Belarus / 17.10.2023

Hercules Hughes airplane. Howard Hughes's ambition plane: the largest flying boat. The path to aviation

It’s one thing when an ordinary plane, even one designed for a couple of hundred passengers, takes off into the air, and quite another thing when a creation of the human mind tens of meters long, capable of transporting hundreds of tons of cargo over thousands of kilometers, appears in the sky.

At different times, the honorary title of the largest aircraft in the world was borne by different winged aircraft. For example, among them in the 1930s was the unique 8-engine propaganda aircraft ANT-20 “Maxim Gorky”. Today there are other leaders in this field, although the records they set many decades ago still hold. Around the World invites you to meet some of these record-breakers.

The very best: AN-225 “Mriya”

This is the aircraft with the world's largest payload capacity (can carry cargo with a total weight of 250 tons) and the largest take-off weight (more than 640 tons), as well as the largest in length and wing span that entered service. First, let’s look at the dimensions: the length of “Mriya” (in Ukrainian “Dream”) is 84 meters, and its wingspan is 88.4 meters. As an example, we point out here that a football field that complies with FIFA recommendations has dimensions of 105x68 meters, and Red Square in Moscow has dimensions of 330x75 meters.

The cargo compartment of the Mriya is a sealed space 43 meters long, 6.4 meters wide and 4.4 meters high (that is, approximately the size of a two-story house); for example, 50 cars can fit into it. The aircraft was invented and built in 1984–1988 at the Kiev Mechanical Plant to transport parts of the Buran spacecraft and launch vehicle from the production site to the launch site, as well as, if necessary, the entire Buran - it was supposed to be placed on the “back” of the “ Mriya."

AN-225 at the Swedish airport Stockholm-Arlanda

However, this giant did not perform its main duties for long: by 1990, all work within the framework of the Energia-Buran program was curtailed, and the AN-225 stood half-disassembled from 1994 to 2001. It was restored by 2001 and has since been regularly used to transport heavy loads, including record-breaking transport operations.

"Mriya" has already made flights with the longest (42.1-meter wind turbine blades) and heaviest monocargo (a generator weighing 174 tons), as well as with cargo with the largest total weight - 253.8 tons. In total, Mriya has more than 200 world records of this kind. The plane exists in a single copy, it is operated by a Ukrainian airline Antonov Airlines, however, it is possible that in a year or two, with the help of the Kyiv Antonov Design Bureau and the Chinese company AICC a second one will be completed.

Giant flying boat: Hughes H-4 Hercules

In the previous part, we mentioned that the AN-225 Mriya is an aircraft with the largest wingspan among all those that entered service. This reservation is not accidental: in the history of aviation there was an even larger aircraft, but it made only one test flight at an altitude of 21 meters and a length of about 1.5 km. It's about Hughes H-4 Hercules, a giant flying boat built by 1947 by the brilliant (and crazy) American aviator and businessman Howard Hughes.

Created by Hughes, the 8-engine monster, 66.6 meters long with a wingspan of 97.5 meters, was conceived as a means of transporting cargo, military equipment (with a total weight of about 70 tons) and up to 750 soldiers across the Atlantic from the United States to Europe. The project started in 1942 with money from the American government, but its implementation dragged on for five long years. Now the Second World War is over, but the mega-boat still hasn’t taken off.

In the end, this alerted the American government and Congress, under whose pressure Howard Hughes nevertheless made a test flight on November 2, 1947, near the Californian city of San Pedro. First and last flight. Until Hughes' death in 1976, the Hercules was maintained in flying condition, and then passed from hand to hand until it finally ended up in the aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it remains to this day - you'll be in Oregon , be sure to check it out.

Hughes H-4 Hercules during testing

The most remarkable thing about this plane is not even the largest wingspan of any aircraft ever flown, but the fact that the car was built from birch, or rather, from birch plywood: the shortage of aluminum during the war years affected it. Despite this, the plane received the nickname "spruce goose" (Spruce Goose)- it has become synonymous with the expression “white elephant”. Let us also add that Hughes H-4 Hercules- also the largest seaplane in the history of aviation.

Largest passenger: Airbus A380

First place in this category Airbus A380 in modification 800. This is generally the largest production airliner in the world: height - 24.1 meters, length - 72.8 meters, wingspan - 79.8 meters, on its two decks it can carry a total of up to 853 people (in a one-class configuration ) over a distance of 15,700 km.

