Sunday, March 18, 2018

H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose”


2 comments:

  1. In 1978 I went to pick up a brand new Hughes 500D helicopter in the center of downtown LA. The entire production line was housed in a single building, which was made out of wood. It was one of two of the largest free spanning wood buildings in the world. They were built out of wood because of the steel shortage of WW2. One hanger was where they built the fuselage, the other where they built the wings. They were next door to the longest privately owned runway in the world. The helicopter company wanted to expand the production line, but they could not have any more buildings on the property. They were limited to 5 buildings, because the property was zoned agricultural for tax purposes. At the end of the runway was a 1 acre strawberry patch that was tended by an old couple since the 1930's. Howard Hughes was a crafty devil even then.

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