Howard Hughes aboard the Spruce Goose - photo

[Altair]

Howard Hughes aboard the Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose.




Previously:

Saunders-Roe Princess flying boat - photos
Wright Brothers Model CH seaplane - photo
Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose - photos
Caproni Ca.60 Transaereo flying boat - photo

[Duke_of_URL]

He was the original "man's man" in American industry. So sad that he was victim of mental illness at a time when it wasn't understood or pharmacological treated. Greatest story of Mr. Hughes had to do with the "Bean Field" he had planted between the runways of his private airport at Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles. The IRS wanted to tax Hughes outrageously and he planted beans to turn it into agricultural land with a runway in it. I didn't know Hughes Aircraft built the XH-17 Flying Crane in 1952, amazingly besting Igor Sikorsky by 10 years with his S-64 Skycrane.

[Stokestack]

I live only a mile or so from the hangar where this plane was built. The whole area has been turned into a development of obscene density and scale, wiping out a bunch of former wetlands too. The hangar itself remains; it's now a Google facility.

Now corrupt local politicians are planning to destroy Santa Monica Airport at developers' and land-speculators' behest, when an illegal backroom deal allows them to do so in 2028.

Sad times for a once-innovative and forward-thinking America.