It is on this aircraft that the second and third longest commercial flights are operated today - from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai (about 17 hours) and from Dallas, Texas, to Sydney, Australia (about 16 hours). During this time, aircraft cover approximately a third of the length of the equator (first place in the length of a commercial flight since February 2017). Qatar Airways from Oakland to Doha by Boeing 777-200LR).

A380 towed to the runway

In the plans Airbus creating larger versions of this airliner - even more spacious A380-900 for 900 passengers (all in economy class), as well as a cargo version A380F, which will be second after Mriya in terms of carrying capacity. And both of them, presumably, will be even greater in length and wingspan. So far, however, not a single such aircraft has been built: there are no required number of orders for them.

Longest passenger: Boeing 747-8

Interestingly, the gigantic size and record capacity Airbus A380- not the longest passenger aircraft in the world. This title is held by the former number one among airliners. Boeing 747 in version 8. Boeing 747-8 is the third generation of the double-deck 747, which made its first flight back in 1969 and entered commercial service about a year later.

The record for this aircraft in terms of size, weight and capacity among passenger airliners lasted 36 years - just before the advent of Airbus A380. At the same time, some of his records have not yet been broken. Yes, exactly Boeing 747-400 in 1989, made the longest non-stop flight for a commercial airliner, covering a distance of more than 18,000 km from London to Sydney in 20 hours 9 minutes. There was no cargo or passengers on board.

Boeing 747-8I German airline Lufthansa

Boeing 747-8 It is produced in two versions - passenger (747-8I) and cargo (747 -8F). And in the near future, another highly specialized one will probably appear: the US Air Force is eyeing the 747-8 as the future “Air Force One” - for the President of the United States. Now this role is played by the 747-200, which was heavily redesigned in comparison with the production version, and was put into operation in the late 1980s. It is noteworthy that a Russian trace appears here: they are going to convert it into a presidential aircraft. Boeing 747-8I, ordered by the bankrupt Russian company Transaero and now in storage in the Mojave Desert in the USA (thanks to the climatic conditions, the aircraft stored there at a special training ground are practically not subject to corrosion).

The most voluminous: Boeing 747 Dreamlifter

Surprisingly, the giant Mriya was not omnipotent. When companies Boeing it was necessary to establish supply chains for parts for the latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner, its capabilities were not enough to transport parts of the Dreamliner's wings and fuselage from Japan and Europe to a plant in Washington state. Moreover, none of the then existing aircraft (the Soviet AN-124 and Boeing's own 747 -400F) were suitable for the company, and transporting components by sea would have taken too long. Then the engineers Boeing developed (note, not without the participation of the company’s Moscow bureau) a modified version Boeing 747 by calling her Dreamlifter.

Boeing Dreamlifter at Chubu International Airport (Japan)

The difference between this, frankly, rather ugly aircraft (President of Commercial Division Boeing Scott Carson even had to jokingly apologize to the creator of the 747, Joe Sutter, “for what [they] did to his plane”) visible to the naked eye: the 747 is noticeably swollen - the diameter of the plane’s body has been significantly increased, and it opens for loading sideways tail section.

As a result, engineers managed to achieve a record volume inside of 1840 cubic meters. notice, that Dreamlifter not unique. Previously, the American Aero Spacelines Super Guppy(it was and is used to transport spacecraft parts) and the European Airbus Beluga, which delivers aircraft parts to the Toulouse plant. Both of them, however, have a smaller usable volume.

Potential Champion: Scaled Composites Model 351

May 31, 2017 in the Mojave Desert from a hangar with a crowd of public and journalists Scaled Composites Model 351- double-fuselage, 6-engine aircraft, element of the aerospace air launch system Stratolaunch, designed to lift rockets to a height of 11 kilometers Pegasus XL, from where they will be able to launch into space, spending significantly less fuel and, therefore, having more payload on board.

This launch scheme is not new - for the first time, launching aircraft from other aircraft was invented in the first half of the last century: in the 1930s, two airships were built in the USA, from which they were supposed to send small aircraft into flight. And after World War II, first in the 1970s in the USA (project Convoy Virtus), and then in the 1990s in our country (project “Molniya-1000”, also known as “Hercules”), projects were developed for launching spacecraft from superplanes. So far, however, none of them, including the one described Startolaunch, didn't take off.

But a much smaller one took off White Knight Two, a similar design twin-fuselage carrier aircraft built by the same Scaled Composites for the air launch of a tourist spaceplane SpaceShipTwo billionaire Richard Branson. In 2010 SpaceShipTwo made its first flight, separating from the carrier in the air White Knight.

