until Stratolaunch flew a few months ago.

And they may both end up sharing the distinction of only having flown once.

MonkeePuzzle > boredalways 07/29/2019 at 10:53

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indeed, it appears to be some spruce wood

MonkeePuzzle > f86sabre 07/29/2019 at 10:53

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why is balls?

Ash78, voting early and often > boredalways 07/29/2019 at 10:54

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Yep -- a HUGE amount of wood went into it (hence the “spruce goose” name). It was both to conserve wartime metal, but also the keep the weight down IIRC.

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 07/29/2019 at 11:04

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Birch, actually.

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 07/29/2019 at 11:04

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To make if float, duh.

boredalways > Ash78, voting early and often 07/29/2019 at 11:06

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Soooo some industrial wood glue should fix that cracking right up?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > boredalways 07/29/2019 at 11:06

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Yup, they don’t call her the Spruce Goose for nothing!

facw > ttyymmnn 07/29/2019 at 11:52

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I have my doubts S tratolaunch ends up in a museum though, I can see it just being scrapped.

f86sabre > MonkeePuzzle 07/29/2019 at 12:16

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Howard was afraid that the aircraft might sink under the wrong circumstances so he required that open spaces in the wings, belly and floats be filled with buoyant materials. The engineers got a deal on beach balls. 

f86sabre > boredalways 07/29/2019 at 12:17

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They cut two holes in the side of the fuselage so people would have easy access. It allows a good look at the cross-section .

f86sabre > facw 07/29/2019 at 12:18

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It would be a shame, but it is a tool looking for a job. 

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > f86sabre 07/29/2019 at 12:34

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You know how there's those trusts that are building new steam locomotives using original plans but modern construction techniques and materials? That needs to happen with this.

Ash78, voting early and often > boredalways 07/29/2019 at 12:49

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Sure, why not? All this wartime equipment was only supposed to last a couple years to begin with. Amazing that so much of it still works...

f86sabre > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/29/2019 at 14:04

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Some composites and modern turbo props and you would have a good time. 

MrDakka > f86sabre 07/29/2019 at 14:30

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Its not made out of wood, it’s made out of stealthy fiber reinforced composites...

f86sabre > MrDakka 07/29/2019 at 14:40

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ranwhenparked > Ash78, voting early and often 07/29/2019 at 21:47

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Mainly aluminum. When shortages were alleviated to some degree later int he war , the contract was modified to finish building only the one prototype in wood, and follow it up with two more examples in aluminum. Then, when the plane wasn’t needed at all, the extra copies were cancelled.

But, had the fully program continued, there would have been a few more H-4s in metal. 

ranwhenparked > boredalways 07/29/2019 at 21:53

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Cracking was an issue from the beginning, they found a lot of it in the vertical stabilizer after just that short hop during the taxi tests. Structural modifications and reinforcements were made, and the plane was readied for full flight tests that never happened. Some people that knew HH in the ‘40s and ‘50s claimed he was nervous about the level of flexing that had been noted in the structure and that it was a factor in not doing further flight tests, he was afraid to risk crashing and destroying the only example in the world.