SpaceShipTwo(center) and carrier aircraft White Knight Two, analog Scaled Composites Model 351

If the flight Scaled Composites Model 351 ever take place, this aircraft will break the record Hughes H-4 Hercules by wingspan of any aircraft ever flown: with a length of 71 meters, the wing length Startolaunch(and technically it has one solid wing connecting both fuselages) is 117 meters.

Photo: Larske / commons.wikimedia.org, commons.wikimedia.org, Monty Rakusen / Getty Images, Kiefer / commons.wikimedia.org, Muroi 8210 / commons.wikimedia.org, Virgin Galactic / Mark Greenberg / commons.wikimedia.org

Well, what could be interesting in the small town of McMinville, Oregon? 32 thousand people live in it, except for winemaking, nothing has been heard about other industries. Well, a UFO was seen there a couple of times... Meanwhile, the city has something to attract tourists.
Many people know the film The Aviator, in which an eccentric rich man, passionate about aviation, builds a huge transport plane called the Hercules H-4, better known as the Spruce Goose. It turned out to be a gigantic aircraft, its wingspan is even larger than that of the largest modern aircraft Boeing-747, A-380 and AN-225 Mriya. And yet it is built entirely from wood!

So, this plane is in the aviation museum in McMinnville. That museum also has an impressive collection of aircraft and space technology. And even more amazingly, there is a collection of Soviet armored vehicles, including T-34, T-54, infantry fighting vehicles and ISU-152.

2. The plane is really impressive with its size. Many other exhibits fit freely under its wings.

3. The plane flew only once in its life, but what!

4. Here is its comparison with modern monster aircraft (taken from Wikipedia)

5. Eight powerful engines of 4 thousand horsepower each pushed the plane at a speed of 400 km/h

6. The plane is absolutely amazing with its size, no matter what angle you look at it from.

7. As I mentioned, the H-4 is built almost entirely from wood - special pressure-laminated birch plywood. The reason was that there was a war going on, and aluminum was considered a strategic material and was in short supply.

8. You can enter the belly of the plane, but they don’t let you go far; there is an observation deck inside, the rest is covered with plexiglass barriers.

9. Look forward, towards the nose of Hercules. On the right you can see the stairs to the upper deck.

10. Looking back, this plane could carry about 500 soldiers.

11. Internal structure.

12. We went up to the cabin. The plane was not finished, and the decoration is ascetic. Behind us are rows of seats for passengers. Surprisingly, there were quite a few people willing to take the first flight.

13. We were given the opportunity to sit at the controls of the legendary plane

14. Steering wheel

15. In addition to the steering wheel, there is also a joystick, just like on modern Airbuses.

16. Dashboard.

17. Having seen enough of the giant, we moved on to other exhibits, fortunately there was something to see. B-17 Flying Fortress - flying fortress.

18. Yak-50 painted with traditional Soviet Khokhloma.

19. German Me-262A-1 built in 1942. Jet fighter!

20. The famous Messer is right there - Messerschmidt Bf-109G

21. Soviet MiG-21 and the tail of the MiG-17.

22. They are the same, top view

23. By the way, about the MiG-17. What, I wonder, does half a blink mean on board the F-105? Wounded? We are probably talking about Vietnam.

24. And this interesting plane is a three-engine passenger Ford-5-AT-B. Baggage is stowed in the wing of the aircraft.

26. Business class aircraft. Interesting interior design, well, 1930s.

27. There are many interesting aircraft left behind the scenes. We, after gawking at the weapons exhibition and Kalashnikov assault rifles, went to the space pavilion.

28. In the space section, it all begins with the crushing fiasco of the Americans in the space race. The Soviet Union launched the first man into orbit "Yuri Gagarin" :)

29. Darth Vader has a lot of things piled up in his cabin, maps of star galaxies and a portrait of Gagarin.

30. In general, the attitude towards Russia’s contribution to astronautics is careful and truthful. Even the patriarch of astronautics, K. Tsiolkovsky, was mentioned.

31. However, politics takes its toll. “We will bury you” - Nikita Khrushchev’s words “we will show you Kuzka’s mother” are freely translated into English.

32. German V-2 rocket. Korolev copied her one by one in order to begin to move on from her. The Americans got the designer himself - von Braun.

33. Historical artifacts - the descent module of one of the Vostoks

34. Burnt rocket fairings

35. Newspaper Pravda with the autograph of cosmonaut Popovich.

36. But gradually things got better for the Americans, too, and they modestly launched several, no more and no less, messengers of the gods into space. Mercury program.

37. The descent module of one of the Mercurys is stored in the mausoleum.

38. Having heard our Russian speech, one of the volunteer guides came up to us and took us underground - to the Titan rocket launch control bunker. He once served in one of these. So this is actually a combat missile,

but it was used a lot to launch satellites into orbit. However, the Vostok was also by no means a peaceful armored train on a siding.

39. We were shown a simulated rocket launch

40. It shook and rumbled very naturally, and we hurried to look out of the bunker - the Titan rocket was still standing in place

41. One of the engines

42. Another Titan in a horizontal position. First stage

43. Lunokhod. I don’t know if this is a replica, or if the Americans took it with them on their way back from the Moon

44. Another Soviet automatic space station.

45. In fact, the apotheosis of the exhibition, as conceived by the organizers, was, of course, the American Moon landing and Shuttle programs. The shuttle, however, is not yet available, but it is expected soon.

46. Take another look at the SR-71 Black Bird, a plane made entirely of titanium and capable of flying at four times the speed of sound.

47. On the lawn in front of the museum there is a Russian MiG-29. There were also F-15s, F-17s and other planes, but the hungry family persistently pulled me away, and at this point we decided to call it a day with a tour of the museum.

48. There is another attraction in the town of McMinnville. This is the Oregon Hotel and the cafe on its roof.

49. Food tastes better in the fresh air!

51. Gradually comes harmony with the world around you

52. We sit, drink beer, wine, juices and water, admiring the surrounding landscape

53. Hotel Oregon is generally quite unusual. Everything about it breathes antiquity.

54. Each room has its own name, there are paintings on the walls

55. ...sometimes very strange

57. All that remains is to walk a little through the city streets

60. Bistro Maison

61. Continuing the automotive theme

62. I tried to limit each post to 60 photos, but it doesn’t work, just a few more!

64. You scream, I scream, Ice cream

What do you think is the largest plane in the world?
Oddly enough, such an air giant is the wooden Hughes H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose” seaplane, built by the eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes back in 1947, or in our opinion, the “Spruce Goose”.

No, of course, in terms of such parameters as take-off weight, flight load, flight range, etc. modern heavy-duty trucks have long left it behind, but the record wingspan still remains with the Spruce Goose.
The aircraft dates back to 1942, when heavy losses of the merchant fleet from submarines forced them to look for an alternative route for delivering cargo. One of the options was the delivery of goods by air.

Aircraft fuselage assembly; 1945

The idea of delivering cargo across the Atlantic was promising, except for one thing - there was no aircraft capable of doing this.
And so the eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes took up the idea. The idea seemed promising to him and he undertook to implement it, concluding a contract with the naval command and receiving from him 13 million dollars for the construction of a heavy truck designed to lift 60 tons of cargo, or 750 marines

Final assembly at the Port of Los Angeles; 1947

Design documentation was developed quickly, and at the beginning of 1943, construction of the aircraft began. However, further assembly of the aircraft proceeded at an extremely slow pace. Many factors were at play, not the least of which was Hughes’ desire to build the ideal aircraft.
With the end of the war, the navy also lost interest in the aircraft, so construction proceeded at a slow pace.
However, the designer was eccentric and worked not only on airplanes.

Howard Hughes at Senate hearings, Washington; August 1947

In 1947, Washington (represented by the Senate) became interested in the fate of the money spent on building the plane, and Howard Hughes had to quickly finish the plane in order to show where the money went

Senator Harry Kane and Howard Hughes inspect the aircraft being completed; Los Angeles; August 18, 1947;

The best proof would be the flight of the plane, and it took place on November 21, 1947, the Spruce Goose was flown by the chief designer himself - Howard Hughes

Hughes, together with the flight mechanic, take readings of control instruments before the flight; November 21, 1947

Hughes at the helm of the Goose; November 21, 1947

Before the start

In flight

During its first and last flight, the Spruce Goose covered about 2 kilometers and rose to a height of 21 meters. The plane did make one flight. After which, it stood ready for a second flight until Howard’s death in 1976. Such a whim of Hughes as maintaining the aircraft in working order cost up to 1 million dollars a year.
After the death of Howard Hughes, the plane was transferred to the aviation museum in Long Beach.

Jack Rial (left), senior vice president of Summa Corp. Aviation Group is interviewed by journalist Walter Cronkite inside the Goose; Long Beach 1978

Moving the Spruce Goose to a new exhibition hangar; 1982

Hughes H-4 Hercules- a transport wooden flying boat developed by the American company Hughes Aircraft under the leadership of Howard Hughes. This 136-ton aircraft, originally designated the NK-1 and informally nicknamed the Spruce Goose, was the largest flying boat ever built, and its wingspan remains a record 98. meters. It was designed to transport 750 soldiers when fully equipped.

At the beginning of World War II, the US government allocated $13 million to Hughes to build a prototype of a flying ship, but the aircraft was not ready by the end of hostilities, due to a shortage of aluminum, as well as Hughes’ stubbornness in creating a flawless machine. The Hercules aircraft, piloted by Howard Hughes himself, made its first and only flight on November 2, 1947, when it rose to a height of 21 meters and covered approximately two kilometers in a straight line over Los Angeles Harbor. After a long period of storage, the plane was sent to a museum in Long Beach, California. It is currently on display at the Evergreen International Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it was moved in 1993. But let's talk about everything in order...
Original taken from masterok c The largest seaplane in the world. The only dream flight. Heavy traffic!

In the initial period of the war, the Allies did not immediately realize the danger German submarines posed. The experience of the First World War was conveniently forgotten, which resulted in simply catastrophic losses in the merchant fleet. If in 1939-1940. the number of ships sunk by the Germans did not go beyond acceptable loss standards, then in 1941-1942. The Krigsmarine unleashed a reign of terror in the Atlantic. The situation was stabilized only by the end of 1942, and even then, through a global increase in the flotillas of cover ships. However, the threat from submarines was not eliminated. In such a situation, a completely predictable option was found - cargo can be transferred not only by water, but also by air. The only problem was that neither side at that time had an aircraft with sufficient carrying capacity.

The author of the original concept for this project was Henry J. Kaiser, a steel industry magnate, owner of shipyards that produced Liberty ships during World War II. The plane was designed and built by Hughes Aircraft: billionaire Howard Hughes and his team.

An order for the construction of a multi-ton wooden amphibian aircraft with a wingspan of almost one hundred meters was received from the American government in 1942. The stated goal was to build a ship for cargo and passenger transportation in such a way as to spend as little strategic raw materials as possible. That is: the plane had to be made not from metal, but from wood. The aircraft was intended to transport cargo and troops to help warring Europe: the traditional waterway during a certain period of hostilities turned out to be inaccessible due to the powerful development of submarines on the enemy side.

The working documentation was developed quite quickly, which cannot be said about the pace of construction of the aircraft. Beginning in 1943, construction was fully completed in mid-1947. This was influenced by several reasons, ranging from the end of the war (and the resulting lack of interest in further work on the NK-1 on the part of the military) and ending with various legal proceedings against Hughes.

Throughout the implementation of the project, there were disputes about the volume of its financing, and in principle there was no clear opinion about the need for such a project. One of the American senators dissatisfied with the project called the future aircraft a “flying lumber yard.” However, his most famous nickname is “Spruce Goose.”

The aircraft's official name was originally HK-1 (derived from the surnames Hughes and Kaiser). After Kaiser abandoned the project in 1944, Hughes renamed the aircraft the H-4 and changed the tail number from NX37602 to N37602 after its first flight.

This huge flying boat consists of a hull, a cantilever wing and eight radial engines (Pratt & Whitney engines, 3000 hp each). It has vertical and tail surfaces, fixed wing floats. The entire structure consisted of laminated wood (despite the nickname, birch, not spruce, was used in construction).

The physical parameters of the amphibious aircraft were as follows:
length - more than 66 meters
height - 24 meters
wingspan - 98 meters
weight - 136 tons
maximum cargo weight - 59 tons
maximum number of passengers - 700 people

Flight characteristics (estimated):
maximum speed - 378 km/h
cruising speed - 282 km/h
flight range - 5634 km
flight altitude - 7165 m

Despite its unprecedented size, this aircraft required a crew of only 3 people to operate it.
The body of the aircraft was divided into two compartments: a flight deck to accommodate people and a large cargo compartment. Spiral staircases are installed to provide communication between the compartments. Below the cargo compartment were fuel tanks separated by watertight bulkheads.

Hughes and Kaiser's flying boat was to be the largest aircraft ever built (in fact, it was seven times larger than any aircraft built before it) and was the most amazing aircraft project of all time. The construction was completed only by the courage and dedication of Howard Hughes and his small team of like-minded people, who, despite everything, did not abandon the work and still sent the Hercules on its only historical flight.

At some point, contradictions between the project leaders, Hughes and Kaiser became severe: Henry Kaiser proposed limiting himself to a 70-ton apparatus in order to meet the deadline and provide the customer with a finished product; however, Hughes insisted on a larger one - a 200-ton aircraft, which required a much larger investment of time and money. Henry Kaiser refused further participation in the project, and Howard Hughes became more and more interested in the idea, introducing new proposals and improvements that further delayed the completion of construction.

In 1942, this was an urgent, priority order for the US government. By 1944, priorities had changed: due to changes in the situation on the world fronts, the state’s interest in the project disappeared. The government expected to cancel the construction contract. But Hughes’ motivation by that time had ceased to be rational: rather, he was seized by the idea of building an air cargo ship that surpassed the wildest human imagination.

While holding the entire global project in mind, Hughes did not lose sight of the most subtle details: nothing except his personal eccentricity could explain the need to sit for hours discussing the design of the dashboard. Being a perfectionist by nature, he still could not bring himself to recognize the work as perfect, until finally so many delays attracted the attention of the Senate: a committee was created to review the ongoing work.

Construction of the aircraft was completed only in 1947: a huge amount of $22 million was spent on the project from the US government budget. But the matter did not stop there: due to insufficient funding, Howard Hughes spent his own 18 million on the project.

On November 2, 1947, the Hercules was launched and Howard Hughes and his small crew started the engines in test mode. After making several passes through the water, in front of excited spectators, mostly journalists watching the ship's movements, the Hercules lifted off from the surface of Los Angeles harbor, setting off on its first and last, unannounced flight. Hughes himself was at the helm.

At a low altitude, just over 20 meters, the plane covered about two kilometers at a speed of about 120 km/h and made a perfect landing. This test launch, carried out by Howard Hughes despite the official ban on lifting the Hercules into the air, was intended to repel critics of the project and prove that the largest aircraft in the history of mankind could still fly. This flight is still considered by many to this day to be one of the greatest moments in aviation history.

Having completed its historic flight, the Spruce Goose returned to its hangar - a gigantic room specially built for it - never to take off again. At Hughes's request, until his death in 1976, the aircraft was constantly maintained in full "combat readiness", including monthly engine starts.

Over the past 50 years, the plane has become one of America's favorite artifacts, moving from the world of military industry to cultural objects due to its virtual uselessness. Today, his story is seen as an example of unprecedented determination and self-sacrifice. The Hughes H-4 Hercules became one of the symbols of the 20th century.

Although in reality, Howard Hughes' Hercules was not so useless. This aircraft, despite all its imperfections, was decades ahead of its time and became one of the steps in the technical revolution not only in aviation, but also in engineering in general. He demonstrated the potential capabilities of artificial aircraft, largely shaping the modern understanding of flight implementation.

After long-term storage at a flying club base in Southern California, next to the retired ocean liner Queen Mary, in 1992 the aircraft was transferred to the Evergreen Aviation Museum, an educational center museum in Oregon. To this day, it remains the largest man-built aircraft to fly.

The most interesting thing is that many of you have seen its prototype. Of course, provided that you watched the movie "The Aviator", with Leonardo DiCaprio (Leonardo DiCaprio).

The creator of the Hughes H-4 Hercules, named Howard Hughes, who ran his own company, Hughes Aircraft, became the prototype for the main character in the film The Aviator.

There are airplanes in the world that are longer and have higher carrying capacity, but the Hercules, which made its first flight in 1947, is still unsurpassed in terms of wingspan (97.5 m), and in terms of height to the tip of the fin, only the newest A-380 could equal it. 800.

The largest seaplane in the world. The only dream flight. November 4th, 2012

Flight characteristics (estimated):
maximum speed - 378 km/h
cruising speed - 282 km/h
flight range - 5634 km
flight altitude - 7165 m

The most interesting thing is that many of you have seen its prototype. Of course, provided that you watched the movie "The Aviator", with Leonardo DiCaprio (Leonardo DiCaprio).

The creator of the Hughes H-4 Hercules, named Howard Hughes, who ran his own company, Hughes Aircraft, became the prototype for the main character in the film The Aviator.